Almond Gooey Butter Cake

That is the technical name for these little delights, but in my family, we just call them almond bars.  They sound healthier that way.

I made these for a party last week and had a bunch of people ask me for the recipe.  So, I thought I would post it here since it's a really really good one.  Here it is:

For the crust:

 

Combine one yellow cake mix with one egg and one melted stick of butter.  Mix them together and pat down into a 9 x 13 pan. (You can also add 1/2 cup of slivered almonds to the crust.  I just never really have those on hand, so I have never done it myself.)

 

Set aside while you make the filling.

For the filling:

Start by beating one 8 ounce package of cream cheese until it is fluffy.  Then add 2 eggs, a stick of melted butter, and a teaspoon of almond extract.  Mix.  Then, add 3 3/4 cups of powedered sugar (in case you are wondering, that is the equivalent to a one pound bag....I just figured that one out).  Mix it all together, then pour it on top of the crust.

(Don't mind my dirty grout.  Come Tuesday, I will never have to clean grout again!!....not that I really have been cleaning it, as you can see.)

Bake at 350 degrees until well browned and the center is still jiggly.  It ends up being around 45 minutes.

Okay, so here is the recipe not broken up with pictures....in case you prefer to have it all in one place:

 

Enjoy!

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A Recipe

 

You can find this recipe all over Pinterest, I am sure. But, I'm sitting here eating one (or two or three) of these right now, and I have nothing better to blog about, so I figured why not write up a little post about them.  

This dessert is dangerous.  It's way too easy to make and way too delicious.  I try to freeze them to avoid devouring them all in one sitting, but that just means I make multiple trips to the freezer all day long.  But that also means I am getting a workout, walking from the couch to the freezer every time I want one.  I totally burn them off that way.

So, here's how you make them (courtesy of my mother-in-law....thank you Teri!):

Combine:

1 jar of peanut butter

1 pound bag of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

2 sticks of melted butter

Press this delicious concoction into a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt a bag of chocolate chips and spread over the top.

That's it.  You're done. 

If you plan on making these to give to someone else, change your plan.  I have attempted to make them twice as a thank you to a neighbor, but none of them ever made it over to his house.  This batch is my third attempt for him. We'll see what happens.  So far, they are still at my house....and dwindling fast.

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we really are obsessed...

For us, a day off school means breakfast at Ramos House Cafe.  We really only go there on weekdays because they only offer a pricy brunch on the weekend.  And, since there was no school on Friday, thanks to our veterans, we got to enjoy ourselves a breakfast straight from heaven.   This trip, we got to sit on the front porch of the house.

I have never gotten anything from Ramos that I have not absolutely loved.  I ordered the peanut butter and banana pain perdu and Nick ordered the fried chicken scramble.  I won't even try to describe their goodness because there are just not adjectives that exist that could do it justice.

You may get tired of me posting pictures of our visits to Ramos House Cafe, but I will never get tired of eating there, so you will just have to deal with it.

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I didn't get a chance on Friday to post about it, but I am very thankful for all our veterans, especially my Grandpa....

I love him and everything he did for me, my family, and our country.

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On a random exciting sidenote, Kristina's business, Plum Paper, was chosen to be featured on Katie's Nesting Spot.  And almost equally as exciting, our family's Christmas card picture made it into the blog post about Kristina!

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Coming soon.....
Highlights from a weekend spent with family celebrating some majorly important birthdays! 
Stay tuned....

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i.love.summer

School's out!

This is how we celebrated my first day of summer....

With this little guy sitting by our table the whole time.

{His little collar says, "Will work for crab."}

Oh how I love you, Ramos House Cafe.

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Lemon Tea Cookies

We have LOTS of lemons on our tree. (Come get some!)  

So, I decided to make some Lemon Tea Cookies.

They were yummy.  I was driving home from school one day fantasizing about eating one when I got home.  So, you can imagine my disappointment when I got home and Nick had eaten the last one (or 2 or 3 or 4).

ANYWAYS...

I'm sorry for this uninteresting blog post.  I just hadn't blogged in a while and didn't want people to think that I am some sort of boring homebody with nothing to blog about who just likes to sit at home and watch Prison Break on Netflix....because that is so not me.  I've actually been so busy doing so many interesting things, that I haven't had time to even think about blogging.

(Okay, actually we are a little addicted to Prison Break....just a little.)

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seriously sinful

No, but really these are.  They are so full of buttery goodness and sugary sweetness, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about them (because of course there are not any left).

These came from the Pioneer Woman.  I do not peruse her site all that often, since, as most of you know, I am not much of a cook.  But when I discovered these, I fell in love with that woman.

 Try them.  You won't regret it!

(At least not until you become so addicted to them that you are making them every week, and then you step on the scale and it doesn't tell you what you want it to.  Then you might regret it....but probably not.)

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