Hot and Spicy Pecans

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of...

I’ve never been one to pass up anything made with sugar, but you might be surprised to find I love SPICE just as much. Pile on the hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and jalapenos. I’m not happy unless I’m sweating!

Ingredients
½ cup butter
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups pecans (I threw in a handful of peanuts as well)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside. The foil isn’t necessary, but it makes clean-up a lot easier.

On the stovetop, melt the butter and add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cayenne, black pepper and salt.

Take the pot off the stovetop and add the pecans. Mix continually for about 5 minutes until the pecans are thoroughly coated.

Pour the nuts onto the foil-lined cookies sheet and place it in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir once during baking.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the pecans to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ve been slacking in the baking department lately. My apologies. It definitely isn’t because I’ve lost my sweet tooth, but has every reason to do with a crazy schedule the past few weeks. My big sister turned 30 last week, and we decided to take a trip to Ireland to celebrate the occasion. Between the planning, packing and the actual trip – I’ve had zero free time. The trip was FANTASTIC, but now that I’m back to reality, I’ve got to make up some lost ground with this blog! What better way than to start off with my favorite go-to combination: peanut butter and chocolate…

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (I used skim)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, and set it aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk. Pour half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir until well combined. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture. Next stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter into your paper-lined muffin tin. Each cup should be filled to the top.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Adapted from bakingbites.com

And now for a few Ireland pictures...
Rainbow over Dublin
Lindley and her "sheepie"

What's a trip to Ireland without some beers?

Bus trip to the Wicklow Mountains / Glendalough

We're a little squinty since we hadn't seen the sun in a while...

Wicklow Mountains