A birthday worth baking for

Give me a special birthday, national holiday (observed or not)...I mean, give me sunny Saturday afternoon for that matter...I don't need much of an excuse to whip up something sweet. It's too hard to resist. All i need is a reason to share the goodness! My dad's birthday was the perfect reason to make a few treats this weekend...and I figured it would be a great chance to try out some news recipes I had been eyeing.

First was the Apple-Cinnamon-Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies. (Note: I have a tendency to LOAD my cookies up with lots of extra ingredients. The more the merrier right?!) It's also worth noting that I rarely follow complete recipes. Not because I feel like I could make it better, mostly because I seldom have EVERYTHING it calls for! So I improvise! Keeps ya on your toes!

Of course I didn't have the dried apple slices the recipe called for, but I did have some crisp fuji apples that were just waiting to be used. I was also out of unsalted butter...but I did have some healthier coconut oil, which I thought worked well with all the flavors. The cookies were nothing short of a chunky mess at first....but after time in the oven....they turned out better than expected. Look at all those chunks!!

Then I made some Peanut Butter Cookies - dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed peanuts. Oiy! They also had Reeces Pieces inside...i couldn't resist. My mom was a happy camper sitting in the sunshine, dunking her peanut buttery cookie her her afternoon cup of tea!

And if that wasn't enough for our small gathering of 6 people.....i made some Chocolate Brownie type things, topped with a layer of marshmallows, peanut butter (there must've been a sale or something), more chocolate and rice crispies. The result was a rediculous mountain of awesomeness!! I mean, a picture tells a million words. Needless to say, I left most of these with the fam, so I wasn't left at home alone with these temptations. At least I have the memories right?!