Luscious lemon sugar cookies with a creamy lemon buttercream frosting.

I don't know about you, but when it's summertime I have to have a few staples on hand. Homemade lemonade, ice cold sweet tea, and the fixings for some ooey, gooey s'mores of course. These Peanut Butter S'more Cookie Bars are a great variation to your typical gooey graham cracker sandwich.



We had a pretty eventful weekend after finding out that the alien baby taking my body hostage is going to be...drumroll...

A girl!

It looks like our playroom will have to make way for tea sets and babydolls; a weird idea to get used to for me. I'm used to army men with missing limbs and wiping the toilet seat every time I go to the bathroom. I get boys.

Girls are a species completely foreign to me, and I'm pretty sure my husband feels the same, judging by his dazed look and mumblings of, "what am I going to do with a girl?"

But we're all excited for the new change, especially Cade. He can't wait for his baby sister to arrive. So to celebrate I whipped up these Peanut Butter S'more Cookie Bars. Peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallows trapped between a graham cracker base and crumbly topping make these puppies really addicting. Enjoy!


Peanut Butter S'mores Cookie Bars
Yield: 16 bars      Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined. Press half of the dough in the prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked layer, drop peanut butter by spoonfulls over the chocolate chips, using a toothpick to swirl everything around so the bottom cookie layer is evenly covered.  Sprinkle with marshmallows and scatter the remaining dough over the marshmallows, forming the top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

It's time for my next post over at Culinary Covers, and today I'm bringing you a delicious drink straight from the cover of one of my favorite magazines - Real Simple.

I love this magazine. That about says it all.

I went with the Strawberry Thyme Lemonade and sure was glad I did!

It's sweet, tart, and has just a touch of something extra that'll get your lips smacking. Want the recipe? Head on over to Culinary Covers to see my full post and grab the printable recipe while you're at it

I know my posts have been lacking lately, but I've had a good reason - promise. A few months ago we had a very unexpected surprise and found out that I'm pregnant again, and should have a new arrival at the end of the year! Some of you may remember that we lost a pregnancy last winter after a very complicated pregnancy.

I suffer with Hyperemesis Gravidarum when pregnant, which last time required me to be put on home health care. You can read more about my HG story here, and our second trimester miscarriage here.

Well, after a lot of deliberating we had decided that we weren't going to try again, but you know how you're never supposed to say NEVER - right?

Yeah.

I'm not gonna lie. I was scared. Anyone who has experience with HG can probably understand the thoughts going through my head. Being hooked up to daily IV's until my veins were completely shot, stabbing myself in the stomach every day with a medication pump that lets me at least keep water down, and being confined to bed 24/7 is not something to enter lightly.

I had a lot of people praying for me this time around, hoping that maybe, just maybe I might not get the short end of the stick. My doctor had my protocol already set up and I started on it from day 1. Early intervention has the best success of keeping it at bay. I'm SOOO relieved to be able to say that this time around is much better. I've avoided the IV's and medication pump so far. Yay!

I've actually been able to be in the kitchen a little bit when I feel well enough, and whipped up these tasty Banana Bread Muffins the other day. I threw some white chocolate chips on top to change it up a bit. These were really good.

Note: If you are unfamiliar with HG, please read my post on it. HG is NOT morning sickness and does not respond to any traditional remedies. It is dangerous for both the mother and baby.

Banana Bread Muffins
Yield: 18   Printable Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, for topping

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among your muffin tin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Notes: I added some white chocolate chips to the tops of half of my muffins to switch it up a bit. You could milk chocolate chips too, or even add some crunchy pecans. I didn't have enough muffin pans for the batter, so I used 4 mini tartlet pans for the remaining batter, which turned into little muffin tops that were so good!

Source: Recipe loosely adapted from Food Network

I've got another contributing post for the new site Culinary Covers. What's on the menu today? How about Cherries Jubilee Ice Cream Pie!

A delicious brandy infused cherry topping on top of a creamy, swirly, frozen pie. Don't forget the graham cracker crust. Yum!

For the recipe head on over to Culinary Covers and grab it. Stop and say hi while you're at it too!

Well, I asked everyone on Facebook what my next post should be - sweet or savory - and you all surprised me with a savory dish request.

Sorry my sweet-toothed friends, the savory fans won out this time...but never fear...I'll have a sinfully sweet treat ready for you soon!

I've been meaning to share this dish with you all for a while, it's so good and it gets extra points for being really quick and easy. Perfect for busy weeknights, but just as good to please company.

Who doesn't love a good pasta dish? Throw in a creamy sauce made just a tad more special with poppy seeds and a touch of fresh parmesan, and you're golden. I also used a squash filled ravioli that I picked up at Wold Market - LOVE that place! Let's get started shall we?

Ravioli with Creamy Poppy Seed Sauce
Yield: 4 Servings   Printable Recipe

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half (I was being good and used half & half)
freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp poppy seeds
salt, to taste
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
12 oz cooked ravioli

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in the cream and stir over medium heat until hot but not bubbly. Add the cooked ravioli and season with freshly ground black pepper. Simmer gently until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the poppy seeds, add salt to taste if desired, and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Do you like barbeque?  How about pulled chicken sandwiches? How about easy slow cooker recipes?

