Tetris Cookies

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved playing Tetris on my GameBoy. Just the word "Tetris" gets that electronic Russian music in my head all over again like an '80s earworm. It's hard not to like Tetris. It's problem solving, creative thinking, and stress management for adults and just plain fun for kids. My husband had a game night at his work and I wanted to contribute something, so when I saw these Tetris cookies by PSHeart, I thought they were perfect! I doubled my recipe, just like the original post did, but there's one little detail they left out that I want to warn you about...

Before I get to that, here's what you'll need to make 88 Tetris sugar cookies (more or less, depending on how large or small you cut them!):

1 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 Tablespoon of milk
4 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350 and cream the butter in your mixer. Add your sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and milk and beat hard.

Add the flour and baking powder and beat again - if it's more liquidy than doughy, it's ok.
Cover your workspace with flour and roll out your dough. The thinner the dough, the crisper the cookies. If it's thick, the dough will puff up in the oven!

Now it's time to make the shapes. If you want to use a template, that'd be the smart solution. I decided to eyeball it instead. Meh.

Pop them in the oven until the bottoms and sides are golden brown (anywhere between 5-9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies.

Let them cool before icing. Now if you have the time, you can make your own royal icing. However, by the time I finally got these puppies out of the oven, two hours had already gone by and I was exhausted. I colored white Pillsbury frosting out of a can instead. Don't kill me.

Now my version of Tetris on the Game Boy wasn't in color so I had no idea what color the pieces should be. Really, you can use any colors you want. If you have a black food writer pen, that'll probably work better than the black Wilton sparkle gel icing I used.

All in all, they were a big hit at game night, even if they didn't look perfect and took over 4 HOURS to make. This is one of those times where you can and should tell your kid, "Don't forget to play with your food!"

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 to make 88 cookies

$.99 for the butter

$2.69 for the sugar

$2.79 for the eggs

$2.29 for the milk

$3.29 for the flour

$1.99 for the baking powder

$1.99 for the frosting

$2.99 for the black Wilton Sparkle Gel

Used homemade vanilla extract and had food coloring on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: A little over 4 hours

10 minutes to make dough

2 hours to cut and bake 88 cookies

2 hours to decorate 63 of them

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 3 out of 5

Getting the right thickness, making sure they didn't burn, getting the black lines to be straight...yeah, there are a few places you could mess up. Heck, I dropped and broke quite a few, so try not to get too frustrated if they don't turn out perfect. Whoever is eating them will think they look and taste delicious, no matter what!

Pancake Bites (Banana, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Chocolate Chip!)

I get up every morning at 6:25am so I can be ready for work at 6:30am. I work from home, did I mention that? Well, even in my half-awake state, I hate making breakfast. I'm lucky if I'm able to get a bowl of cereal together without forgetting an ingredient (you laugh but it has happened). I saw this Pancakes Bites idea floating around Pinterest and everyone seems to have their own take on it (gluten-free, vegan, etc.) so I decided to make try these out and see which flavor tasted the best. Now I challenge you to do the same - the best part? If you can't eat them all, stick 'em in the fridge and have 'em for breakfast tomorrow!

I wanted to try different filling ingredients (even though I prefer my pancakes plain) so here's what I tried:

*Bananas
*Strawberries
*Blueberries
*Mini chocolate chips

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and make your pancake mix however you like (here is a gluten-free and vegan-friendly recipe, if that's your thing). I wanted to make 12 mini pancake bites so I used 1 Cup of Bisquick, almost 1/2 Cup of milk, and 1 egg. Once it's whipped together, grease up your mini muffin pan and fill as equally as possible.

Next, add your fillings without overflowing. The key is to push them all the way to the bottom but also leave some on top.

Bake for 12 minutes (or until you think they're ready) and if you filled them to the top, they're going to puff up like little muffins.

Be sure to have some maple syrup on hand for dipping, otherwise they're a little bland. Here are my notes after trying them all:

*Banana = with maple syrup, really freakin' good, which surprises me. Husband agrees. Both say this is #1
*Blueberry = not bad but my least favorite. Husband says this is his #2 favorite.
*Chocolate = also really freakin' good. This is my #2. Husband not in the mood for chocolate. I say he has no soul.
*Strawberry = juicy inside, wish I added more strawberries to make even juicier

And there you have it kids - an easy, no mess solution to breakfast. Now I'm off to my fridge to make some more!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)

$3.50 for Bisquick

$2.29 for milk

$2.79 for eggs (though I only used 1)

$.69/lb for bananas

$3.99 for strawberries
$3.99 for blueberries
$2.50 for mini chocolate chips

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 22 minutes

10 minutes of prep (though if you don't use 4 different flavors, it'll go by faster!)

