Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Em and M reunited!

Our apologies, we've been entirely MIA this past week. 

It's been a total zoo. 

 

Finishing the first year of medical school! Graduation!

While it may seem counter-intuitive to finish one's first year before undergraduate graduation, the odd sequence of events did not deter from the happiness and chaos that is the end of the year. 

So that's my excuse. 

Em's excuse? Well, she was deemed photographer of festivities and had to tag along taking picture after picture. 

But before we get to the loveliness that are these Oatmeal Fudge Bars...

I've been feeling a little sentimental. Actually, very sentimental.  

This year was absolute craziness.  Learning all sorts of random things, meeting people from around the country ( really gotta move to California...), all the while attempting to maintain some sort of sanity.  I've loved it all -well, most of it.  And suddenly, like I've run into a brick wall, everyone disperses into all corners of the world.  It's incredibly jarring, but makes me more appreciative of what I've shared with my friends and classmates. 

But more importantly, Em and M are once again reunited and are baking once again! 

I'm grateful for the time we can spend together. =)

Can't you just taste the chocolate fudge-y goodness?

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

It's that time of year again. 

The sunshine beckons. The green grass begs to be walked on. (Okay, okay, minus this CRAZY weeklong weather depression. Stupid rain.)

Summer blockbusters call  to your wallet. TV shows shock and awe with crazy cliff-hangers.  

That pile of work?  PSSHH. 

I've been hit with a severe case of summeritis.  It's like senioritis, but can afflict everyone.  

Symptoms?  The mentality of "why can't it end alreadyyyyyy????"

These cookies can temporarily alleviate such symptoms. 

But enough of all this medical talk, I've been spending too much time with my books syllabus. 

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies!

I initially made these cookies out of redemption; the last oatmeal cookies I made looked like little pieces of poo.

Just ask my roommate. They were pretty tasty, but not so pretty. 

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

Brilliant moments come to me at the most inopportune time. 

I used to crawl out of bed and stumble in the dark to my desk to find a Post-it to scribble down random phrases that I thought were genius ideas.

I also get these little moments of clarity in the shower where there is no paper to be found. Earlier, I was thinking about why I decided to start this blog.  

Em and I began this as a joint project in order to share our thoughts and adventures despite being in two entirely different places.  We aren't professional. We aren't even good cooks.  

Not at all.

There's just too much fun in the learning process.

I've realized that this little blog allow me to stay connected not only to my sister, but also with my best friends that I haven't seen in months.  I've also shared new adventures with new friends (including these brownies!) and found common ground with complete strangers from across the country.  This truly is the best part of Baking With Em&M. Thank you loyal readers!

But what is that amazing looking dessert in the picture, you ask?

Better-Than-Crack Brownies.

Yes,  that's right.  Better-Than-Crack Brownies. 

Part brownie, part Reese's peanut butter cups, and part Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats,  this is the best combination of everything that is good in this world. 

Jen from home made adventure and I decided to team up to make these fantastic brownies for one of our last classes. 

Jen's blog is ah-mazing! She writes about making pasta from scratch (!!!) and has great recipes that are super easy and healthy!  Not only did she inspire me to make pasta this summer, but to lead a more healthy fruit and vegetable-y life. 

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread

Happy Mother's Day!!

My mom loves gardening.  
Mom is to M as Gardening is to Baking. 

 

The second the insane piles of snow melt into soggy muddy grass and sunshine peeks from behind the gloomy clouds of winter, my mom is outside puttering around her garden.  Somehow, she turns desolate soil into tulips, tomatoes, lettuce, and Lily of the Valley.  

My mom's love and undying attention to her garden yields numerous vegetables each summer. One of which is zucchini!  

In times of vegetable abundance, we would make zucchini bread!

This recipe, adapted from Joy the Baker (can you tell who my blog idols are yet?), takes a classic bread and adds Sweet Potato for a unique twist! If you're questioning this combination, don't worry -you can't really taste the zucchini or sweet potato.  The bread is, however, perfectly moist and smells like heaven.  

The nutmeg. The cinnamon. It is oh-so-lovely and delicious. 

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few people have mentioned to me that baking and cooking are a lot like chemistry lab. 

Sigh. 

I was horrible at chem lab.  It was disaster after disaster. 

True, baking is a lot like lab: there are lists of ingredients or materials and a set of directions. 

But with baking, the result is so much better. Who can deny cookies, brownies, or cake??

  
This is why I love baking: Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

This recipe, from Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen, is beyond amazing. 

And I mean, beyond. 

They look like they were made by professionals and they taste like heaven.  After we took a bite from these cookies, the kitchen was just filled with "Mmmm" for a good 5 minutes.  My friends and I were speechless!