Oh you do?

Well then, pull up a chair, get comfy, and be prepared to drool - because amazing barbeque is about to happen.

Barbeque and pulled chicken are two of my favorite things, and when you put them together you get one awesomely delicious meal. In my humble opinion at least.

I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Peach BBQ Chicken Sandwiches on Tasty Kitchen and knew it was going on my menu plan - STAT. The chicken is slow simmered in a spicy sweet barbecue sauce that has a great kick from peach preserves. I loved the peach flavor and ate copious amounts of the chicken by itself while I was shredding it. I also used my Amazing Barbeque Sauce - I like to call it Awesome Sauce, but you can use any kind that floats your boat.

So we've established the chicken is good. Now add a heaping of your favorite coleslaw, and a few healthy slices of fresh avocado, and you have yourself one really delicious sandwich.


For the recipe head on over the the Tasty Kitchen blog where you can check out my full step-by-step post and grab the printable recipe too!

It's raining here today, AND snowing, at the same time. I love rain - call me crazy, and I love the snow, but the two together make for a very gross combination. Dirty slush is no fun to get out in, so that's why I'm staying in today - with a slice of this breakfast treat.

Blueberries. Check. Amazingly good crumbly topping. Check. No kid or husband around to see me finish off the entire pan. Check.

A good coffee cake and cup of hot tea or coffee is the perfect answer to dark, dreary days like today. This Blueberry Kuchen is another delicious recipe from Tasty Kitchen, submitted by TK member Deborah. I had to stop myself from eating the crumb topping by itself when creating the step-by-step post. The topping is kinda crucial to this cake. Are you hungry yet?

Head on over to the Tasty Kitchen blog to read my full post and grab the printable recipe while you're at it. Enjoy!

I think it's time for another before and after post, don't you? If you missed my last one and are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, you can read about it in my Browned Butter Pecan Shortbread: Before & After post.

In a nutshell, I'm slowly updating my older posts with newer, improved photos - and adding a critique of my older photos rather than just deleting them willy nilly.

While I'd love to banish them to the dark recesses of my computer's recycle bin forever, I thought it more helpful to share them and add the tips I've learned along the way. Today I chose one of my most popular recipes, my Chunky Twix Cookies. I don't use the term "The Best" very often, but these cookies really are the best cookies I've made to date. They've made it around the blogging world quite a bit, and are highly coveted by my family. Since these are my best cookies, I thought they deserved a better photo. Now let's trash my photo! :)
1. Too Busy:

When I first started trying to improve my food photography, I decided to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else, and tried to do what everyone else was doing. This led me to Michael's to stock up with all kinds of patterned papers to act as "backdrops" to my recipes. A few bucks poorer, a few years wiser, and I learned that SIMPLE is better.

What makes a striking photo? Usually an image that has a single theme or idea, with clutter kept to a minimum makes for the best photo. Successful photos rely on elements of composition: line, shape, form, texture, pattern, and color. Every photo whether intentional or not, contains one or more of these elements.

In this image, the patterned paper clashes with the patterned plate and the deeply textured cookies. There's also too much color going on. When composing an image, try to keep the colors to 3 or less. More than that and your picture can become distracting. There's just too much going on  in this picture and it stresses the eye out trying to decide what to focus on.

2. Awkward Focus Spot:

When choosing where to focus on your food, it's best to focus on the area that is closest to you, this is especially true when you're using a large aperture (small number) because your depth of field (the area that is in focus) will be shallow.  In this image you can see I placed my focus point near the center of the image, rather than the area of cookie closest to me. This makes the front of the food out of focus, which doesn't work in this image.

The way the plate is angled, the out of focus part of the cookie is the center of attention, and where your eye naturally wants to fall. For this reason, I should have set my focus point to the closest area of cookie, or stopped down my aperture setting so more of the cookies were in focus.

3. Composition Too Tight:

As in my last post, here is a prime example of when to back up already Amber! :) I'm either too close to my food or have cropped it too close. The plate, glass of milk, and background are so close together there's no room to breathe. When looking at a photo you want to have room for your eye to move around the image. That's not too say don't ever have a close up, but in this photo it doesn't work very well.




A little easier on the eyes don't you think? I kept it simple with a plain white napkin under the serving dish, the milk and and cookie rack are arranged in the background to allow the eye to wander around the image and come back to the main point of focus - those yummy cookies!

I also made sure to place my focus point on the front edge of the closest cookie, to eliminate any out of focus areas on the cookie. You'll notice I set my aperture to f4.0 so my depth of field wasn't too shallow. I was lazy and didn't want to pull out my tripod, so this shot was handheld. But if I wanted to decrease my ISO I could have lowered my shutter speed accordingly. I used my 85mm lens for this shot, and generally you want to keep your shutter speed to about 1 to 1 1/2 times the focal length of your lens (if hand holding), to avoid camera shake. So for an 85mm focal length, you want to keep your shutter speed at least 1/80 or 1/100. For a 50mm focal length - 1/50 or higher, etc.

