It’s been a fun week of Birthday celebrations beginning with a special Birthday/Graduation party on Tuesday.

 

 

Then on Thursday, a coworker who happens to have the same birthday as me, brought me these beautiful flowers from her garden!

 

 

Friday, we got to spend the day with my brother and his girlfriend (who has the same birthday as me) including a fun nice dinner out at Cooper’s Hawk.  Yesterday, we hosted my friends and their adorable kids over for a Fiesta BBQ.  It was a team effort as my friends brought lots of delicious food, including a homemade guacamole.  I made some of my summer favorites including this cream cheese corn dip and Wendi’s zesty black eyed pea salad.

 

 

 

My best friend helped me chop up some veggies for this fresh green salad.

 

 

And the BOY was in charge of the meat.

 

 

Everything turned out incredible! The BOY marinated the meat for a day and it was so flavorful and juicy in the fajitas.  I love the DIY set up for a fiesta BBQ because it is so casual and easy.

 

 

Even with such a filling dinner, we all saved room for dessert!

 

 

We had everyone’s favorite Cookie Cake with extra frosting!

 

 

And I made an Oreo Peanut Butter Pie.

 

 

And these Triple Chip Blondies from Our Best Bites.

 

 

They turned out soft and sweet, and I highly recommend that you make them!

I’m such a huge fan that I’m gong to share the recipe with you RIGHT now, so here it goes…

 

 

They come together quickly and are full of your favorite chips!

 

 

Tell me you don’t want to dive right into that pan of dough!

 

 

The bars are the perfect combination of crispy on the edges, but soft and chewy on the inside, with tons of wonderful flavors (I used white chocolate, milk chocolate, and butterscotch).  You could even add some nuts if you’d like, but they certainly don’t need them.

 

 

I skipped the chocolate glaze due to time, but I would recommend giving it a try!

 

 

 

These bars are totally birthday worthy and they freeze well so preheat your oven and whip up a big batch!

Your friends will be thrilled with the results.  And you will thank me!

 

 

Triple Chip Blondies
From Our Best Bites

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with the back of a knife
2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup for drizzling on top
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt the butter. Combine in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (excluding the 1/3 cup reserved chips), white chocolate chips, and peanut butter or butterscotch chips and mix until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely. When cool, combine the reserved chips and the coconut oil or shortening in a small freezer zip-top bag, seal it, and heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments, mashing the bag with your hands until the chocolate and oil are smooth (repeat as long as necessary). Cut a small corner out of the bag and squeeze the melted chocolate over the baked blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

 

 

What dessert do you always have for our birthday?

I got to have two of my favorites this week…chocolate chip cookie cake and angel food cake.