Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Happy Saturday everyone! Today is one of my besties birthdays so I gotta give her a shout-out: Happy Birthday Tamara! Tamara, is also one amazing chef and we became really good friends after discovering our mutual love and appreciation for cupcakes :).  She is pretty awesome and she is one of my bridesmaids!  I hope you have a great day, Tamara!

Today is also pretty exciting in that I am picking up my race day swag for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  I am going to be running that tomorrow and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a cool morning and no thunderstorms...Even though the weather is pretty awful right now, I am still very excited!  

Today, Bri and I are also going to see the new movie, Trainwreck.  After that is when we are gonna head over to the half marathon expo, and then we have to scurry back to get ready for dinner at Due Lire with my parents.  My birthday is coming up, so we are starting the celebration tonight with dinner.  I have never been to this restaurant, but I have heard amazing things and I will for sure report back.  

I figured that today was a great day to share this Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake.  I made this a while back, but I was in a coffee cake mood this morning.  I mean, it's Saturday, I'm running 13.1 miles tomorrow, and my birthday is this week.  Is there a better way to celebrate than with a good, ol' coffee cake? 

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

(adapted from Barbara Bakes)

Note: Please go check out her blog for some amazing photos and the recipe.  I changed a few things, so I will tell you about that, but she did a really lovely job with the dough and has some amazing photos of it! 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 package of yeast (I used regular as opposed to quick rise)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2 eggs
Apple Filling
4 large apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp unsalted butter
Streusel Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp skim milk

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, beat 1 cup flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Place butter and milk into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute.  Add warm milk to the flour mixture and mix until combined.
3. Lightly flour a clean surface and remove dough from the bowl to knead.  Knead for about 8-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy.  Place into a lightly greased bowl and place bowl in a warm location.  I turn on my oven to 100 degrees and then leave the bowl in there with the door open.  Let the dough rise until doubled in size.  This took a little over 1 hour.
4. While the dough is rising, peel and chop apples.  Place apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a bowl and toss to combine.  Pour mixture into a pan and add the butter.  Saute the mixture for about 10 minutes so that the apples start to soften.  Let cool.
5. To make the streusel topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.  Add the melted butter and combine until your mixture forms small clumps.  Set aside.
6. Prepare two 9 inch cake pans.  Place parchment paper in the bottoms of the pans and generously spray with non-stick spray.
7. Once the dough is ready, divide in half.  Take one half and divide that into two pieces.  One piece should be about 2/3 of the dough and the other should be about 1/3 of the dough.  Take the large piece and roll it out so that it fits into the bottom of a cake pan.  With the small piece, roll it out so that it looks like a long rope.  Use this to wrap around the edge of the pan.  You are basically creating a wall to go around the bottom of the pan.  Repeat this with the other half of the dough for the second pan.
8.  Divide the apple filling into each of the pans and then sprinkle the streusel over the tops.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.  This took about 1 hour.
9.  Preheat the oven to 350 and once the cakes are ready, bake for about 20 minutes.
10.  When you are ready to serve, mix the powdered sugar with the milk to create your icing and drizzle over the tops of the cakes.

Enjoy :)

Cream Cheese Brownies

I had a bit of a rough day at school the other day.  It's the end of the year and more students than usual are restless and not putting forth their best efforts/behavior.  It is frustrating for me because I want to see them finish the year strong and get good grades.  However, that is  just not happening with some of them.  I was feeling sad, so when I got home I decided that I needed to bake brownies.

I also went for a 6 mile run so I felt like brownies were a good way to motivate myself to run the full 6 miles and then also have a little treat to help make me feel better.  It helped!  Plus, the next day was better.  Sometimes I guess there is just something in the air at high school that makes students act a little crazy.

These brownies were delightful.  I got the idea for them from browsing the website at America's Test Kitchen.  I adapted their recipe a tad, but overall I followed similar instructions.  They had really great ideas for making the brownies look beautiful and to make sure that the brownie and cream cheese swirls nicely and the cream cheese doesn't sink.  They were pretty tasty and I am pretty excited about having even more brownies waiting for me when I get home!  Bad day or not, these brownies are a great recipe to have for special occasions or just to enjoy a little treat after dinner! 

Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp espresso powder

4 oz 70% cacao chocolate

8 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9 by 9 inch pan with foil.  Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.  

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese for a few seconds and then microwave for 30 seconds.  Beat in the 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp flour until creamy.  Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, place butter and cut up chocolate.  Microwave at 50% powder for about 1-2 minutes or until the chocolate is melted.  Stir every 30 seconds to check.  

4. In a seperate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder.

5. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the chocolate mixture until well combined.  Then, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the brownie batter.

6. Spread the brownie batter into  your prepared pan.  Then, spread the cream cheese mixture over the top.  Finally, use the 1/2 cup of reserved brownie batter and place 6 spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese layer so that they are spread out.  Using a knife, swirl the batter by cutting through the layers horizontally and then vertically.  

7. Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Use the foil to remove the brownies from the pan and let cool for about 1 hour before cutting. 

Enjoy :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! 

Every day is mother's day.  I mean, what would we do without mom's?  Literally, no one would exist!  My mom is pretty amazing and I just wanted to say, I love you!  Bri and I are planning on having brunch with my mommy today and then dinner with his mommy later.  It is going to be a really nice day!  

Here is a round-up of some of my mommy's favorite recipes that I have made in the past:

Oreo Coffee Ice Cream Cake

Skinny Mocha Cupcakes

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

I hope that all the mother's out there have a really great day!

Enjoy :)

Cranberry Coffee Cake

I am in a brunch mood! Today I am sharing a recipe that I made a while ago, but it is so good and can easily be adapted.  Plus, it is perfect for brunch!

It is only 8 in the morning, but I already ran 9 miles!  Today, I went on my first run with CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association).  Every Saturday, they have long runs where you get to the meeting place by 6 a.m. and run with a pace group.  I went with the 10:00 race group and it was a blast! It was so much better to run with other people and I am already done with my whole Saturday still in front of me! I met a ton of people, had some great conversations, and it was just a blast.  I will definitely continue getting my butt out of bed by 5 a.m. on a Saturday in order to do this.  Marathon training is a marathon in itself and it was so nice to have a group to run with.  Next week, we will be doing 10 miles!

So, that is why I am in a brunch mood and this coffee cake is just the best.  I found a recipe over at Hungry Couple and just adapted it slightly.  This recipe called for cranberries.  I won't lie, I made this during winter when it was cranberry season and then just forgot to post about it.  However, you can totally use fresh blueberries or strawberries now that those are so amazing!

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups nonfat, plain greek yogurt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups cranberries
Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a tube pan.
2. In a medium bowl, make the crumb topping.  Mix all ingredients into the melted butter so that you have crumbs that look like wet sand.
3.  To make the cake, in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and butter until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla, orange zest, and greek yogurt.  Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined and then, gently, mix in the cranberries.  Pour the batter into your greased tube pan.
5. Take the topping and sprinkle on top of the batter until it covers the whole top.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake has risen and is springy to the touch.

Enjoy :)

Happy Birthday Mommy! Oreo Coffee Ice Cream Cake!

It is about time that I got back here!

I have been really busy getting ready for school and moving to the city!  It has been a crazy and exciting time and I have so much to share.

For school, I have been working on my web page, planning the first day, and thinking about my classroom management plan.  I have gone in a few times to set up my desk and binders and get acquainted with the staff.  I got my own key and had some meetings about benefits.  I must admit, I still feel like I have no idea what is going on, but I am excited.  Next week, new teacher training starts and I can't wait to meet some of the other new teachers and become more prepared for the start of the year!

I have been exploring restaurants like crazy now that I am in a new place and it has been great.  Some of our favorites so far have been Glen's Diner and Margie's Candies.  We have been eating out quite a bit since we want to explore, but I have also been cooking in my new kitchen and I can't wait to share some of my creations.

Today, I have to share my latest dessert creation in honor of my Mommy.  Yesterday was her birthday and we had an awesome night out in the city.  We started out at the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock building.  The view was incredible.

