Sometimes an amazing recipe happens because of a huge disaster. You know- I have a brilliant idea, I start to whip it up, and then an hour later I'm almost in tears because nothing turned out quite right. Sometimes I end up throwing in the towel and weeping over burnt cookies (or whatever.) But other times, like with these babies, I reach into my baker's bag of tricks and come up with something that is actually even better.


My goal was to make something like these. A pan of blondies, a pan of brownies- hearts cut out and swapped and just like that- a cute and festive V-day treat. In my case though, things didn't work out so well. The blondies were perfect, but the brownies were thinner and a cut-out swap situation wouldn't work. So, I whipped up some quick peanut butter frosting, slathered it on, and nestled in a little reject brownie heart. When I took a bite and got the whole brown sugar-under-peanut butter-under fudge thing happening in my mouth- I knew this was a recipe worth sharing.


The crackly fudgy brownies were cut into cute heart shapes before being stuck on top of the creamy frosting. I used the thinner outer layer of the brownies, so the inside could be used for something else. (though I'm pretty sure you can find use for a bowl of brownie scraps.) Also- if your brownies are too thick to perch on top of the frosting, just slice it in half to make it a little thinner. (And then you get to eat the bottoms!)


See- not all V-day treats need to be pink and red. (though I like those too.) I can promise these will make your sweetheart love lots!

Remember earlier this year when I mentioned I was given the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook for Christmas? Well once I paged through it, and saw how challenging and interesting the recipes were, I knew I wanted to make it a goal to tackle them. The recipes all include lots of steps and prep and many ingredients I've never used. My first instinct was to shy away and stick it on the shelf, but instead I thought I'd rally with some other amazing bloggers and start a fun thing called "Milk Bar Mondays." Along with 6 other talented Ladies- I will bake my way through this cookbook and try everything from Crack Pies to Cereal Milk. Bake along with us if you like! If the results of this recipe are an indicator- the long winded recipes are totally worth it. These truffles were insanely good.


This week I got to choose the recipe and I'm so happy that I chose these! They start with a soft and fluffy Carrot Cake. After it is baked and cooled you smash it up, add an amazing concoction called liquid cheesecake (kinda like thick, creamy, cheesecake gooey-ness,) roll it into a ball, coat it in white chocolate, and top it all off with crunchy, sweet and slightly salty "milk crumb." These were insane. So many flavors combined to make something really unique and delicious. Everyone I shared them with couldn't get over all the pops of flavor in one little bite.


At first I thought there may have been some shortcuts to make this whole process a bit simpler, (like maybe just using frosting like other cake truffles,) but all the small details are really worth it. There isn't a single part of this whole recipe I'd change, and I couldn't urge you more to spend a few hours making these.

Make sure to check out the other lovely ladies that are participating in Milk Bar Mondays with Me!!

Krissy from Krissy's Creations
Cassie from Bake Your Day
Meagan from Scarletta Bakes
Nicole from Sweet Peony
Erin from Big Fat Baker
and Jaqueline from Dusty Baker (hers are gluten and dairy free!)

Follow our fun on Twitter #milkbarmondays

Remember the goal I made at the start of the year to eat breakfast more? Well I've actually been doing pretty well! I've been doing my best to make smoothies and muffins and other things I don't mind eating first thing in the AM. This recipe though, has taken my easy breakfasts to the next level! I love egg sandwiches, (yes even the crappy McDonald's ones,) but I'm always too lazy to make something so involved when I'm tired and in need of caffeine.  Luckily these require little to no effort at all so this little lady is eating breakfast! Miracles do happen.

Prepping these takes a few minutes, but once you have them all assembled, they can easily be frozen and reheated when you're ready to eat them. The result is a crispy, melty, perfectly portioned breakfast. You can use any kind of cheese you like and add things like bacon/sausage, but I like mine with American Cheese. (I actually found Organic American Cheese- who knew?) Once the eggs are cooked and the sandwiches are assembled, wrap them in foil and freeze until you're ready to eat them. 30 mins in the oven and a cup of coffee later, and you're ready to go. I'm a breakfast person now!!

homemade egg mc muffins
6 large eggs
6 slices of cheese (any kind is fine.)
6 english muffins sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste
bacon or sausage (if you'd like)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Crack 6 eggs into a muffin tin (regular or jumbo sized.) Season with Salt and Pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. (I baked mine for 15 because I don't like the eggs too well done. 20 minutes will cook them through.)
When eggs are cooked, assemble egg sandwiches. To eat immediately, pop one back into the oven for 5-10 mins or until cheese has melted. 
Otherwise, wrap tightly in foil and freeze. When you are ready to eat them, preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. (I know it would be much easier to microwave them, but they will be soggy and not so great. I highly recommend the oven!)

Source: Adapted from Macheesmo