Cookie dough cupcakes, peanut butter chocolate cookies and cake pops

It seems like the farther I get away from college (and the more free time I have...there's a connection), the more I get into movies. Which is why Oscar season is exciting. I saw The Artist a couple days after the Best Picture nominees were announced, and I have to say, it's totally great. For a silent film, it uses sound masterfully. Another favorite so far is Midnight in Paris. To be honest, I've never seen a Woody Allen film before this, but I love historical fiction, and this was throwing a lot of great characters (both Ernest Hemingway and Salvador Dali are fantastic) into one story. I've gotta admit, though, there are a couple I have no desire to see. The Tree of Life? No thanks.

I've been really into basic cookies lately. Maybe because they're simple, quick and always a hit...I've been crazy busy lately but still want to bake, so they're a good solution. And these are my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe from Smitten Kitchen. A few hours in the office and they were all gone.

A few friends who will remain nameless (but who LOVE cake pops) requested these a couple weekends ago, and for the first time I enlisted my dad and stepmom's help making them. Thank goodness, too, because we made three different flavors, which means about 150 pops. So my dad helped roll them out and manned the sprinkle station. The red ones were red velvet, the orange were chocolate and the yellow were yellow cake. It was great making them with Dad and Cathie, because it was so hilarious watching them. They loved testing the mixtures and tasting the frosting.

And with another classic, I made these chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes from Annie's Eats. These were always a hit at the Journal-World but I'd never taken them into the Biz Journal. They take a few more steps than normal cupcakes, but it's worth it. They're chocolate chip cupcakes that are stuffed with an eggless cookie dough. What I think makes them, though, is the cookie dough-flavored icing. SO tasty.