12 minutes of baking

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5

They're so easy to make, you have no excuse not to try them. Seriously, if you have leftovers, you can stick 'em in the fridge and save 'em for when you're too lazy to make breakfast!

Simplified Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Why do I call this "simplified" lemon poppy seed bread? The original post goes into such excessive detail, you begin to wonder if author lives in a white home with padded walls. I'm telling you, it's on the side of ridiculous. So I'm going to take this post from CookingClassy and try to simplify it for you. It's delicious bread so I don't want instructions like, "Allow to cool 5 minutes in loaf pan (and no longer than 8 minutes)" to deter you from trying it out yourself because of how annoyed you are by their instructions!

Here's what you'll need:

1 2/3 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons of poppy seeds
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sugar
2 Tablespoons of lemon zest (they say 3 lemons, I used 2 without any problems)
1/2 cup of unsalted butter at room temp.
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons of sour cream (see what I mean?)
1/4 cup of milk
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

For the glaze:
1/4 cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Start by preheating your oven to 350, take your bread pan, coat it with PAM (or butter) and flour the inside of the pan. Trust me, it'll make it a lot easier to get it out of the pan once all is said and done.

Grab a medium size bowl (not your mixer) and whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt until combined (they say 20 seconds but honestly, who's counting??).

In your mixer, add your sugar and lemon zest.

Here it gets kind of ridiculous but using your fingertips, rub the lemon zest and the sugar together until the sugar becomes pale yellow. Hey, at least your fingers will smell delicious!

Add butter to the mixture and mix until it's fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides to get it all whipped together. Add one egg at a time and finally, add the vanilla. Note: if you drop an eggshell and then accidentally put it on high instead of turning off the mixer, it's really frustrating getting all the shell pieces out... or... so I've been told... ahem...

In a small bowl, whisk together your milk and sour cream and heat in the microwave until warm (30 seconds and it'll start to curdle!)

Now here is where the instructions really start to annoy me. They want you to add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, then 1/2 of the milk mixture, then 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, then another 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the milk mixture, 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice, then the rest of the flour mixture. If you want to add all the ingredients this way, it's up to you, but I honestly don't see how this is going to affect the way the bread tastes. My advice? Just don't add the flour mixture all at once or you'll have a big mess to clean up!

Pour the dough into the bread pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 40 minutes, cover it with foil (making sure the foil doesn't touch the bread), and then bake for another 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Now as I mentioned earlier, they want you to wait 5 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. While it's cooling, add your lemon juice and sugar in small bowl and heat for 15-30 seconds, or until the sugar has dissolved. This will serve as your "glaze".

Take the bread out of the pan and brush the top with the glaze. Give it a few seconds to absorb the first coat, and then add on another coat of glaze. The more glaze, the better (considering it's not very thick).

And there you have it, folks. The simplified version of lemon poppy seed bread! Try not to devour it all at once before your drug test...

TOTAL COSTS: About $25 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$3.29 for flour
$6.29 for poppy seeds
$1.99 for baking powder
$.99 for salt
$2.69 for sugar
$.99 for 2 lemons (used lemon juice from lemons)
$.99 for butter
$2.79 for eggs
$1.99 for sour cream
$2.29 for milk
Used homemade recipe for vanilla extract

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 hour, 30 minutes
30 minutes to prep the dough
50 minutes in oven
5 minutes to cool
5 minutes to glaze

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
Making bread isn't difficult, I assure you, it's just instructions like the original that make it sound more complicated than it actually is. The hardest part is making sure you don't burn the darn thing. Keep an eye on it and you'll do just fine!

Mini Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

I'm from Kalamazoo, MI (odd name, I know) but they're home to some of the best donuts (doughnuts?) in the country - Sweetwater's Donuts. I have found no real comparison in Los Angeles, so when I saw this recipe on AverieCooks, I thought I'd make my own as a nice morning treat with a cup o' coffee. If you have half an hour to spare and a mini muffin tin, you should definitely give these a shot (I may or may not be typing with one hand with a mini doughnut in the other...)

