Lunchtime Links for September 30th, 2014

• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin spice Frappuccino.
• Damn Delicious: Garlic Parmesan roasted broccoli.
• Table for Two: Salted caramel apple spice mug cake. 
• Handle the Heat: New England clam chowder.
• Averie Cooks: Pumpkin cream cheese-filled brownies.

T.Hanks Cards

I've seen these T.Hanks thank you cards a few times at PaperSource, and I finally just went for it and bought a pack, haha.  They make me chuckle every time I see them, and they're just the right amount of fun humor in a card.  I wonder if Mr. Hanks has ever used these himself for thank you cards? I certainly hope so, haha. 

Lunchtime Links for September 29th, 2014

• Kirbie's Cravings: Pumpkin spice latte mug cake.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Snickerdoodle banana bars. 
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Caprese pizza. 
• Handle the Heat: Snickers cheesecake. 
• My Baking Addiction: Brownie recipes. 

National Coffee Day

Happy National Coffee Day everyone!

Today, everyone can get a free cup of coffee from both Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts! At Krispy Kreme you can get a free small coffee, and a free medium dark roast coffee at Dunkin Donuts.  Why not grab a coffee for yourself and a friend, or take this chance to do a coffee taste test of the two different brands, haha.

Lunchtime Links for September 26th, 2014

• Crazy for Crust: Banana chocolate chip pancakes.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich. 
• My Baking Addiction: Chocolate glazed doughnuts.
• The Comfort of Cooking: Stovetop spinach basil pesto mac and cheese.
• Averie Cooks: Mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins.

Salted Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum, peanut butter and chocolate is always a winning combination! 

I took this Table for Two recipe for salted chocolate chip cookies and added peanut butter chips to make these fantastic cookies you see above.  I never really measure chocolate chips in the baked goods I make, so there's always a chance that the dough won't come together as well due to too many "things" inside.  However this was not the case at all, there was a great balance of flavors between the chocolate and peanut butter chips.  The salt sprinkled on top of each cookie definitely adds some depth, and is a great little touch to make these cookies special.  I highly recommend this cookie recipe!

Lunchtime Links for September 25th, 2014

• Dessert for Two: Quick cinnamon rolls for two.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Macaroni and cheese in a mug.
• Averie Cooks: Vanilla cake with vanilla bean browned butter glaze.
• Damn Delicious: Baked pumpkin cream cheese French toast.
• Table for Two: Salted caramel sauce.

Oreo Creme Chips Ahoy Cookies

I saw these hybrid Chips Ahoy!/Oreo cookies at Wegmans recently, and of course I picked up a pack!  This flavor was displayed alongside other filled cookies, including the ice cream parlor flavors, so I have a feeling Nabisco brought all of these out around the same time.  

It's a little hard to see the Oreo creme filling, but there's a nice even layer of it in the middle of the cookie.  Given that it's a chewy cookie x creme filling, the whole cookie is very soft and doesn't have much in the way of texture.  In terms of flavor though, if you're a fan of the Oreo filling, you will definitely enjoy this different take on a traditional Oreo cookie! 

Lunchtime Links for September 24th, 2014

• Averie Cooks: Soft pumpkin chocolate chip bars. 
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Cookies and cream Oreo Chex mix.
• Cookies & Cups: Funfetti shortbread.
• Picky Palate: Sausage and cheesy vegetable Penne pasta. 
• Crazy for Crust: Cookies n' cream extreme brownies. 

Shake Shack - Malted Marshmallow Milk Chocolate Custard

I've never really loved or hated malt in my sweets, but I figured that this Malted Marshmallow Milk Chocolate custard from Shake Shack would be delicious with all of the other components included either way, haha.  

