2 Months Old!

My little baby Henry is the big 2 today. 2 months that is! I know that people always say that time will fly once you have kids but it seems to be going hyperspeed lately. I seriously feel like I JUST gave birth! It's crazy!

Here's my little (big!) boy today.

 I decided that I'm going to try and take a picture of him on our recliner witht that bear every month so we can really see the difference! His 2 month appt. isn't until next week so I'll update with stats and such after that.

And here's the one and two month pictures side by side for comparison:

Henry

I just have to post this picture of Henry....

Isn't he perfect? I found him clutching his little bear during naptime yesterday :) Love.

Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's are my all time favorite candy, so when I saw this recipe here for homemade peanut butter cups I knew I had to give it a try and of course modify the recipe to make it my own. These turned out so delicious, that I forgot to get a picture of the final product before I realized that they had all disappeared somewhere ;) I might even go so far as to say they are BETTER than Reese's, but you be the judge... they're super easy to make!

Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

4 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

powdered sugar

mini cupcake liners and mini muffin tin 

Melt the chocolate chips with 4 tbsp. of peanut butter in the microwave. Be sure to stir it a few times or the chocolate will burn and get grainy. Add half of your chocolate to a pastry bag with a piping tip on it (if you're fancy), or just use a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off (like I did!) and pipe the chocolate into the mini liners. Be sure just to put enough to coat the bottom, this is the first layer of your "cup". Put the muffin tin in the fridge so the chocolate can harden up. Meanwhile mix the 3/4 cup of peanut butter with the vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar until you start to get a dough like texture. I didn't measure out the powdered sugar, just mixed and tasted until it was sweet enough for me. Roll a small amount of dough into a ball and softly push into the center of your hardened chocolate on the first layer. Don't let the dough get all the way to the edges though or else it'll be poking out of the peanut butter cup at the end. Then add the rest of your chocolate on top of the peanut butter dough. This is the last layer. Place your whole muffin tin in the fridge until the cups are firm. Peel back the cupcake liner and forget about any diet you were on as you consume :)  

These are your ingredients, minus the vanilla (I'm still out!).

First layer of chocolate.

The peanut butter "dough".

Roll the dough into small balls and press into the first layer.

Cover with the remaining chocolate and then refrigerate until firm! 

Oatmeal Pudding Cookies

Yum. I was determined to come up with a new soft oatmeal cookie recipe and I have to say, these came out amazing! The secret is all in the pudding mix, that's what makes these cookies so perfectly soft and fluffy. As an added bonus, if you happen to be a nursing mama (me!), then these cookies do wonders to boost your supply! 

Oatmeal Pudding Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

3.4 oz pudding mix (I used butterscotch flavored because it is what I had on hand, but I'm sure these cookies would also be great with vanilla or chocolate...experiment!)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

3 cups oatmeal

If you like raisins in your oatmeal cookies (we are not fans), then add about 1/4 cup to the batter.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Then add the vanilla and eggs and beat until fluffy. Add the powdered pudding mix and combine. In a separate bowl combine the salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Then add the oatmeal. Combine your wet and dry ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge to set up while you wait for the oven to preheat. Place the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. I baked my cookies on my Pampered Chef Stone (if you don't have one, you really should invest...the cookies will NEVER burn if they're baked on one of these!), but a greased cookie sheet will also work. Bake for 12-15 mins or until slightly brown. Transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack or parchment paper. The cookies might seem slightly mushy at first, but they'll firm up once they've cooled. This recipe made about 25 cookies. 

My Sous Chef is ready to bake!

These are your ingredients, minus the vanilla. I ran out but the cookies really should have vanilla to make them taste even better!

Cream the sugars and butter, then add the eggs and vanilla.

Add the pudding mix. My butterscotch flavored pudding made the dough an awesome orange-y color!

Combine the dry ingredients.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then spoon the chilled dough onto your stone or cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees. Try to resist the urge to gobble them up as soon as they come out of the oven :)