To make 24 mini donuts, you'll need:
1 large egg
5 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of buttermilk (I used 2% and they came out fine)
1 1/4 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
Pinch of salt

For the sugar coating you'll need:
3 Tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon (the more cinnamon you use, the darker they'll look)

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and spray the inside of your mini muffin pan with PAM.

Add the egg, butter, sugars, and vanilla to a stand mixer and beat until it's light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides to it's all whipped together. Add the (butter)milk and beat to combine.

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt on low until just incorporated. Expect it to be a little lumpy and thick.

Add the mixture to your mini muffin pan until each cavity is 3/4ths of the way full.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick and the center comes out clean. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pans before removing, at which point, you can make your sugar coating.

To make the sugar coating, use two bowls - one with the melted butter (about 20 seconds in the microwave should do it), the other with the sugar and cinnamon. Do not combine the two!

Once the donuts have cooled, dip the tops into the melted butter bowl and then roll around in the cinnamon sugar bowl so the tops are completely covered. If you want to cover the entire donut with cinnamon sugar, just make sure you melt enough butter and have enough cinnamon sugar on hand! Note that depending on how much cinnamon you use will depend on how dark the donuts look.

You can eat these right out of the oven, refrigerate them for later, or freeze them for up to 3 months for another morning snack (though to be honest, I'd be surprised if these lasted for more than a couple days in any household!)

TOTAL COSTS: About $24 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$2.79 for eggs (though you only need one)
$.99 for butter
$2.69 for sugar
$2.29 for milk
$3.29 for flour
$4.79 for cinnamon
$1.99 for baking powder
$3.98 for nutmeg
$.99 for salt (though you only need a pinch)
Used homemade recipe for brown sugar and vanilla extract

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 30 minutes
15 minutes to prep mini donuts
10 minutes to bake
10 minutes to cool
5 minutes to dip all in butter and cinnamon sugar

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
The hardest part is making sure they don't burn in the oven but as long as you keep an eye on them, they'll be fine. My favorite part? They're enjoyable for any season!

Tuna Mint Quiche

There's a restaurant in LA that makes the best damn tuna mint quiche in town. I know this sounds odd but stay with me: tuna, mint, peas, parmesan cheese, and a big flaky crust. It was the only thing I ordered whenever I went there for brunch. And I would keep ordering it if I hadn't seen a giant, flying cockroach near their kitchen last time I was there. Needless to say, I haven't eaten there since but I've been craving this quiche. So after some Googling, I found this recipe that was closest I could find. I gave it a shot and it was so freakin' close, I had to share (with a few tips!) -

Here's what you'll need to make this delicious quiche -


1. 1 pie crust (homemade would be better but store-bought will do)
2. 5 oz. of peas (if you're using a frozen bag of peas, just defrost them)
3. 1 1/2 cups of milk
4. 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
5. 1/4 cup of chopped mint
6. 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
7. 6 oz. of tuna, drained (and no, there are no cans for 6oz. for some reason)
8. 3 eggs



Start by lining the bottom of your pan (I used a cake pan) with parchment paper.

Place your pie crust on top and try to have all the sides covered. I didn't and it ended up collapsing on itself and making a big mess when it came to pouring in the filling. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Then in a 375 degree oven, place the pan for about 15 minutes, or until it's just starting to turn golden brown.

Meanwhile, chop up your mint as fine as you can.

Combine the milk and eggs in a bowl and whisk together. Add your parmesean cheese, your chopped mint, your drained tuna, and your soft peas (if they're not soft, put them in a pot of boiling water until they're soft). Now the recipe doesn't call for salt, but a pinch or two definitely wouldn't hurt!

Mix together thoroughly and while it may not look appetizing, I assure you it will taste amazing.

Pour the filling into your pan - this is why it's good to have the crust completely covering the sides!

Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the top has solidified.

Wait 10-15 minutes for it to cool before slicing and enjoy!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 (prices from Vons)
$.89 for peas
$2.69 for Dijon mustard
$2.78 for 2 4oz. cans of tuna
$1.99 for mint
$2.69 for eggs
$2.29 for milk
$2.79 for pie crust
$3.50 for parmesan cheese

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About an hour and a half
30 minutes to make while crust in oven
40 minutes to bake
15 minutes to cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
This really isn't difficult at all. If something had to be "hard", maybe it's chopping up the mint or maybe it's getting the timing right on how long the quiche should be in the oven, but other than that, it's a piece 'o quiche!

