Tuesdays With Dorie – Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

Peanut butter, yes. But, crisscrosses? Not so much.

I’ve never been able to get a nice crisscross on my PB cookies… ever. I try and I try. I stick the dough in the fridge to firm up. I use room temperature dough. I mix the dough thoroughly and then at times, just until the flour is incorporated. Not sure exactly why they won’t come out for me. But I guess it doesn’t matter, as long as each batch keeps disappearing from the cookie jar. Right? 🙂

Big ‘ol thanks to Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine for this week’s TWD recipe – check her site for the blog and find the other bakers here!

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses (pg. 78)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

This probably ranks as number one on my ‘Messiest Recipes’ list. Not only did I dirty up a ginormous amount of dishes, my hands looked like I had killed a chicken (I would’ve taken a picture, but there was no way I was touching my camera!). Yes, they were incredibly messy to make, but man were they good… like little bites of heaven. I used my absolute favorite dark chocolate peanut butter (featured here) and rolled the truffles in four different coatings: peanuts, pretzels, cocoa powder and graham crackers. The ladies at work were obviously very happy when I brought them in. 🙂

Big thanks to Mara of Love Your Mother Earth for this week’s SMS choice. Check her blog for the recipe and see how the other bakers fared here!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles (pg. 215)
Source: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

TCU Peanut Butter Blondies

This has been the most crazy college football season… and one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. I attended almost all the home games at Amon Carter and even flew to San Diego to watch my Frogs pound on the Aztecs (yes, I had another priority in ‘America’s Finest City’, but my Frogs were pretty close to the top).

I’ve never made a blondie before (forgive me), but I was really impressed with these. I’m even thinking that subbing cocoa powder next time would make the perfect brownie! So, in honor of TCU’s 12-0 season and #4 position in the BCS rankings (so far!), I made these Peanut Butter Blondies (with purple M&Ms!) to enjoy during the selection show. I’ll be watching with crossed fingers and toes and hoping that the BCS selection committee will extend a nice little bid to the Horned Frogs this evening. Thank you to Gary Patterson and the Frogs for such an amazing and exciting season! 😀

“Riff Ram, Bah Zoo
Lickety Lickety, Zoo Zoo
Hoo Wah, Wah Hoo
Give ’em Hell, TCU!!”

TCU Peanut Butter Blondies

5 tbsp butter, almost completely melted
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c purple plain M&Ms
1/2 c purple peanut M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. In a medium microwave-safe mixing bowl melt the butter for 20-30 seconds until almost all of it is melted. Allow to cool for 5 mintues.

Stir the peanut butter into the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the brown sugar to the butter/peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the peanut butter mixture and stir until the flour is almost completely incorporated. Gently fold in the plain M&Ms and 1/4 cup of the peanut M&Ms.

Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Distribute the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut M&Ms on top and gently press them into the mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.

“All we want for Christmas is a BCS bid!!”

 

You Want Pies With That? – Nuts About Pie

“I’m late, I’m late! For a very important date!” Yesterday, that is… the 7th. The deadline for July’s ‘You Want Pies With That?’ entries. Holly of Phemomenon (one of our fearless leaders) gave me the go-ahead to enter late and I’m very grateful! Grateful, because I wanted to share with everyone this fabulous pie that Momma G is famous for. It tastes so sinful but isn’t as bad as you’d think! It’s smooth, rich and the dark chocolate peanut butter totally takes it over the top… I love it!

A BIG ‘thank you’ to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for choosing such a yummy theme this month!

G’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Source: Momma G

8 oz. container Cool Whip Lite
8 oz. fat-free cream cheese
1 c dark chocolate peanut butter*
1 c confectioners’ sugar
1/4 c heavy cream or fat-free half & half
1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or premade

Mix all ingredients until smooth and fold in cream/half & half until well blended. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Drizzle with dark chocolate syrup and sprinkle with chopped salted peanuts on top. Chill for several hours, or overnight, before serving.

*You know how much I love this stuff! If you can’t find it in stores, you can get it here.

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Chewy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

If you know me at all (even just a tiny bit), you know I love me some dark chocolate. What you may not know is that I also love peanut butter. And when you marry the two, you get this… Peanut Butter & Co.’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Obviously, I love it. It’s horrible on the hips, but it tastes oh so good.

When this week’s SMS was announced, I knew exactly which PB I was going to use. And into the cabinet I went (because I always keep this on hand). They turned out perfect… soft, chewy, a little crunchy on the edges with that smooth nutty aftertaste. The chocolate flavor wasn’t as prevalent, but it was still there. After these, though, I don’t know if I can go back to regular ‘ol PB cookies!

A big thank you to Stephanie of Ice Cream Before Dinner for this week’s yummy choice! Head over to her blog for the recipe and don’t forget to check out the other SMS bakers here! 🙂

Chewy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (pg. 66-67)
Adapted from: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

Chinese Chicken Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing

While eating lunch one day a few weeks ago at a local cafe, my mom and I had a Warm Chinese Chicken Salad. After lunch, we headed to Sam’s and picked up a bag of these yummy Sesame Pita Chips. And, luckily, we’re really good at guessing the ingredients in a lot of dishes we eat. 🙂 So… what follows is our version of said salad.

