Showing posts with label Peanut Butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peanut Butter. Show all posts

1/30/2025

Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich Cookies

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Remember the Kale Salad with Radishes, Grapefruit and Candied Pepitas I shared? I briefly talked about the ground spice cardamom and its uses in sweet and savory dishes. Its ginger-like taste and floral aroma make it a superb addition to both flavors. If kale is not to your liking, maybe these cookies will be! This is like a traditional peanut butter cookie with the classic crosshatch pattern. The addition of the creamy filling spiced with cardamom takes it over the top! 

When choosing peanut butter for this recipe, purchase the "regular" or conventional peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. Peanuts in regular peanut butter are emulsified with sugar, salt, and hydrogenated oils, making them thicker. Natural peanut butter is made of ground peanuts and not emulsified with added ingredients, which would cause the cookies to spread more, and the filling would be less flavorful.

Can you use creamy or crunchy regular peanut butter in this recipe? For the cookie dough, yes, you could use either. For the filling, I would recommend using only the creamy because crunchy would make the filling more difficult to spread or pipe.

I like to use a #60 cookie scoop when equally portioning out tablespoons of dough. I also like to use a #1A decorating tip fitted in a piping bag when applying the filling. Both kitchen tools make for ease of execution, but these cookies will taste good no matter what you use in your kitchen. Happy baking!

3/28/2022

A Special Day!

Pin It Yesterday, on March 27, 2021, my puppers/baby dog, Miss Hazel, came into this world. We celebrated with treats, a new stuffed animal, and a drive-thru to a certain fast food place for a cheeseburger (minus the pickle).  If she could talk, she would say it was an epic day! 



2/10/2022

Peanut Butter and Banana Pupcakes

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Yesterday was a special day in this house.  Black Lab #4, my Ruby, turned 10! When your a dog in this house and you make it to 10 years of age, that calls for a celebration! And if you know me personally, you'll know that one of my favorite ways to celebrate a birthday is with cupcakes! So, PUPcakes it was.

These are so easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients on hand.  For the cake I used a super-ripe mashed banana and some applesauce as the base of the wet ingredients.  If you don't have one of those ingredients, pumpkin purée or smoother puréed fruit would be fine. You might even stroll down the baby food isle. (I really don't think your doggers will be too picky.)  The frosting is simple a 1:1 ration of cream cheese and peanut butter (I just used traditional peanut butter, not the natural or organic).  I don't know one dog that doesn't like peanut butter.  As for the garnish, it's just Milkbones and finely chopped bacon because I felt like getting fancy and let's face it, even in the dog world, bacon makes everything better.  

Now, I made these treats for my dogs, but really, there isn't anything in the cake that a human couldn't eat outside of any allergies.  In fact, when my husband walked in he saw them on the table and asked if he could eat one.  I said sure, but you might want to take off the Milkbone first😂.

There was a lot of smelling and drooling as I was making these, but if they could speak, I think they would say the wait was worth it!


Happy Birthday, Rubes!!

4/23/2017

Sunday Dinner

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Steak Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing
Cheesy Garlic Bread

Fluffer-Nutter Treats


With quite a bit of steak leftover from dinner last night, I am composing it into a simple salad for dinner tonight.   Not only do I have leftover steaks, but I also have half a pan of these yummy treats.  Cue the easy Sunday dinner for me!

These treats are the love child of a traditional Rice Krispies treat and the classic New England sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.  There's the obvious sticky, gooey, crunchy texture of the traditional recipe, but then there is the salty and nutty flavor from the trio of peanut butter chips, peanut butter, and chopped peanuts.  

The recipe calls for an 8-inch square pan, but you can easily double the recipe and press the mixture into a 9-x13-inch rectangular pan, as I did last night.

3/12/2014

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake

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After a big Sunday dinner, my children and husband usually take the sweet and savory leftovers on Monday for their school/work lunches.  And this Monday happened to be one of those times.  So as I am strolling through the isles of a certain super store at lunch time on Monday, I get this text from my husband--  "Should do a reality show.  Put pieces of that cheesecake in front of  people in the middle of a diet regimen.  Film their anguish for cheap laughs."  I snickered out loud and responded, "That's too funny!"  He then sent another text--  "Damn good cheesecake. Best I've ever had."  I can't argue with that.