How to Bake a Brownie Inside an Eggshell

When I first joined Pinterest, this was one of the first posts I laid eyes on and I've been too intimidated to try it until now. I was intimidated partially because a.) it's in a foreign language  and  b.) it would require converting everything from grams to cups but those were easy feats to conquer. I've converted everything for you here so you can try these at home and impress (or confuse!) your guests at your next dinner party!

To make the brownies you'll need:
* 3/4 cup of chocolate to melt (I used chocolate chips)
* 1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
* 3 eggs
* 3/4 cup of sugar
* 1/2 cup of flour
* 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
* A pinch of salt
* Eggshells (I decided to fill four eggshells but I could have easily of filled a dozen with the amount of brownie mix I had leftover!)

To prepare the eggshells you'll need:
* 1/2 cup of salt
* 4 1/4 C of water
* Some vegetable oil
* A skewer or toothpick
* A corkscrew

Start by taking your corkscrew and poking a hole in the bottom of an egg. You'll want the hole to be the size of your pinky finger.

Once the hole has been made, peel off the shell and using a skewer or a toothpick, start to jab the egg yolk and egg whites inside the egg.

This will help make it easier for the egg to come out of the shell. Do this for all of the eggs you plan to have empty shells of. Once the egg is completely out of the shell, rinse off the inside and outside of the eggshell.

Combine your 1/2 cup of salt and 4 1/4 C of water in a bowl and dunk your eggshells into the water. Make sure the eggshells are completely submerged and filled with water, otherwise they'll float to the top. Once the bubbles have stopped coming to the top, you'll know they'll stay on the bottom.

Let them sit in the salt water for 30 minutes.

And give them another 30 minutes to dry, with the hole down on top of a paper towel.

Once they're dry, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and pour a little vegetable oil inside each eggshell. Roll it around so the oil coats the entire inside of the shell. This will help prevent the brownie from stick to the sides of the shell when baking. Pour out any excess oil that might be inside the shell.

Now it's time to make the brownie mix! Melt the butter and chocolate (as I said, I used chocolate chips and it worked just fine) in a microwave for 30 seconds and then 10 second intervals after that, so as to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn (mine took 50 seconds total).

In a separate bowl, add the 3 eggs and sugar and mix (I used what used to be inside the eggshells - no point in letting it go to waste!)

Once the chocolate has cooled, add it to the sugar and egg mixture.

Add your cocoa, flour, and pinch of salt to make your brownie mix complete!

Pour the brownie mix into a plastic bag and cut off one of the corners, as this will make it easier to fill the eggshells with brownie mix.

Slowly add the brownie mix to each eggshell, filling them up 3/4ths of the way. If you hold the eggshell up to a light, you'll be able to see how much you've filled.

Once your eggshells are filled, carefully place them in a muffin tin (you can use foil to keep them centered, if you like) and stick them in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

When you take them out, they'll be very hot but you need to cut off any excess brownie mix or else it'll be harder to do once it has cooled. I recommend holding the eggs with a wet paper towel or oven mitt and using a knife to cut off the excess brownie that has spilled over.

Let them cool completely before removing the shell (I put mine in the fridge for half an hour and that did the trick).

Remove the eggshell and eat your egg-shaped brownie! I had one right after another... needless to say, they're a little addicting! Your dinner guests will be so confused when their dessert is presented to them as an egg!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20 to make at least 9 brownie eggs (if you buy a dozen)
$2.50 for chocolate chips
$.99 for butter
$2.49 for eggs
$2.69 for sugar
$3.29 for flour
$4.49 for cocoa powder
$.99 for salt
$3 for vegetable oil
Corkscrew and toothpick/skewer already on hand but you could use a fork to poke the hole and the toothpick or skewer is only to help get the egg yolk and egg whites out faster... if you have patience, then you don't need anything.

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 2 hours, 18 minutes
5 minutes/egg to empty
30 minutes to soak in salt water
30 minutes to dry
25 minutes to make batter and fill
18 minutes to bake
30 minutes to chill

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 3 out of 5
These are actually a lot easier to make than one might expect. You have to be very careful not to burn yourself when getting the excess brownie off the egg but other than that, it's just a matter of being patient. Waiting for the egg to drip out of the shell, waiting for the eggs in the salt water, waiting for the eggs to dry, waiting to devour them...