As expected, the milk chocolate was the star of this custard, with liberally blended in chunks of milk chocolate throughout the cup.  As far as I know, malt makes things thicker (at least in shakes)? I didn't really notice too much of a difference with this custard, but I did think it tasted different than their regular vanilla custard.  The marshmallow flavor didn't stand out as much, but I was more than happy with the amount of milk chocolate in the custard to make up for it :o) 

Lunchtime Links for September 23rd, 2014

• My Baking Addiction: Peanut butter cup cookie bars.
• Handle the Heat: Pumpkin bread rolls with cinnamon butter.
• The Comfort of Cooking: 3-ingredient Nutella brownies.
• A Kitchen Addictions: Pumpkin French Toast doughnuts. 
• Picky Palate: Pumpkin recipes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups - Averie Cooks

Peanut butter and chocolate is always a good idea- and these cookie cups are no exception! Averie Cooks is a great blog with so many delicious looking recipes, and this one for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups was a great one!

I made these in regular muffin tins, but these would be excellent in mini muffin tins for smaller cookie cup bites as well.  It's also an easy recipe to replace the add-in ingredients, like nuts, different types of chocolate, or other items you prefer.  These are a quick and easy way to get a delicious peanut butter and chocolate fix!

Lunchtime Links for September 22nd, 2014

• Cookies & Cups: Chipotle pulled pork with apple slaw.
• Dessert for Two: Pumpkin spice lattes.
• How Sweet It Is: Roasted chicken ramen.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Crunchy baked Parmesan chicken bites.
• Damn Delicious: Burrito bowls.

Georgetown Cupcake - Double Butterscotch Chip Cupcake

I've never really specifically ordered butterscotch sweets, but I have enjoyed all of the Georgetown Cupcake flavors that include butterscotch so far.  This Double Butterscotch Chip cupcake was no exception; I really enjoyed how many different ways that butterscotch was included!

Starting from the top, there's a layer of butterscotch swirled on top, then a creamy butterscotch frosting, and finally cake with butterscotch chips liberally mixed throughout.  Clearly this cupcake is very sweet, but the butterscotch flavor wasn't completely overwhelming like you might expect.  I hope they bring this flavor back again soon! 

Lunchtime Links for September 19th, 2014

• Handle the Heat: Chocolate eclairs.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Pesto cheese bread.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Skinny apple spice mug cake.
• The Pioneer Woman: Chicken quesadillas.
• Dine & Dish: Chocolate caramel latte muffins. 

Krispy Kreme x Talk Like a Pirate Day

If you're a fan of pirates and/or Krispy Kreme, there's a fun promotion going on today for Talk Like a Pirate Day. Here are the details from the Krispy Kreme Facebook page:

To claim yer bounty on September 19, ye must:
• Come in to a participating Krispy Kreme shop and Talk like a pirate for one FREE Original Glazed doughnut.
• Come in to a participating Krispy Kreme location in full pirate costume for one FREE dozen Original Glazed doughnuts. Qualifying pirate costumes must include three or more of the following items: 

• Eye Patch
• Pirate Hat
• Bandana
• Peg Leg
• Parrot on Shoulder
• Pirate Shirt / Loose white shirt
• Knickers
• Leather Belt
• Silver and gold necklaces and earrings
• Pirate Hook
• Pointy black boots or ragged brown sandals

If you have an old Halloween pirate costume lying around and feel like snagging a dozen free doughnuts- be sure to head to Krispy Kreme, haha! 

Lunchtime Links for September 18th, 2014

• Averie Cooks: Peanut butter sandwich cookie bars.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Smashed Chinese cucumber salad.
• Bakerella: Cinna-mini cookie bites.
• Damn Delicious: Baked cream cheese wontons.
• Crazy for Crust: Peanut butter brownie batter dip.

Macaron Bee Macarons

I've been to Georgetown countless times, but I had never ventured over to Macaron Bee until within this past year - what a cute little shop! It's tiny but packs tons of pretty little macarons to choose from.  

From left to right, we have Vanilla Bean, Matcha, and Fleur del sel Caramel - yum! I love green tea sweets though, so the Matcha was a close winner in my book - I especially loved the little sprinkle of matcha powder on top, so pretty.  I hope to go back in the fall/winter and see what their seasonal flavors are during that time of the year :o)

Macaron Bee

1669 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20007

Lunchtime Links for September 17th, 2014

• The Pioneer Woman: Chocolate chunk cookies. 
• How Sweet It Is: Lobster bisque pot pie.
• Crazy for Crust: Peanut butter football cookies. 
• Damn Delicious: Buffalo chicken dip.
• Averie Cooks: Snickerdoodles.