I don't think I need to sell you on the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  But as for the texture, cheesecake can be hit or miss.  Dry and over cooked-- miss.  It's almost tough to eat at that point.  This here beauty-- bullseye!  I don't know if it is the creamy peanut butter addition to the filling or the eggs to cream cheese ratio, but it is hands down the smoothest, creamiest cheesecake that I have ever put in my mouth!  

Unlike the more traditional graham cracker crust, this recipe uses store bought peanut butter-filled sandwich cookies.  I used the popular store-bought variety Nutter-Butters, but since it is Girl Scout cookie distributing time, I can't see why you couldn't use up some of those Do-Si-Dos.  Better to put them to good use rather then have them laying around tempting you.  Wait... then you'll have this cheesecake laying around tempting you!  Dilemmas...

4/12/2013

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Torte

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After teasing you by listing this dessert on our Sunday dinner menu and a few requests for the recipe, I thought it would only be fair that I share with you.  Chocolate and peanut butter is a much loved combination of flavors, and when you take those flavors and bake them up into a fudgy, flourless chocolate-like cake with a meringue top, and then serve it with a warm peanut butter sauce... my jaws are cracking.  Are yours??  

The torte itself is quite simple to make and it can be made in advance.  In fact, it is best made the day before because it needs to be served chilled. I served it with a peanut butter sauce, but it would also be nice with a crème anglaise or if you are short on time, just melt some good vanilla ice cream for a sweet ending to just about any meal.

2/01/2013

Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies plus Other Game Day Treats

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What do you get when you cross a fudge brownie with a peanut butter cup?  Um...bliss!   There are not real peanut butter cups in the recipe, however.  Instead, there is a filling of extra crunchy peanut butter and a layer of milk chocolate ganache.  

The original recipe called for salted roasted peanuts in the brownie batter, but I wanted to go with more chocolate flavor in the form of semisweet chocolate chips along with a little espresso powder.  I made one and a half of the recipe for the filling because after all, these are Peanut Butter fudge brownies.  And in keeping with the peanut butter cup theme, I chose to use milk chocolate in lieu of bittersweet or semisweet.  The recipe claims that one pan makes 30 bars.  Although I can easily polish off one of those 30, I find that the rich taste is better enjoyed in smaller portions.  But hey, I will let you make that decision on your own.  Whether you eat them slightly chilled (my preference) or at room temperature (just as good), I think you'll find the classic milk chocolate/peanut butter combination to be a winner.  The added base of fudge brownie just takes these over the top.

If this recipe doesn't have you reaching for the butter and sugar to satisfy that game day sweet tooth, here are a few more that might....

Bars and Confections



Cookies
Homemade Lofthouse Cookies
(make the frosting your team colors)

Magic in the Middles 
(Peanut Butter stuffed Chocolate Cookies)



(reduced fat and calorie option)


Others not to be missed...
Mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes
(super easy store bought cookie crust with tutorial)




10/31/2012

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

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I'll admit it.  This one is probably only for those truly experimental, adventurous kitchen creatures out there.  Not that it is a difficult process, but that the product is so readily available on the supermarket shelf.  I also must say that the process of making these little cups is fun and the result is all the reward you could want.  And the extra made at home bonus---no preservatives or other unwanted garbage in your food!


These cups stand up to anything you can find in a store.  My quartet of taste testers all marked "better" on their sheets.  They are at the very least comparable in taste to any brand of peanut butter cup.  They also make for a great opportunity to involve the kids in the kitchen.

1/27/2012

Magic in the Middles

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After enjoying a delicious, savory Italian Sub Sandwich, I like to finish the meal with something sweet.  A cookie after a sandwich is always a welcome treat.  But these are not ordinary cookies. These are magic.  No, I am not talking tricks.  I am talking about a chocolate cookie dough that is stuffed with a sweetened peanut butter filling, rolled in sugar, and baked until the whole house smells like a peanut butter cup.  Put out a plate of these and they disappear before your very eyes.  Get it?!?  Good.  Now go make them!

12/29/2011

Scotcheroo Popcorn Balls

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Holiday baking-- whether it is trying to get rid of the abundance of seasonal Hershey Kisses that I bought or trying out a new bagel flavor, I am still in it full swing and loving it.  However, I am sure there are a few of you that have put away the baking pans and mixers for a while.  But with the next round of festivities just days away, I thought you would like to a have a fun and delicious no-bake treat.  

