This post is sponsored by DOVE® Chocolate.

It's Thanksgiving week and it's always a time I use to reflect on what I'm grateful for.

I'm extremely grateful for my health, earlier this year I was really sick and ended up in the hospital. Now that I'm recovered, I'm extremely grateful for the care I received and am thankful for my health. It's so important to appreciate what you have…I know you know. It's so important and that's what makes a fulfilled life!

Last year, while I was traveling, I had these amazing chocolate blondies with walnuts in them…I filed this away telling myself, one day I have to come up with a recipe for my own version!

These DOVE Chocolate Promises…the milk chocolate ones are the best for this recipe! But if you prefer dark chocolate, you can use those instead!

I unwrap the chocolates and cut them into 6 or 8 pieces each.

It makes about one cup.

I also chop up the walnuts. Then, I measure out the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Beat one egg in another mixing bowl and add the brown sugar.

Mix in the melted butter and vanilla extract.

I mix in half of the flour mixture at a time. Don't over mix!

This is what the batter looks like…and we're almost done!

Add the chopped up DOVE Chocolate PROMISES and the walnuts.

Fold it in…

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spray an angled spatula (I cover the pan for easy clean-up and spray it with baking spray too; makes it really easy to remove the blondies from the pan after baking too).

Smooth out the top.

Before cutting the blondies up, make sure they are completely cool so you can get nice clean cuts. Of course, if you can't wait, that's okay too. But make sure to let them cool at least 15 to 20 minutes then.

You WILL love these! Serve them at Thanksgiving for a different treat. Put them into little baggies and give them out as favors. Your family and friends will thank you!

The holidays always bring us a tremendous amount of joy; the time we get to spend with family and friends, we treasure it. I would love to hear what you do to #ChoosePleasure, share with me in the comments below or on social media (make sure you tag me @thelittlekitchn).

I #ChoosePleasure by baking sweet treats for family and friends. I make sure to make cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it so it's quick and easy; all I have to do is bake them and it makes for a nice sweet treat for when they come to visit.

So tell me: how do you #ChoosePleasure to live life fully?

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Milk Chocolate Walnut Blondies Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 16 to 20 bars

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg beaten
• 3/4 cup 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup unwrapped & chopped DOVE® PROMISES® Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate about 18 pieces
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

• Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Prep the chocolate and the walnuts. (I cut each of the DOVE® PROMISES® Silky Smooth Milk Chocolates into 6 or 8 pieces each.)
• Cover an 8-inch square pan in foil and spray generously with baking spray.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix with a rubber spatula and set aside. In another mixing bowl, add egg and brown sugar. Using an electric hand mixer, cream the egg and sugar together. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, mix well with the mixer.
• Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with the rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix your batter. Add the remaining flour and repeat.
• Add the chopped DOVE® PROMISES® Silky Smooth Milk Chocolates and the walnuts, folding in with your rubber spatula, being careful to not over mix.
• Add the blondie batter the prepared pan. Smooth out the batter so it’s evenly distributed throughout the pan and smooth on top (I spray an angled spatula with baking spray and use the spatula to smooth the batter).
• Bake for 28 to 30 minutes. The top will be dry and flaky and when you insert a toothpick in the center, it should come out with flaky crumbs.
• Carefully remove (because it will be really hot) blondies while holding foil and place on a wire cooling rack to cool. For the best looking squares, allow to cool completely (at least 4 hours). If you can’t wait that long, allow them to cool at least 15 to 20 minutes before cutting into 16 to 20 squares.

Disclosure: This post is DOVE® Chocolate. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that I work with, it allows me to keep doing what I love; sharing on DualFood

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I'm so excited to share this recipe with you today! I ate almost every single one of these creamy coconut-lime square myself…I couldn't let myself eat all of them because I could have…they were soo good!

Earlier this year, my dear friend, Shelly's cookbook was released!

So many great recipes that I want to make from it! Including…her peanut butter cup-filled brownie cookie sandwiches, gooey salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, s'mores fudge squares, her buffalo ranch snack mix, monte cristo pizza and her bacon and pea pasta!

