Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

There are many variations of monkey bread and so may ways to make it (cinnamon rolls, biscuits, French bread, etc.) but I tend to make it with biscuits or cinnamon rolls and the latter is always the biggest hit! It's an unbelievably easy dessert and looks so pretty once it sets and you're able to slide it out of the bunt pan. 

2 containers of Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Buns (8 per package)

1/2 cup melted butter

2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon (I love a lot of cinnamon, but the amount is totally preference)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place oven rack into middle position.
2. Grease 12 cup bunt pan and set aside. Remove cinnamon rolls from packaging (16 cinnamon rolls in total) and cut each roll into halves or four pieces (depending on how small you want the pull-apart pieces to be).
3. In a large ziploc bag, mix granulated sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon.
4. Place cinnamon roll pieces into ziploc bag and shake until each piece is coated.
5. Once fully coated in sugar/cinnamon mixture , pour cinnamon roll pieces into pan.
6. Melt butter and mix in brown sugar and remaining amount of cinnamon.
7. Pour butter mixture over cinnamon roll pieces.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine usually goes to the 30 minute mark but every oven is different) or until it's golden brown and baked through.
9. Let cool for at least 15 minutes and gently turn pan upside down onto plate to remove monkey bread. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cake Loaf

You guys... this chocolate loaf is the BEST. I know "loaf" isn't the prettiest word, either but hear me out. I was craving chocolate cupcakes and I knew I had a box of chocolate cake mix in the pantry ready to go, but I wanted to try something a little different. I also wanted to bake something that would require less work and less room for storage (storing a ton of cupcakes can be a pain). Long story short, I whipped up a chocolate cake loaf using the chocolate cake mix and it was out of this world delicious and easy. For some extra chocolatey taste, I threw some chocolate chips into the batter and on top of the loaf right after it came out of the oven. I'm sure there are amazing, from-scratch chocolate loaf recipes out there if you're not a fan of the boxed mix, but I am apart of the population that is allllllll about that cake mix taste :). (Not sure how many more times I could have said "chocolate" in this description....) 

1 box of general chocolate cake mix

1 cup of milk chocolate chips (3/4 cup for the batter and then ¼ for sprinkling on top of both loaves

2 loaf pans

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. Prepare the chocolate cake mix per the instructions on the back of the box.
3. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix until smooth.
4. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan.
5. Bake loaves for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick/knife is inserted and comes out clean.
6. Let both loaves set and cool completely before removing them from the pans. To remove, I place my hand over top of the loaf and gently flip the pan over. The loaves should slide right out!

Mom's Toffee Squares

I thought it was only right that this be my first post because this it is my family’s go-to dessert recipe for every gathering and it’s still always my top choice when my Mom asks me what to bake for my birthday dinner!

I’m not sure how this recipe first came about (the recipe is mysteriously taped to the back of a note-card) but I’m sure glad it did because these buttery, chocolatey treats are easy to make, INCREDIBLY delicious and a perfect mix between a brownie and cookie texture (depending on the “egg” part of the recipe; see below notes). They’re great at room temperature or chilled for a stiffer texture (my brothers and Mom prefer it that way). I’ve made them for get-togethers with friends, for my best friend’s older sister’s engagement party, and someone always comes up to me asking “WHAT ARE THESE!?!” The ingredients are so straight forward, but no one can quite peg what they are! There’s also a ton of ways you can jazz them up (use a different kind of chocolate, add sprinkles, add nuts, etc.) but I’ve listed the classic recipe below because it just can’t be beat!

1 cup of butter or margarine, softened (I always use butter)

1 cup of brown sugar

1 egg yolk (Add whole egg if you prefer a fluffier consistency compared to the crumbly shortbread texture you get with just the egg yolk. A whole egg was used for the batch in the below photo.)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups of flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 package of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate and my Mom uses semi-sweet; totally preference!)

½ cups of chopped nuts (Optional; I never add nuts)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13×9 baking pan.
2. Mix butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until creamy. Blend in flour and salt.
3. Press batter evenly into bottom of pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until very light brown (my oven takes closer to 25 mins but all ovens are different).
4. Remove from oven and immediately place chocolate chips over top until the whole area is covered (add more if you prefer a thicker layer of chocolate on top). As soon as the chocolate chips are soft and begin to melt, spread evenly.
5. Sprinkle with nuts (optional). Let cool and cut! Enjoy!