Georgetown Cupcake - Chocolate - Dipped Cookies & Creme Cupcake

Anything "cookies and creme" is already a winner in my book, so I knew that this free secret Chocolate-dipped Cookies & Creme Georgetown Cupcake cupcake would be delicious!  The fantastic cookies and creme cake is coated with a glossy chocolate ganache.  This was perfect with a glass of milk, and I know that anyone that likes Oreos would love this cupcake flavor.  I hope it makes an appearance again soon! 

Lunchtime Links for September 16th, 2014

• Crazy for Crust: Peanut butter cookie recipes. 
• BGSK: Pepper steak.
• Averie Cooks: Triple chocolate brownie batter cookies. 
• Handle the Heat: Peanut butter s'mores blondies.
• Cookies & Cups: Soft peanut butter white chip cookies. 

Kinoko no Yama - Matcha Milk Biscuits

Ever since I was little, I have loved the Kinoko no Yama  chocolate cookies - probably the only time I've liked mushrooms, haha.  They are normally little biscuit stems with a milk chocolate mushroom cap.  This variation has the same biscuit stem, but with a layer of matcha (green tea) and milk (white chocolate) as the cap.  

These are sooooooooooooo good.  I'm a huge fan of green tea flavored sweets in general, and these were the perfect poppable bites of chocolate and biscuit.  The crispy stem is the perfect amount of texture for the smooth chocolate caps.  It's really hard to not eat the whole box in one sitting, haha.  I bought these at a Japanese market a while back and haven't seen them since - I hope I can find them again! 

Lunchtime Links for September 15th, 2014

• The Comfort of Cooking: Avocado lime rice.
• Cookies & Cups: Pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.
• Damn Delicious: Spinach tomato Tortellini soup.
• Crazy for Crust: Cinnamon sugar pumpkin pancake rolls.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Apple coffee cake muffins.

BluePrint Green Juice

These BluePrint juices aren't new, but I have been enjoying them for a while now so I figured I would post about them.  They aren't cheap, but on occasion Whole Foods has had sales on them, and I always make sure to take advantage.  These specific juices were being sampled at Wegmans, and they had a great coupon for these as part of the promotion.  

Don't let the color deter you - I find these juices refreshing and really easy to drink.  Now, I've never had these as part of a real cleanse, but I do like drinking them after a heavy meal or as a healthy refreshing drink.  Be sure to try the other juice combinations as well!

Lunchtime Links for September 12th, 2014

• Table for Two: Basil pesto chicken pasta with sundried tomatoes and broccoli.
• Averie Cooks: Pumpkin pancakes.
• Handle the Heat: Pumpkin and sausage stuffed shells.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Double chocolate banana muffins. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Crunchy skin pork belly.

Jif Cereal

Novelty cereal + peanut butter? Count me in!  Of course, having a coupon for the item helps persuade me to try this out too, haha.  

They definitely didn't skimp on the peanut butter flavor, you can smell it right when you open the bag.  The little pillows (they actually remind me of the square doughnuts at Doughnut Plant haha) are full of peanut butter flavor and more of a light crisp texture than crunchy.  I certainly wouldn't recommend eating this ALL the time for breakfast, but hey, we're all adults here so do what you want, I won't judge. 

Lunchtime Links for September 11th, 2014

• Cookies & Cups: Chicken and stuffing tenders.
• Crazy for Crust: Caramel peanut butter cookie bars. 
• Weelicious: Shrimp Scampi.
• Serious Eats: Olive oil lemon skillet cake. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Orange chicken.

Shake Shack - Chocolate Toffee Coffee Custard

The first thing that I noticed about this Chocolate Toffee Coffee custard from Shake Shack is how fun the name is, haha.  Keep repeating "Chocolate Toffee Coffee" and it turns into a jingle, or maybe that's just me.  Anyway this custard flavor did not disappoint, as the rich chocolate custard was the base flavor.  There were little bits of toffee throughout, and while I didn't get a punch of coffee in every bite, it was definitely recognizable throughout the cup.  Mmm, delicious! 