There are a ton of beautiful sweets recipes but there are savory recipes too! It's such a great cookbook, something you definitely need on your cookbook shelf!

And these creamy coconut-lime squares…let's make these!

Cover an 8-inch square pan with foil and spray it generously with baking spray.

It's so hot in Florida, I had to refrigerate the coconut oil to get it to a solid state (just FYI).

Add the coconut oil, salt and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the paddle attachment and mix until smooth.

Then, add flour and coconut flakes and mix some more.

The mixture will look crumbly.

Add it to the pan.

Press the dough down into the pan evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix the egg yolks and milk in the same bowl (I cleaned it before this step).

After mixing the eggs and milk together.

I love zesting limes in my kitchen…the smell is so good!

Add the lime juice and lime zest to the filling.

It gives the mixture a wonderful green color…with the lime zest mixed in.

There's the crust after it's baked in the oven.

Pour the lime mixture on top of the crust and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for at 20 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

And then you get these wonderfully, creamy and coconutty lime squares. I adore this recipe…and Shelly and her new cookbook! You should check it out!

Creamy Coconut-Lime Squares

Creamy Coconut-Lime Squares

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons coconut oil in the solid state
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Lime Filling:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
• 1/2 cup lime juice

Instructions

For the Crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the coconut oil, salt, and powdered sugar together on medium speed until smooth. Add the flaked coconut and flour and continue mixing until incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly, but it will hold together when squeezed.
• Press the dough evenly into the pan. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. (When the crust is done, leave the oven on.)

Meanwhile, for the lime filling:

• In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the egg yolks on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the lime zest and lime juice and mix on medium speed for 2 more minutes.
• Pour the lime filling onto the warm, baked crust. Return to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the lime layer is just set. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely, at least 2 hours.
• When chilled, cut into squares and serve.

Notes

Republished with permission from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook by Shelly Jaronsky

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of the Cookies & Cups cookbook by the publisher. All opinions are my own and I only share with you what I love! There are affiliate links in this post.

The post Creamy Coconut-Lime Squares appeared first on DualFood.

For the holidays…I'm all about pecan pie. A longgg time ago, I think Curtis and I were married for a couple of years, I brought a pecan pie to my in-laws' house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was actually this exact recipe. It was the morning of Thanksgiving, we had stayed the night over. I was just getting out of the shower and I was combing my hair. I could hear my mother-in-law yelling at my father-in-law.

And then I heard him say, that's not my grandma's pecan pie. She kept shooshing him and telling him to be quiet. I kept hearing him get louder and louder. I went out to the kitchen and was laughing. I found it hilarious and wasn't the least bit offended because I knew it wasn't his grandma's recipe, it was Martha's! My mother-in-law was worried he would upset me but I couldn't stop laughing.

My father-in-law might have a fit if I brought these to dinner and DEFINITELY not his grandma's pecan pie recipe because it's not a real pie but I love them.

This is another recipe using Bisquick, they are super easy to make, you can make them a couple of days ahead so you can focus on the recipes you need to make the day of. They are portable and fun to eat because you can eat them with your hands!

I had to give you the side view so you can see the ooey gooeyness of the filling!

Whisk the Bisquick and the powdered sugar.

Make sure you're using cold butter for this part. I cut them into cubes.

And then I cut the butter into the crust mixture.

I covered my baking dish with foil. This is the way I make brownies too…makes for easy removal from the pan and easy almost no clean up of the pan!

Press the crust mixture into the pan with your hands.

After baking, put the baking dish on a cooling rack. Then work on the filling.

Chop up the pecans.

After mixing the wet ingredients, add the chocolate chips and the pecans. I like to use mini chocolate chips!

All ready for the oven.

Again, make these ahead of time. They are so so so easy to make…you can't miss! Everyone will be so impressed and they won't believe how easy they were to make!