You can find the recipe in my original post for Chunky Twix Cookies. If you have any questions about this critique or want me to go into more detail, just leave a comment and I'll be happy to answer them! If you found this helpful I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

Note: I don't claim to be an expert, but I have learned a thing or two over the years and will gladly share those things with people. I'm also a family photographer in the St. Louis area, so if you're interested in seeing my work outside of food photography, visit Amber Potter Photography.

Update: If you're just starting out in the photography world and need some help understanding all that photo jibber-jabber, my pal Karly at Buns In My Oven has started a great series called So You Want To Be A Better Photographer? Her tutorials are sure to help you "see the light". Hehe...bad pun? Anyway, her tips combined with my before and after critiques are a good way to see the photography principals put into practice, and learn to recognize what's wrong with an image. When you can tell what's wrong with a photo and why it doesn't work, then you can better improve your own skill!

I do love me some mold - er, on my cheese that is. As long as it's not in my husbands dirty socks - or found behind my child's bed, I'm good.

Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, the list goes on - I could be happy with any of these. I ran across this container of Gorgonzola cheese at the store the other day, and I knew I had to grab it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I finally decided on whipping it up into a creamy salad dressing.

Fresh, crunchy greens can only get better under a creamy layer of Gorgonzola deliciousness, right? I experimented on amounts, adding a little of this and a little of that, and finally ended up with this dressing. It's pretty tasty if I do say so myself. 



In a small bowl mash the gorgonzola cheese with the back of a spoon. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk until well combined. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Now pop it in the fridge overnight for the flavors to marry together. Serve over your favorite salad or have a veggie dipping palooza. Enjoy!

I've got a super easy, super quick treat to share with you today. This week has been celebrate Dr. Seuss week at my son's school, and each day they've done something different to celebrate it and a love for reading.  Today he got to dress up with the Dr. Seuss theme.

I packed him a Dr. Seussified snack that will be sure to make his classmates green...and not the green eggs kind. (Yeah, kinda dumb pun - I know.)

I call these Dr. Seuss Skewers because of the red and white layered effect. Just alternately slide a strawberry and a marshmallow on a skewer - I used a straw for safety reasons - wouldn't want an angry mom calling me because her kid poked his eye out.

You never know with Kindergartener's. Accidents are just waiting to happen around EVERY corner.

These are a really fun way to dress up some fruit. Served with a side of yogurt dipping sauce they're a great strawberry snack. Try them out with your kids, they'll love them!

I don't know about you, but I love waking up in the morning and having breakfast all ready. That's just one less thing to have to worry about when trying to get ready on busy mornings. I especially love individual size portions for school mornings, which make it super easy to feed just one kid - or a whole football team - if you have one. This recipe for Overnight Oatmeal In A Jar is one of my favorite make-ahead morning meals.

I really like breakfast casseroles too, they're quick and easy and sure to please the pickiest critics, so I decided to miniaturize it and turn them into these Ham & Cheese Breakfast Cups. You can customize them any way you want - swap the ham for sausage or bacon, add in some cooked veggies or get wild with your cheese. I kept these simple since that's what my kiddo likes best, but I'll definitely be experimenting with some different variations.

Just throw it all together the night before, pop them in the fridge, and have them baking while you're getting ready in the morning. Easy and super yummy, this is a great time saver recipe when you need one.

Overnight Ham & Cheese Breakfast Cups
Yield: 4 cups    Printable Recipe

2 1/2 cups of cubed dry bread, you can also use toasted bread
1 cup cubed ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper

Divide the bread cubes into 4 sections and place in 4 ramekins. Place 1/4 cup ham in each ramekin. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese over the ham in each cup. In a medium bowl combine the milk, eggs, melted butter, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

Pour evenly between each ramekin. Cover and chill overnight. When ready to eat, remove from fridge and preheat oven to 350 F. Bake uncovered for 25-30 mins or until set and golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool and set up for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe Note: Your cups will be nice and poofy when you remove them from the oven but will sink a little after cooling. That's o.k! :) The type of bread you use can also change your end result. It's best to use a dry bread like challah, french bread, or any stale textured bread, so your casserole isn't too mushy.

I thought this year would be a good time to make another scone recipe, so I threw in some chocolate chips and added a peanut butter glaze. What's more comforting than chocolate and peanut butter?

Not much.

These scones are moist, fluffy and oh-so good. If you're having a bad day, or just want a pick-me up, throw a tray of these your oven and you'll be set. :)


Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a large baking sheet. Coarsely chop the chocolate chips. In a large bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir the chopped chocolate into the flour mixture.  Combine the egg, yolk and cream, then add to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

On a well-floured surface with floured hands, gently pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter).  With a sharp knife cut the round into thirds one way, then make perpendicular slices the other direction to make  diamond shaped scones.  Depending on how you slice them, you should get about 10-11 scones.  Use your hands to gently shape any leftover scraps into scones. Do NOT roll dough out.  Place scones onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Depending on your oven you may need to adjust baking time. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

For Peanut Butter Glaze:  In a small bowl combine the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk to reach your desired consistency.  Drizzle glaze over warm scones and allow to cool. Enjoy!