This treat is certainly the love child of two popular treats-- the standard popcorn ball and the well-loved Scotcheroos.  Mmm-- popcorn, peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate.  Is there much else to say?!  Not really, except that these little beauties are also on a stick.  Good food, fun food-- it's all there.  


The recipe makes 12 three inch diameter balls. They would be fun to pass out and share with a small gathering of people as you watch the count down on the big screen, or you can make them smaller for a finger size bite for those passing by the buffet/cocktail table as they mingle about.  Whether you serve them casually or wrap them up as gifts, these will make for a "sweet" way to end the year with friends and family.

10/28/2011

Homemade "Fun-size" Watchamacallits

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A little over thirteen years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, I picked up a bag of fun-size Watchamacallits from the market.  I ate one, then another, and before I knew it, I had eaten the entire bag.  Hey, I was eating for two, right?!   Every year since then when Halloween candy bags begin to appear on the shelves, I keep an eye out for those fun-size Whatchamacallits.  After twelve years (is it just my town or can somebody tell me what happened to them?), I am tired of looking, so it was time to start cooking:)

I call these Whatchamacallits, but taste-wise and texturally they came out like the love child of Whatchamacallits and 100 Grands (another favored candy bar).  The foundation is a crisped rice base to which I added a bit of peanut butter.  I made a stiff caramel and poured it over the base because I wanted a nice pull when I bit into the bar.  Then I cut them into small rectangles.  Just before coating in melted chocolate, I gave each bar a little squish to compact the bar and round the edges.  To avoid the sheer torture of having to wait for the chocolate to set, I popped a few in the freezer....


Holy jack-o-lanterns are these ever good!!  Just look at that slight pull from the caramel layer.  


Make these and put the fun back in "fun-size"!

9/07/2011

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

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School is in full swing, so it is time to get back in the lunch box treat and after-school snack groove.  These muffins are seated front and center.  They are a moist and satisfying balance of peanut butter and chocolate without being too sweet for a snack or treat.  Peanut butter is protein and chocolate has antioxidant properties.  So they are good for you, right?!

Like most recipes, this one is flexible.  My son likes chunky peanut butter and my girls like the smooth stuff, so I use a mixture of both to appease all.  I like a mixture of milk and peanut butter chips, but you can use all chocolate if you prefer.  I have even seen chocolate-peanut butter swirl chips at the market and I think those would be a tasty addition.  Mostly I make them standard size for after school snacks, but they are a welcome addition to lunch boxes in mini size.  Any way or size you make them, a plate full of these with a tall glass of milk will be a much appreciated bit of sustenance when saddled with a stack of homework.

*One note-- when filling the muffin tins, be generous.  Normally one would fill a muffin tin about 2/3 full, but these muffins need to be filled all the way to the top for a perfect bakery-style dome.

5/27/2011

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

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Are you are looking for an out-of-this-world treat to serve to family and friends?  Look no further because I have the recipe for you!  There are so many wonderful things about these bars.  We have two kinds of chocolate, peanut butter, and crisped rice cereal.  When brought together, these become the Three Tenors of Yum.  They are also great because they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days.  They won't last that long, but it is nice to make them in advance.  The texture is marvelous in the mouth as well.  The bottom layer is a candied, crispy, and crunchy base that is slathered with a smooth and creamy chocolate-peanut butter mixture and then topped with a delicious dark chocolate glaze.  These are something special.

I first made these bars a few years ago for a boy scout troop meeting and a teacher's conference dinner and they were really good, but as usual, I needed to make a few changes to suit my taste.  The original recipe made enough for an 8x8-inch pan, but these bars are so good that you'll want to share them.  And that calls for a bigger pan.  In doing so, I doubled the top and bottom layer, but only made 1 1/2 of the middle peanut butter layer.  I felt it was a better chocolate to peanut butter ratio.  The other change I made was to brown the butter.  Any chance I get to brown butter, I go for it.  It adds such a nice depth of nuttiness to the bottom layer that pairs perfectly with the peanut butter and chocolate.  You can certainly opt to just melt the butter like the original recipe.  Any way you make them they will be good!


*One note-- these are refrigerator bars.  Therefore, they are not good candidates for sitting out on a buffet table on a warm, sunny day.  However, when I took them to the boy scout meeting (inside) and the teacher's dinner (inside as well), I kept them covered and placed a large ice pack under the serving trays where they sat for an hour before being devoured.