Be sure to check out other ideas for make ahead recipes and follow the hashtag #GetYourBettyOn on facebook, Pinterest and instagram!

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Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 18 bars

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups Original Bisquick mix
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cubed

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bar Filling

• 4 large eggs beaten
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup semisweet miniature chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F. Cover a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with foil (leaving an overlap of foil on the ends) and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, add Bisquick mix and powdered sugar and whisk together.
• Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in cold butter cubes into the mix and sugar. Mixture will be crumbly. Take crust mixture and press into the bottom of the foil-lined baking dish.
• Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
• Prep the filling. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric hand mixer. Add corn syrup and vanilla extract and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly.
• Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
• Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Bake for 29 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and the pie bars have set.
• Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil using the flaps on the ends and place on cooling rack. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes.
• Place foil with bars back into baking dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• When ready to serve, remove the foil from the baking dish again and use a sharp to cut into 18 or 36 bars.

Notes

I tweaked ever so slightly from this recipe.

Disclosure: I’m thrilled to be working with Betty Crocker to #GetYourBettyOn! I only work with brands that I love and only share with you my honest opinions. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Betty Crocker. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Hello lovelies, it's been a little bit quiet because we were out of town…I help organize a conference called Food Blog Forum and we had an absolute blast in Asheville, North Carolina. I can't wait to share what I ate and what we did in Asheville!

As for these brownies, make them!!

They are so beautiful and taste beautifully.

You need a fork for them…jump over to see the details on these Dulce de Leche Fluff Brownies

Disclosure: I'm a paid contributor to the Better Homes & Garden food blog! All opinions are my own.

The post Easy Dulce De Leche Fluff Brownies Recipe appeared first on DualFood.

One of Curtis' favorite desserts besides cheesecake? Lemon Bars. I have made a few recipes in 11 years we have been married and no bueno. Until now! I have always known it's the recipe, it's the recipe. This one is so perfect and it's so easy. I had my doubts, seriously. And I was worried when Curtis went to take a bite. But then he went back to the fridge to grab another one.

Goes without saying but this recipe is a keeper. My search for the perfect lemon bars is done.

By the way, this is third post for the BHG Delish Dish food blog

The Most Perfect Lemon Bars!

I used my favorite citrus zester, the KitchenIQ one.

About 4 lemons gave me 3/4 cup lemon juice.

Pop! Zing! Wow!

I had to share some with my friends otherwise I would eat them ALL.

Be sure to hop over the the recipe and the blog post about these The Most Perfect Lemon Bars!

Disclosure: I’m a compensated contributor to the BHG Delish Dish blog. These are my own words and I only share my opinions with you. There's an affiliate link in this post.

The post The Most Perfect Lemon Bars appeared first on DualFood.

I have something to admit, I always thought peanut butter cookies were boring or not that impressive. Curtis has asked me to make ‘just' a plain ol' peanut butter cookie forever. About 6 months ago, I said alright alright. So I set on a search online and found this one. A-MAZING, Elise's peanut butter cookies are amazing. I really think it's because she uses both granulated and brown sugar in her recipe. It's our favorite peanut butter cookie now and I will just say that I no longer think that peanut butter cookies are boring. Okay? Try it.

Joanne came to visit me last week. It started from a conversation a few months ago, she said I want to come visit you. I said ok! There was no real plan except…we knew we would cook and eat. That's it. I told her about Elise's peanut butter cookies and then two different recipes evolved from this. Hers are amazing, you should check her peanut butter M&M cookies out.

And THESE brownies are amazing. I will never be the same again. I'm serious. I know you don't believe me but how could I have never thought of combining a peanut butter cookie recipe with a brownie before? It's SO GOOD. I know I keep using all caps and it's getting annoying but these are so good that I regret sending some into work with Curtis. They are that good.

