I’ve had this recipe pinned up on my fridge for a few weeks months now.  I have tons of medjool dates still and this recipe seemed like a great way to make a further dent in my supply.

The only thing was…I needed to chop my dates which was a bit tedious. 

But worth it in the end.

An amazing sweet treat!

Next time, I would either step the cocoa powder on the outside or do a mixture of cocoa powder and powdered sugar. 

A great dessert option – or homemade gift for your Valentine!

Last weekend, while having our normal debate of “what to have to breakfast,” I stared at the bananas on my counter and then went to my guilty pleasure, Pinterest, to seek out some options. 

I sought out a recipe that was Peanut Butter Soynut Butter and Banana but then after some deeper consideration, realized it was easier to add soynut butter than chocolate to a muffin.  Deep thoughts for a Sunday morning.  No?

Matt claims to “not be a fan of muffins” but yet ate two of them straight out of the oven.  In all fairness, I would probably eat something straight out of the oven if it was made while I was relaxing on the couch. 

However, these muffins, he has continued to eat.

I wonder why?

For me, it was love at first bite.

How could you ignore the chocolate with pieces of banana?  If that doesn’t convince you, take a closer look.

This is a great recipe that used all my just about brown bananas and has served as both a breakfast and dessert treat.  That’s money in my book. 

Matt and I spent almost all day cleaning yesterday.  I mean from noon until 6:30 pm.  We made some serious progress – we have been cleaning out our apartment one room at a time – all that is left now is our kitchen and 2 closets. 

I was looking for a reward for our hard work and I stumbled upon a recipe for a Chocolate Chip Mug Cake that sounded perfect – on the condition that we split it. 

Step 1: Break an egg into your mug

Step 2:  Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Step 3: Toss in 1/3 cup of flour and a tablespoon of softened butter

Step 4: 3-4 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips top it all off

Step 5: Mix your cake together with a spoon.

Step 6: Microwave your cake for 1 1/2-2 minutes, or just until the top center of the cake has set. Serve with a dollop of ice cream and enjoy!

After cooking I took it out of the mug so it was easier to split – as you can see, even 1/2 the cake is a decent amount. 

As Matt said, “it tastes microwaved.”  Not the best cake I have ever had by any means, but it was quick and had chocolate in it.  Sometimes that’s all you need – right?

Matt topped his with vanilla ice cream – but I’m not a fan of ice cream on cake. 

All in all…not the best…but not the worst either….

I promise, this is the last sweet-treat recipe of the week! 

On Saturday, Matt and I went to a pot luck “pre-giving” party celebrating the fall harvest as we head towards thanksgiving season.  The theme for the dishes was obviously fall and I decided to bring pumpkin cupcakes – one of our favorite recipes from last fall.  Plus it could not be easier.

Check out the Big Red Kitchen for the recipe – it is only two ingredients!

I baked these for approximately 22 minutes and made 14 cupcakes.

So simple and delicious – plus they were a big hit at the party.  I’m hoping I can find another excuse to make these again this season. 

I’ve been seeing pumpkin milkshakes on a few blogs lately and recognizing that I’m always looking for something good for dessert, Matt and I attempted to create our own taking bits and pieces from many different places:

This smoothie wasn’t as pumpkin-y as I would have liked; next time, I would probably use 4 pumpkin ice cubes.  The consistency was perfect – nice and thick and not watery.

Top with some crumbled graham crackers for some added crunch. 

This satisfied my craving for a milkshake – I want to try some Stonyfield Farm Chocolate Frozen Yogurt for my next milkshake. 

Perhaps a breakfast option as well as dessert?

Although I try to eat healthy most of the time, I have quite the sweet tooth.  With colder temperatures now upon us, I also have more of a cravings for muffins, donuts, and bread than I do in the summer time. 

When I saw Jessica’s recipe for Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie bread I used my willpower not to go home immediately from work and make it; instead I had to wait a few weeks for some “free time” or I should be doing reading for school but I’m not.

This recipe would be perfect for a bake sale – nothing says bake sale like Cookie bread to me. 

I cannot keep my hands off this bread.  Jessica’s recipe is fantastic.  Next time you need a sweet treat, keep this recipe in mind. 

Sunday night I shredded all of my zucchinis – 4 I believe in my food processor and got to baking. 

First I made a loaf of my favorite Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread.  Next, I made a batch of Vegged-Up Oatmeal Cookies – a recipe my sister sent me.  They were an epic disaster.  Did not taste good and look horrible.  In the trash they went (after a healthy sampling of the batter). 

My next zucchini recipe was for Chocolate Zucchini Cake – the only recipe I could find that I had all the ingredients for.

I used fat free buttermilk, and used 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesauce to make this slightly more healthy.

This is an amazing chocolate cake recipe.  You do not taste the zucchini and it is so moist.  It doesn’t need any frosting although I’m sure that would make it even better. 

I will definitely make this again – hey its got zucchini in it!

I have been getting tons of squash and zucchini in my CSA share this year.  One of my favorite uses for the zucchini is to make zucchini bread. 

Last year I found this recipe and have not made anything different.  Each time you make it, the flavor and texture changes just slightly depending on the zucchini. 

I mean, how can you go wrong with bread that has chocolate chips in it?

This bread is perfect for breakfast or dessert. 

I love this bread with cream cheese.

I’ve already made this twice this summer – I will be making it probably 4-5 more times.  It also freezes well!

After an unexciting dinner of leftovers from the freezer, Matt and I ended this Sunday with a s’more we made in the oven.

While at Target yesterday, they had a whole section set up of Graham Crackers, Marshmallows and chocolate.  I couldn’t resist. 

I will be making this a lot in the next few days…

I found a little bit of motivation today and although I wanted to sit on the couch, I decided to try a recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins that I found while reading the May 2011 issue of Cooking Light Magazine.

These muffins are heavenly.  Nice and moist without being too dense.  Matt couldn’t tell that I had made any substitutions – I call that a victory.

Make sure you spray the insides of your liners – I didn’t do this and they stuck.

These would be a great dessert – with a glass of milk of course.