Lunchtime Links for September 10th, 2014

• Gimme Some Oven: Strawberry Nutella cheesecake.
• BGSK: Two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and white buttercream.
• Kirbie's Cravings: 2 ingredient flourless Nutella mug cake.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Chocolate and peanut butter lover's brownies.
• Brown Eyed Baker: Momofuku Milk Bar Crack Pie.

Lindt - Cookies & Cream Bar

If you frequent Target like I do, you may have noticed a nice little display of these Lindt chocolate bars.  They are a part of the Lindt "Hello" collection, and as you can see there's quite a variety of flavors to choose from.  I have to admit the packaging is about 80% of the reason why I bought this - the designs are super cute and definitely catch your eye when walking down the aisle.

I picked the Cookies & Cream one because I love Oreos, and I am a fan of white chocolate as well.  Inside the milk chocolate shell, there's a cream filling with pieces of crunchy chocolate cookies throughout.  Since the bar is sectioned off into squares, it's nice for sharing with friends or co-workers as well.  I bought this one a while back when it was on sale, but they may go back on sale again soon! 

Lunchtime Links for September 9th, 2014

• Oh, Sweet Basil: Meatball Lasagna pizza.
• Dessert for Two: Banana ice cream. 
• Brown Eyed Baker: Fall recipes. 
• Handle the Heat: Trashy rice crispy treats. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Chicken avocado pizza. 

Target- Doughnut Sweater

As soon as I saw this doughnut sweater on the rack at Target, I stopped right there in my tracks to check it out, haha.  It's a lightweight, soft grey sweater with a GIANT PINK SPRINKLE DOUGHNUT ON IT.  There are a few other cute designs in this same style, but of course I think this one is the cutest.  If you're in the market for some new doughnut goods for fall, definitely check this one out at Target! 

Lunchtime Links for September 8th, 2014

• Food Fanatic: Snickerdoodle muffins. 
• Averie Cooks: Peanut butter chocolate chip bars.
• The Kitchn: S'mores ice cream cake. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Crispy baked Tequila wings. 
• My Baking Addiction: Easy mocha brownies. 

Georgetown Cupcake - Chocolate Dipped Raspberry Cupcake

For a while now, Georgetown Cupcake offered a series of "Chocolate dipped ____" as their free secret flavors, and it was fun to see how many variations they could successfully come up with.  This one was a Chocolate Dipped Raspberry cupcake, with fresh raspberries in vanilla cake, topped with a thin layer of chocolate ganache.  The cake was studded with lots of fresh raspberry chunks, and it was very pretty to look at.  Anyone that loves fruit and chocolate would love this! 

Lunchtime Links for September 3rd, 2014

• Cookies & Cups: Cookies and cream chess squares. 
• Averie Cooks: Loaded guacamole nachos.
• The Kitchn: Pumpkin spice lattes.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Healthy one-pot chili mac.
• Crazy for Crust: Soft homemade Golden Oreos. 

Shake Shack - September Custard Calendar

Monday: Salted Caramel
Tuesday: Banana Bread
Wednesday: Red Velvet
Thursday: Peanut Butter & Concord Grape Jelly
Friday: Chocolate Mint Fudge
Saturday: Coffee & Donuts
Sunday: Golden Sponge Creme Cake

I'm a little surprised that there isn't an apple or pumpkin flavor for September, but maybe those will kick in come October. I'm always happy to see Red Velvet and Coffee & Donuts make a return on the menu, and most of these sound delicious!

Lunchtime Links for September 2nd, 2014

• The Cozy Apron: Peanut butter cup cookie bars.
• The Pioneer Woman: Browned butter M&M cookies. 
• La Fuji Mama: BLT salad with avocado dressing. 
• Handle the Heat: Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. 
• Cookies & Cups: Peanut butter recipes. 

Georgetown Cupcake - September Flavors

Happy September, everyone!

Georgetown Cupcake has two Caramel flavors that are the special flavors for this month:

- Caramel Apple: Fresh apple cupcake with a caramel core topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting and a caramel star drizzle

- Caramel Cheesecake: Caramel cheesecake topped with a caramel frosting and caramel star drizzle

Georgetown Cupcake's caramel cupcakes are always delicious, and I cannot wait to try another new cheesecake flavor!