To me, one of the best parts of baking and cooking is sharing what I make with others.  I love to make someone else happy with something yummy that I have created.  I have nothing against using a mix, refrigerated cookie dough, or frozen pie crust.  It does not matter if you bake from scratch or pop something in the microwave.  What counts is that you put forth an effort to brighten someone else’s day.  It really is the thought that counts.   

And, while I do love to get compliments on my cooking and baking, the warm fuzzies I get when I think that someone really enjoys what I have made is even better.   

This is where working in an office environment comes as a real asset.  Since I enjoy baking and cooking so much I tend to have more goodies around than I should.  My sons have homes of their own and don’t live right next door.  There is a limit to what my husband and I can eat.  I need an outlet for my baking and cooking finished products and that is where my coworkers come in. 

When I worked at Illinois College I could bake several times a week and the student workers would devour everything that I brought to work.  Now that I am in a state office I can drop baked goods in the breakroom and they will disappear within a couple of days.  When someone is having a stressful day at work a cookie can help get them through to quitting time.  I will admit that I use them to taste test new recipes and experiments but they don’t seem to mind.  I get to perfect my craft and they get free treats – it is a win-win situation.   

Hi everybody!  Boy, do I have a treat for you today.  If you have read some of my previous posts you know that I am a huge chocoholic. I don’t mean that I am physically huge..although I am also not petite.  I could probably be huge if I ate all the chocolate that I really want to eat.  I could seriously eat chocolate all day long.  I love chocolate cereal for breakfast and I love chocolate protein powder in my smoothie for lunch and I love some dark chocolate for dessert after supper.  I guess I do eat chocolate all day.  Huh..how about that?  Well, anyway, my sons also love chocolate and they especially love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  And then, the younger son, Alex, loves the combination of peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallow.  I taught him right.  

So, recently, I saw a recipe for some s’mores type bars with peanut butter in the cookie dough.  And then, I saw one for bars with peanut butter cups nestled in the dough.  And, I thought, well, why not combine those two things.  Since then I have discovered that this is not an original idea.  Rats. I searched and found numerous versions of this type of bar.  But, I baked up some bars and took some to work and sent some to Alex’s house.  I thought that they were really good. But, then my attention was diverted to some other culinary expedition.  I didn’t think much else about it until recently.  During a Skype dinner with Alex he mentioned that I could certainly make those again and send him some in the mail.  He thought that they were really good too.  Soooo, I of course made them for him.  I have to admit the boy (I mean young man) has good taste.  These wonderful moist bars are made from a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie dough that has a gooey marshmallow fluff and peanut butter cup filling.  They are super easy and immensely delicious.  So, here we go.

You will need 1 cup (2 sticks) softened salted butter, ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 cups packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 large container of marshmallow fluff (or 2 7 ounce containers) and Reese’s peanut butter cups.  Now, the amount of Reese’s cups that you need and the kind you use are totally subjective.  I used Reese’s eggs because I had purchased some bags on clearance after Easter.  If you use the large cups you won’t need as many (probably about 20).  If you use the minis you will obviously need many more (but you can buy them unwrapped and save yourself that trouble).  You can also use the dark or white chocolate peanut butter cups or use another brand.  You do what makes you happy.