We had appetizers and drinks and it was lovely.

Next, we headed back to our apartment for dinner across the street at Caro Mio.  This Italian restaurant is known for its HUGE portions.  Also, it is a BYOB so that was fun.  Our dinner was fantastic.  My mom got salmon, dad got bolognese, Bri got eggplant parmesan, I got pasta primavera, and Zack got the crowd favorite: Gnocchi.

Finally, we headed back to the apartment for dessert.  Now, this is where I get excited since I made a dessert that had my mom's name written all over it.  I was inspired by a recipe over at BruCrew for Oreo Fudge Cappuccino Ice Cream.  My mom loves coffee ice cream and oreos! So, I decided to make an Oreo Coffee Ice Cream Cake!  I made coffee ice cream, layered it with crushed oreos and topped it all off with a ganache frosting.  It was delicious!

Oreo Coffee Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:
Coffee Ice Cream:
14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp instant coffee
about 24 crushed oreos
Ganache Frosting:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, beat cream, condensed milk, and coffee until combined.
2. Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to directions.
3. Place half the crushed oreos on the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
4. When ice cream is done, pour half over the oreos and spread it out to cover the oreos.  Then, place the other half of the crushed oreos over the ice cream and pour the rest of the ice cream on top.  Place in freezer to harden.
5. Meanwhile, make the frosting.  Heat up the cream in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or until just about to boil.  Pour over the chocolate chips in a separate bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and combined.  Next, pour in vanilla and beat with the mixer until ganache starts to form soft peaks.  Pour over your ice cream cake and place back in freezer until ready to serve.  To serve, just push the springform pan out and cut into slices.

Enjoy :)

My New Keurig!

I just love coffee so this is cause for celebration!

I purchased a new Keurig to go in my new apartment.  I am very excited about this contraption because you can make pretty much anything with it!  Bri is not a coffee maker and I am a total addict and between the two of us, we can use the Keurig to make whatever we want!  I am excited to try out all sorts of new coffee!!

So far, I have made three different cups with it and I love them all!  My only problem, is that I want to figure out the cheapest way to buy coffee for my Keurig.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  What do you like to make?

I am getting ready to move and I can't wait to take this guy along!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Coffee Cake

So I attempted this coffee cake and it turned out terribly! I am sharing this with you because people seem to think I am perfect at cooking and baking and this is just not true.  I have to practice and learn a lot and sometimes things just don't turn out right.

Bri and I are moving in together and I feel like this coffee cake is symbolic of how I need to think of myself.  I am not always going to be perfect, neither is he, but if we work on ourselves and focus on our relationship, we will end up with something pretty awesome anyways.

For example, this coffee cake looked awful.  It stuck to the pan, it was mushy in the middle, the blueberries sank. However, if you closed your eyes and took a bite, it was pretty darn fantastic.  Super tasty and all you have to do is ignore it's imperfections because its a blueberry coffee cake and those things are tasty.  Also, I slathered on browned butter vanilla glaze, which admittedly made it look worse, but also made it taste heavenly! Oh man, I could have eaten that glaze straight out of the bowl...all of it.

I know that Bri and I are going to have to always work hard and focus on the positives  but I have faith that we are going to do great! I already taught him how to make risotto and it turned out amazing!

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze

Before the oven...looked pretty good :)

Coffee Cake Recipe HERE (follow this exactly because mine turned out like crap)

Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Make the coffee cake and let cool.
2. To make the glaze, put butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and swirl continuously until butter is an amber color and smells fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Drizzle over coffee cake.

Enjoy :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting

It's time to celebrate! This weekend is all about graduation and I am enjoying every minute.

First, Bri and I have been in a long distance relationship all through college.  He has been in St. Louis and I've been up in Madison.  Last night, I flew from Madison to St. Louis because he is graduating today.  This also marks the END of our long distance!!! I am very excited to see what our future has in store!

After Bri's graduation  we are going to his favorite restaurant, The Fountain.  The food here is great, the drinks are fun and yummy, and the desserts are out-of-this-world amazing.  I'm pretty pumped.  Then, we have to pack up his apartment and drive back to Madison because I graduate tomorrow!

