Cream cheese brownies...and the sweetest husband in the world.

Today's post is a quickie and really just a shout out to my husband, the sweetest man on earth. Seriously, check his driver's license, it actually reads, Jonathan "Sweetest Man on Earth" Little. No kidding. Why is he the sweetest man on earth you ask? Just keep reading...

A couple weekends ago I was home alone again on a Friday night while my husband was out puppeteering. As per my usual routine, I did a little baking, watched What Not to Wear, and went to bed early. Nothing too special. However, the next morning when I logged into facebook, this is what I found:

I have the BEST wife ever!

I just came home from one of our puppet performances in Providence. I love performing there. I just wish it was closer.

I decided I would get a late night snack and there it was, a little piece of heaven just for me.

She baked! But she does not bake like normal people. She makes things that bakeries sell for $5 a square or piece.

So anyway back to the awesomeness. She had made cream cheese brownies. That is right, cream cheese brownies and damn they are good!

I don't think I could be a luckier man. I found a woman that thinks it is ok for me to wiggle dolls around, loves me even though I'm basically a giant 12 year old, and loves to make unbelievable baked goods. Life can't get any better.

Now all I have to do is not eat the rest of the brownies before she wakes up.

See! Sweetest man on earth. Bet you didn't know that my license reads, Tomye "Luckiest Girl EVER" Little, did you?

It really is the little things that make life -- and love -- grand.

Oatmeal Blondies

About a month ago a friend of mine came over to keep me company on one of my lonely Friday nights. We gabbed, made dinner, watched a chick flick, and then, of course, we made cookies. I'd come across a recipe for oatmeal scotchies a couple weeks before while perusing the web for ideas. I'd never heard of the cookie before, but being a big fan of both oatmeal cookies (the batter is one of my all-time favorites) and butterscotch, I printed off the recipe at work and stuck it in my purse. That night, much to my surprise, when I asked what cookies we should make my friend immediately said, "oatmeal scotchies -- they're the BEST!" It was kismet -- I reached into my purse, pulled out the recipe, and made some pretty tasty cookies.

However.

As tasty as these cookies were, the butterscotch chips were (and I cannot believe I'm saying this) too sweet. Gah! Since when is anything too sweet for me?! And yet, one cookie (okay, fine, two cookies) was all I could take. Hmm...looks like this little sweet tooth might be growing up.

Still being a huge fan of both oatmeal cookies and butterscotch, I remembered a recipe I'd come across in my America's Test Kitchen Baking book that was for oatmeal butterscotch bars. Now, what I love about this baking book is how they explain their choices for each recipe -- what made it great, and what failed miserably. In developing this particular recipe, their goal was to find a way to mellow out the sweetness of the butterscotch chips, finding them (as I did) overpoweringly sweet. The trick? Melt the butter in a sauce pan until it turns a golden color, then add the butterscotch chips. This works wonders. I'm not a good enough baker to tell you why (that's what the Test Kitchen is for) but it seriously made such a difference. These bars are pretty darn awesome. Oatmeal butterscotch blondie heaven.

The oatmeal adds such a nice texture, the melted butter keeps them chewy, and the butterscotch flavor is perfect. Make these and be happy.

When I made these, my husband was away doing puppet stuff, so unfortunately there was no one here to witness my "I'm a baking goddess" dance when these came out of the oven. Unless the little old Greek ladies next door were spying on me, which honestly I wouldn't put past 'em (I swear, our street is The Burbs.) Oh, and that maturing sweet tooth I mentioned earlier? Destroyed. Knowing I was in eminent waist-expanding danger, I immediately divided the bars up into tupperware containers to be taken to work the next day (leaving a plate of them out for my husband, of course. I would never be forgiven otherwise). Judging by how quickly they disappeared from the kitchen (and the fact that I left my office door open so I could spy on anyone who ate one), I think my co-workers liked these too. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

For the love of Oreos

In my last post I mentioned a certain husband succumbing to giggles after taking a bite of something I made. It was the perfect response to a dang near perfect little treat. While I do love the oohs and ahhs I get every once in a while when I've baked something tasty, giggling is by far the best reaction. It's pure joy. And I find that joy is often elusive in day to day life. Happiness, yes, that is obtainable (how very optimistic of me, I know). But joy? Joy is something different. It's a state of happiness that has no contingencies. I feel like so often when people are asked, "are you happy?" the response is, "yeah, for the most part." I get that, I definitely do. In fact, I think it's often my own response. But I don't think you can be joyful for the most part. You either are or you aren't. It's a brilliant, however fleeting feeling that sets itself apart because it is so transient. Eliciting joy is a special thing.

Now, let's get to the joy-giving goodies. In the past few weeks I've begun trolling baking blogs for ideas. I happened across one terrific blog that I now frequent on a daily basis (go check it out at bakerella.com). There are several recipes I plan to attempt in the coming months, but this was my first. It was a mighty good start. When I first read the words "oreo truffle" I couldn't help but think, "how very American -- a white trash truffle." But then I got to thinking, "Woah Tomye, way to be a snob. Oreos are amazing. Everyone likes Oreos. Admit it, even you do. Just give the darn recipe a chance." So I packed away my cookie elitism, and got to work.

Now, I've decided to show more step-by-step photos of my mad baking skills, in the event that anyone wants to recreate anything here. So, before I got started on the truffles, I arranged all the ingredients:

Then I got started. At which time I realized that I hadn't included the cream cheese in my photo of ingredients. So much for my awesome tutorial. Oh well. Moving on...

Bust out your food processor and grind up the entire package of Oreos until they resemble coffee grounds (reserve about a half cup for later). Like so:

Add an 8 oz package of softened cream cheese and mix well. Your dough will look thick and clumpy, but trust me, it's perfect.

Roll dough into little balls and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Dough will make about 36 bite-sized balls. Mine made 37. With no place for that last little sucker on my cookie sheet, Jon and I were forced to eat it. Just a warning, you may be required to do this as well. Prepare yourself.

Place cookie sheet in freezer for about half an hour, just long enough to for the dough to harden (and not fall apart when it's time to dip). Put the chocolate wafers in the microwave on 50% power for 30 second intervals until they're all melted. Don't do all the wafers at once, as the dipping process is slow and the chocolate will harden before you're ready to use it all. Small batches are best. Drop a ball in the chocolate, roll it around, spoon chocolate over it, and slide it up the side of your bowl with your spoon, allowing the excess chocolate to drain off before placing it on your waxed paper.

After all the truffles are coated and dried (the drying happens pretty quickly), pick up each truffle and dip its top in the leftover chocolate and then the reserve Oreo crumbs. Purely for aesthetics, but worth it. Otherwise they just look like they're covered in Elmer's glue (and I'm guessing we all ate enough glue when we were kids that the charm has worn off).

Keep these in the fridge until you're ready to serve them. When you are ready, just sit back and get ready for some seriously happy faces. And some giggling. Oh, and maybe a little in-fighting...I'm not kidding, be ready for that. People tend to get very territorial over these guys. The creamy Oreo center is like crack...only much better for you. Or as good for you as Oreos can be.

Regardless, enjoy! Make these, you will not be disappointed. They will become your secret weapon, if ever you need to wield ultimate power over someone. Trust me. The guys at Sci-Fi night were mine to control. Mwwuuaahh aahh aaah!