Chinese Chicken Salad
Source: Momma G & Hornedfroggy

Chinese Lettuce (or Long Napa)
Shredded Cabbage
Shredded Carrots
Red or Green Grapes
Shredded Chicken (I used a Rotisserie Chicken from Sam’s)
Crispy Chow Mein Noodles (optional)
Sesame Pita Chips (optional)

Thai Peanut Dressing:
1/3 c chunky peanut butter
1/4 c white wine vinegar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Whisk dressing ingredients together until a moderately thin sauce develops. Assemble salad with veggies and chicken listed above, pour dressing on top, then garnish with Pita Chips and Chow Mein noodles if desired.

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Chunky Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

I had no idea there was a better cookie than the Granola Grabber! These were so delicious… and easy, to boot! I’ll definitely be making these again in the (very) near future! 😉

Beware… Dorie suggests that this recipe makes close to 60 cookies… and there is definitely NO need for that amount in a household of one!! 🙂 Especially, when that ‘one’ is trying to lose weight for an upcoming wedding (only 26 days!! Eeek!!). Thank goodness, I can pass these out at work! And thank you to Stefany of Proceed With Caution for this week’s choice!

Chunky Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters (pg. 73)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

YouBar, MyBar, OurBar!!

When I opened the mailbox yesterday, I had a sweet little surprise waiting for me! Inside were 4 little YouBar samples (albeit, a little melted, but it was nothing a few hours in the fridge couldn’t handle!). There was even one named for BlakeMakes.com – how cool is that? 😉

Love, love, love the BlakeMakes bar!! It’s like Fall wrapped up in a pretty little package and tied with an orange bow. 🙂 There are raisins and cinnamon and honey (I think) – it’s so yummy!

The chocolate wasn’t as sweet as I like it, but it was still pretty darn good (you can’t go wrong with chocolate!).

I wasn’t a fan of ‘Your Name Here’, but the Honey Cashew tasted like a peanut butter bar… smooth pb and nothin’ else! 🙂 Tasty!

Thanks to BlakeMakes for another fab giveaway and YouBar for their amazing samples – head on over and check ’em out!!

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Peanut Butter Torte

This was amazing… almost as good as my mom’s famous Peanut Butter Pie, but not quite. 🙂

Thanks to Elizabeth from Ugg Smell Food for choosing this incredibly yummy dessert!! You know the drill… check out all of the other entries here!!

Peanut Butter Torte
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1-1/4 c finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (I omitted, since I was out of it!)
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semisweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2-1/2 c heavy cream
1-1/4 c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/2 c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; Dorie uses Skippy) (I used Peter Pan)
2 tbsp whole milk (Skim for me!)
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9″ Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Toss 1/2 cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the Springform pan (they should go up about 2″ on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer (fitted with the whisk attachment) or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in 1/4 cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Scrape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment (if you have one), or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, 1/4 cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.
Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.
Scrape the mousse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte:
Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan (I heated my chocolate in the microwave in 30 sec. intervals).
Bring the remaining 1/2 cup of cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.
Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.
When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan. It’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel dampened with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

This weekend, I’m off on a girls’ trip where we’ll be roughing it in the wilderness.  Thankfully, we’ll be in a fab log cabin… complete with running water, an indoor bathroom, real beds/linens and a flat screen. 🙂 You know… camping.

It’s also a friend’s 40th birthday and she loves chocolate almost as much as I do… almost.  So, for her birthday dessert, I decided to make bakingblonde’s Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirled Brownies.  I’ve wanted to make these for quite a while and this seemed like the perfect opportunity – we’re going all out, don’t ya know?

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swired Brownies
Source: Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen

3/4 c butter, very soft (not melted but softer than room temp)
1 c sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

5-6 Reese’s peanut butter cups (regular size) cut into 6-8 pieces each
IMPORTANT: Do NOT omit the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. They take these brownies over the top and add the “Double” Peanut Butter taste that the title tempts the tastebuds with!!

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8″ square pan with foil and lightly coat with PAM cooking spray.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the two baking chocolate squares in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth and melted after stirring. Do not scorch! Remove from microwave and allow to come to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time until blended. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix to combine.

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and whisk together. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Do not overmix. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate brownie batter into prepared pan. Evenly drop 1/2 of cheesecake batter in dollups over brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl. Dollop remaining brownie batter and cheesecake batter over swirled mixture. Run knife through the brownie and cheesecake dollups (not all the way through the already swirled layer) to create a swirled pattern.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it. Do not overbake or they will harden, if underbaked they will be too gooey. Every oven is different so watch and check these after about 35-40 minutes of baking to ensure proper doneness.

After about 35-40 minutes of baking (with about 5-7 minutes of baking time left), gently place cut up Reese’s cups over top of almost fully baked brownies. Finish baking until a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it. The Reese’s PB cups will melt but hold their shape slightly. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting and serving.