I am graduating with a degree in Secondary Math Education and I already have a job teaching high school math.  I am so excited and proud that this day has arrived.  Of course, I am also sad that things are going to change so much, but I am excited to see what life is going to be like now that I'm like a "real" grown-up.

So, lets celebrate! Today I have what is basically my favorite cupcake combo: Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream.  I adapted the cake recipe from Food and Wine and I used my yummy Mocha Frosting.  The cupcakes were perfect, the buttercream amazing, and I treated myself to one of these in honor of graduation.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
pinch of salt
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla
For the Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp espresso powder
3 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan so that you can make 16 cupcakes.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
3. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter with canola oil and water.  Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.  Beat in egg until well combined.  Beat in vanilla.  Stir in creme fraiche until just combined.
4. Fill cupcake wells about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you have 3 cups.  Beat in espresso powder and vanilla.  Add more sugar for a desired consistency and taste.  Frost cupcakes!

Enjoy :)

Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

I can't believe it is already Monday again!

My half marathon training continued this week with a 4 mile run Monday, 3 mile run Tuesday, 4.5 mile run Wednesday, rest on Thursday, 3 miles on Friday, and then 7.5 on Saturday! Sunday was all about cross-training and I am still feeling great.  I got a little nervous on Friday when my foot was hurting for a bit, but after some nice stretching, I ended up being just fine.

Along with all this, I had a super fun weekend! On Friday, I saw a movie with my friend Lauren and then skyped our friend Caryn! It was so great to see her.  She if off being a grown-up in DC and it was fun to hear about her life and all that was going on.  Then, I went out with friends on Saturday and had one of the most fun nights ever.  Finally, on Sunday, I watched the Badger basketball game, baked with Tamara, and then made dinner and watched tv. It was a great time and I am pretty overwhelmed that we are back at another Monday.  Fortunately, I spent a lot of time planning on Friday and Sunday and feel totally ready to take on another week!

I also have a great recipe to share today! I made my Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes and Whipped Chocolate Ganache and had some awesome cupcakes.  They are light cakes with rich frosting, just how it should be.

Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup skim milk
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 4 oz package instant chocolate pudding
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup non-fat, plain greek yogurt
For the Frosting:
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and prepare 2 12-cup cupcake pans.
2. Heat up coffee and stir in cocoa powder until combined.  Stir in milk and vanilla.  Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, espresso powder, and pudding mix.
4. In a large bowl, beat sugar with canola oil and applesauce.  Beat in egg and egg whites until well combined.  Alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the coffee mixture, starting with the dry and ending with the dry.  Mix until just combined.  Stir in the greek yogurt.
5. Fill cupcake wells about 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes.  Let cool.
6. Make the frosting: microwave the cream for about 3 minutes or until just about boiling.  Place chocolate chips in a bowl and pour hot cream over the chocolate chips.  Let sit for 30 seconds and then stir until combined and melted.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.  Mix ganache mixture with vanilla until stiff peaks start to form.  Frost cupcakes.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Don Thomas Coffee

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with some Don Thomas Coffee!  This week you can win from our sponsor Don Thomas.  This is a great giveaway! The coffee is so good! Just follow the rules and link up your recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up my new Waffle Recipe, Monster Cookies, and Red Velvet Cheesecake!

Last Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by Lodge and here were the winners:

And, of course, here were your top 3 voted and clicked recipes!

Most Votes:

1. Giant Orange Rolls

2. Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

3. Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad

Most Clicks:

1. Strawberry Heart Bundt Cake

2. Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes with Strawberry Centers

3. Cherry Swirled Cheesecake

Grab our NEW button! 

