Pear & Hazelnut Muffins

I don't think I fully appreciated pears until I was in high school. The texture was weird to me as a kid, but I finally came to my senses. Now I love anything with pear in it and these muffins are no exception!

What You Need
- 2 small firm pears (I used anjou pears)
- 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 2/3 white cup sugar
- 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped and separated

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a muffin tin

2. Peel and grate the pears (2) in a large bowl. You should have about 1 cup. Stir in the butter (6tbsp), sugar (2/3cup), milk (1cup), eggs (2), and vanilla (1tsp) until all combined.

3. In a medium sized bowl. Mix together the rolled oats (3/4cup), flour (1 1/2cups), cinnamon (1/2tsp), nutmeg (1/2tsp), salt (3/4tsp) and hazelnuts (1/2cup).

4. Gently fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just mixed.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter almost to the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts. Place into the oven and immediately lower temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat these for breakfast or desert...or for both!

**Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen**

Lemon Bars

To be honest, I think January is the most depressing month of the year. The 'most wonderful time of the year' is over, everyone goes back to their regular routine, it's cold, people are concerned about their weight, and there isn't another holiday to be excited about for a long time. It simply sucks.

In an effort to make January a little more bearable, I like to make lemon bars. It's a fresh treat for a fresh new year. I was able to make them earlier this week when we had a friend over for dinner, and I can proudly say they put a smile on everyones face (yay!).

**Now, I like my lemon bars chunky, so I baked them in an 8X8 pan, but you can really put this recipe in a 9X13 inch pan if you like your bars thinner...especially if you like a thinner crust.**

What You Need
Base
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
- Powdered sugar

What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar (1/3cup), flour (1 1/2cups), and salt (1/2 tsp). Using a cheese grater, grate the butter (1/2 cup) and incorporate into the base mixture until small crumbs form by hand. Or, if you're fancy and have a food processor, combine all of the ingredients until small crumbs form.

2. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8X8 pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Take out and let cool while making the topping.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs (5) and sugar (1cup&2tbsp) for about 3 minutes, or until pale and thick.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour (1/3cup), baking powder (1tsp), and salt (1/4tsp). Then gradually mix in the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Then mix in the lemon zest (1/2tbsp) and lemon juice (1/2cup).

5. Immediately pour lemon mixture over base in pan. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. If the topping is still jiggly, bake for an additional 2 minutes, or until the topping is set. Take out and let cool completely.

6. Once cool, pile on that powdered sugar over the bars. Put as much or as little as you like. For me, I love having the bars covered in powdered sugar. Then cut into squares and enjoy!

Rocky Road Bars

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had as great a holiday season as I did! For Christmas, I was very happy and fortunate to spend it with my family back in the Bay Area. With a lot of relaxing, being surrounded by my family & their love, ice skating, meeting up with dear friends, and eating more food than I could handle, I couldn't have asked for anything else to make a great Christmas vacation! For New Years, Adam and I popped open a bottle of Cook's (classy... I know), played Kingdom Hearts (one of my favorite games btw), and watched the ball drop to say goodbye to a great year and to welcome another exciting year. I'd have to say, it's already off to a great start!

To kick off 2014, I decided to make some simple Rocky Road Bars. They're super easy and they don't take long to make. I will say they are a bit rich, but that's ok! Anything with marshmallows is a winner in my book.

What You Need
- 1 cup & 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup & 2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup salted and roasted peanuts

What You Do
Line an 8X8 pan with parchment paper. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from head and let cool slightly. Add in most of the marshmallows and peanuts and stir to combine. Evenly spread chocolate mixture in the pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining marshmallows and peanuts. Place in refrigerator to set. Once completely cooled, cut into squares big or small enough for you to enjoy!