Buckeye Cookie Bars

Have you ever had a Buckeye?




 {Buckeye recipe from All Recipes.com}

 

I'm pretty sure it started as an Ohio thing, but they should be known all over. They're delicious, and how can they not be? Little balls of peanut butter dipped in chocolate to look like a Buckeye nut. Mmm-- LOVE them, and they're a super easy holiday gift to give. Anyway, these yummy little cookie bars are inspired by the candy.

Looks good, no? Want to know how easy these lil' guys are to make? OK, here it goes.

What'cha need:

• 1 Devil's food cake mix
• ¼ c. vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 c. peanuts (I left these out)
• ⅓ c. canned chocolate fudge frosting

What'cha do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and egg. Beat until crumbly (I just used a pastry cutter and combined them by hand). Reserve ½ c. of the mixture, and press the rest in a 9" x 13" pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. For the filling, beat the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk together. Stir in peanuts, if desired. Spread (heh-- wrong verb. Should say blob and attempt to evenly distribute the gluey mixture) over the crumbs. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over peanut butter layer and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set. Cool completely. In a small resealable sandwich bag, add frosting and microwave on high for 5-10 seconds. Snip small corner off bag and drizzle in a criss-cross pattern over crumb topping. Chill until frosting sets. Cut into bars, and EAT 'EM UP!

* It's A LOT easier to cut (and chew!) if you let the bars come to room temperature before serving.

Linking up to the following parties:

My Favorite Fruit Dip!

I love summer time and cook-outs and get-togethers it brings! This was the 2nd weekend in a row that we've attended one, and this time I'm brought a fruit platter instead of a fattening dessert. To go along with the fruit, I whipped up this super easy fruit dip! I love this dip-- my mom used to make it since I can remember, and it tastes great with apples, grapes, and strawberries (and off the spoon...).
To make it, you'll need:

• 1 {8 oz.} pkg. cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchâtel, or the less fat kind)
• 1 {7 oz.} jar of marshmallow cream
• 2 t. vanilla (or you can use other flavorings or extracts if you prefer)

     

That's it! Three easy ingredients! Beat the cream cheese and the marshmallow cream together until combined. Add vanilla and beat together. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Eat with apples, strawberries, grapes, graham crackers, or a spoon! Yum!!!

I'm linking up to the following linky parties:

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

Look what I made for dinner tonight! Mmm!

I just made it up as I went along, and it was delicious!

It was my first time making pizza dough, so I was a little nervous.

I just searched the web for a recipe and used that. It was just ok I

(will definitely use my mama's recipe next time).

After I spread the dough onto the pan, I spread barbeque sauce down instead of pizza sauce.

Next, I sprinkled mozzarella cheese down, followed by shredded chicken (I just boiled a chicken breast, shredded it with 2 forks and stirred some barbeque sauce into it).

I then layered some fresh mushroom slices and topped it with more cheese.

Then, (you ready for this!?) I drizzled Ranch Dressing on the top! Mmm!

Baked at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, and IT. WAS. AWESOME!