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner!!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Kelly at Adorned Well http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Jutta at Hungry Little Girl: http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid: http://www.chefpickykid.com/

Beth at Honey Locust Hills http://www.honeylocusthills.com

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Once again I am at work after a long day of school.  However, today was a great day, followed by a yummy lunch of homemade Sonoma Chicken Salad with a Chobani Bite for dessert, and then it was off to work.  Bri is visiting me and he is currently hard at work working on his thesis/making creme brulee.  We are having a little dinner/date night tonight.  I am going to cook up a delicious dinner after work and we both wanted to try making creme brulee for dessert. However, since creme brulee takes so long to set and chill, Bri is making that now and I will do dinner later! I can't wait! 

Today's post is quite the treat.  Over winter break, my dad requested that we bake something together.  I was a tad nervous about this experience.  I mean, my dad is awesome and I love spending time with him, but we are so similar that we tend to argue quite a bit since we are both so sassy!  I decided that the perfect thing to "bake" together, would be a "no-bake" chocolate peanut butter pie.  This way, there was no stress about it turning out okay and we wouldn't get into any arguments! It turned out to be super yummy.  I am going to have to remember this one for Pi Day! 

Dad did a great job mixing everything up and sticking the pie in the fridge.  Truly, it was impressive.  He also did dishes which was fantastic!  I ended up assembling the pie and decorating and it turned out fantastic.  I guess we made a pretty good team.  Maybe next time we will be able to handle something you actually need to bake! 

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 9-inch Oreo crust

1 8 oz container of light frozen whipped topping

4 oz light cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp skim milk

1/4 tsp espresso powder (optional...but it's delicious)

whipped cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the whipped topping, cream cheese, and peanut butter. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar.  Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

2.  Place the chocolate chips and milk in a small saucepan and double boil over medium heat, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Stir in the espresso powder.

3.  Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter filling and, using a toothpick or knife, swirl the chocolate into the top.  Place the pie in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until set.  

4.  Decorate with whipped cream and mini peanut butter cups.

Enjoy :)

Charleston, SC Day 3

After my run in the morning, we lounged around before heading into Charleston for our cooking class at Charleston Cooks!  This place is a fantastic cooking store that also hosts demonstation and participation cooking classes.  The participation classes were totally booked, but we were able to get a spot in one of the demonstration classes.  It was a fabulous time!  We watched Chef Marcus cook up some Shrimp and Grits and Upside Down Apple Cupcakes.  Everything was fabulous and we even got a glass of wine with our food!  It was so much fun.  Also, I learned some fun times on how to hold a knife, how to cut an onion, and tons of fun facts about eggs and baking!  It was really cool!

After our class, we walked around the Market for a bit before dinner at Slightly North of Broad.  This place books up fast and if you don't have a reservation you can just forget it...however, we were able to walk in right at 5 when their bar opened and put our name in for one of the few tables they keep open for walk ins.  The table we ended up at was actually the "chefs table" where you eat your dinner while watching all the action go down in the kitchen.  It was pretty cool.  Also, the food was fabulous! Oh my was it delicious!  My dad got the tilefish (the special), my mom and I split a pear salad and flounder dish, and Zack and Bri got the gnocchi.

The Grits on the Side 

Butternut Squash Custard on the Side

Following dinner, we were too full for dessert (which was hard to walk away from...) and we went to a fun bar down the street to watch the end of the Packers game.  We are pretty avid Bears fans, being from Chicago, but we needed the Packers to win in order for the Bears to go to the playoffs.  The bar we found was called Mac's and was a great find since it was a "midwest bar" that specialized in hosting midwest and big 10 games.  It was really cool to see so many Wisconsin-ites and Chicago-ans in Charleston!  Unfortunately for the Bears, the Packers lost.  So, we decided to comfort ourselves with some ice cream (we were feeling less full at this point).

We drove to the Marble Slab Creamery (I even found a groupon!), which was known for some of the best ice cream in Mt. Pleasant.  We had amazing creations and proceeded to feel crazy full once again.  It was awesome.  My dad also got ice cream, but ate it before I got a picture...Here are some of the treats we indulged in:

Birthday Cake Ice Cream with Twix, Cookie Dough,
and Fudge (Zack's)

Red Velvet Ice Cream with Brownies and Fudge (mine)

Coffee Ice Cream with Health and Snickers (mom's)

Now it's time to digest and play Hoopla!  Good night!