I met Joanne at Food Blog Forum Orlando 2012 at Walt Disney World. She's so sweet, her blog is fantastic, her videos even better. About a year ago, we became friends, we talk on the phone and text way too much, I can't wait for her to get an iPhone haha so I can use iMessage for our chats more often. We roomed together at BlogHer in Chicago and that's where I found out she is 9 years younger than me! I couldn't believe it when she told me how old she was. She has an old soul and is so introspective, it's refreshing. I feel so fortunate to have her in my life as a dear friend and as someone who supports me immensely and is all around a fun person and a person with a good heart. I know I'm gushing but I gush over all of my friends. When you know you have true friends, you have to let them know you care about them. I believe in surrounding myself with positive people and Joanne is definitely one of those.

When she visited, we made her peanut butter M&M cookies, these brownies, 5 Minute Egg Breakfast Sandwiches Recipe, my Mom's egg rolls (which I hope to share with you really soon), homemade pizza, Easy Sweet & Spicy Four Ingredient Chicken Wings Recipe…let's just say way too much food. Once again, I realized how much I love cooking with the people I care about and I'm determined to do more of that this year. My sister is visiting from Germany in a couple of weeks and I hope it works out for her to come over so we can cook and bake together. I'm so glad Joanne came down to visit me last week but at the same time, I'm sad she lives so far away!

For brownies, I usually use foil and spray that foil with a lot of non-stick baking spray. I use Baker's Joy.

Cream the butter and sugars.

This is how I measure peanut butter…I know I'm breaking some rule by using the dry measuring cup but how else do you do it?

Blend it all together…

And you have peanut butter cookie dough!

Next up are the brownies. Is it a sin that I used a box mix? You're totally welcome to use your favorite homemade recipe. Next time, I'll try it with this recipe for Win: Chewy Brownies from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook & Giveaway. Add half of the brownie batter to the pan.

Scoop portions of the peanut butter cookie dough (not all of it, about half) on top of the brownie batter.

Swirl a little with a butter knife or offset spatula.

Add the rest of the brownie batter on top and using a different spatula or wipe the one you used and smooth it over so most of the peanut butter cookie dough is hidden. We're creating layers here.

Scoop the rest of the cookie dough on top.

Swirl again and then bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes.

And boom. Honestly, when I first had a bite after it cooled, I was thinking this is okay. Just okay. I wrapped it up in foil after it completely cooled and then had a taste the next day. Perfection. It actually tastes better the next day is my opinion. The cookie portion softens up and it's just perfect. And I cut them into strips just to see and it's kind of awesome how you don't feel bad when you have a half a piece…but then I ate 4 pieces in one sitting. Don't laugh…if you make these and try them, you'll understand.

Curtis brought some into work and it was gone pretty quickly is what I heard. Thanks to Curtis' co-workers for being my loyal taste testers! I declare that you have to make these…soon!!

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Peanut Butter Cookie Brownies Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 16 brownies

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• Your favorite homemade brownie recipe such as these Win: Chewy Brownies from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook & Giveaway or your favorite brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix Triple Chunk with Hershey's)
• ingredients needed for the brownies

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and spray with non-stick baking spray.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

• In a small bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix together. Set aside.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add butter and both sugars. Cream the butter and sugars with an electric hand mixer. Add peanut butter and the egg and mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients previously mixed together and mix together with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

Brownies

• Now in a large mixing bowl, mix the brownie batter together according to the instructions on the package if using a mix or your recipe.

Assembly

• Pour half of the brownie batter into the foil-lined pan.
• Scoop portions of the peanut butter cookie dough (not all of it, about half) on top of the brownie batter. Swirl a little with a butter knife or offset spatula. Add the rest of the brownie batter on top and using a different spatula or wipe the one you used and smooth it over so most of the peanut butter cookie dough is hidden. Scoop the rest of the cookie dough on top. Swirl again and then bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Allow the brownies to sit in the pan for about 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by grabbing the foil and lifting the brownies and the foil out of the pan, place on a cooling rack. Allow to completely cool before cutting and serving. These brownies are best served the next day. Store in an airtight container for 5 to 6 days, if they last that long!

Notes

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe from Simply Recipes

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