chocolate peanut butter bars

I saw the recipe for Peanut Butter Mud Bars on one of my favorite food blogs, Bake or Break, and I couldn't get the idea of eating these out of my head. Sometimes these things happen, and when I'm in the throws of a craving like this, I cannot be stopped. Even if I am missing some of the starring ingredients. I'm on a mission, and I need chocolate peanut butter bars, post haste. So, I just go for it, swapping and substituting till I try my new concoction, with fingers crossed. Sometimes things turn out great, like my cherished Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cake (if you haven't made this yet, seriously just go and do it now—it's insane), and sometimes things do not turn out in my favor. Which is obviously not documented, and I try to erase The Mistake from my memory. This experiment turned out pretty good, not as epic as Pumpkin Bread Pudding, but I kept going back for seconds, so that's a pretty good sign, wouldn't you say?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (heavily adapted from Peanut Butter Mud Bars via Bake or Break—recipe originally from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa (I might even try more next time)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (might try more of these, as well)

Frosting:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tbs. sifted powdered sugar.

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and lightly flour a 9″x 13″ baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add peanut butter and beat well. Mix in egg and vanilla.

Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

While base is baking, combine the chocolate chips, peanut buter and powdered sugar in a small saucepan and cook on low until melted and evenly incorporated. Turn off heat once melted, but keep mixture on stove (the heat from the oven will keep the mixture warm).

Remove from oven, let cool for 20-30 minutes, then top with frosting. Let cool at least 30 minutes before eating.

pecan pie bars

i made food for an event last night for mondo fine art. i was dumb and didn't bring my camera, but i took a couple of shots with my phone. i made pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon caramel sauce, gingerbread chocolate cookies and pecan bars.

i've been wanting to make pecan pie bars for ages now, but whenever i've tried one of these bars at a bakery or restaurant, they seem to be really dry and not have the consistency anywhere near pecan pie, so i was put off. and as i've noted before, i looooooove pecan pie. love. (love). but i couldn't be daunted for too long, so i did some research and created a fusion between a few recipes. and someone in this room (me) is happy with the result.

i got the crust recipe from the lemon bars on brown butter shortbread recipe from tartine that i posted before. and i got the filling recipe from my mom who found it in but i doubled it and made a couple of tiny tweaks. use an egg wash on the crust to keep the filling from seeping into it too much. you just put an egg white on the crust and swish it around till it's covered the entire surface of the crust, then you pour off the excess then bake.

crust:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.

filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup corn syrup
4 eggs, room temp.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 1/2 cups pecans

pour the filling on top and bake for 50 minutes at 350°. after the bars cool for 15 minutes, run a knife around the edges to make them easier to get out later. i think these taste best when they are made the day before and served cold. 

 

peanut butter and jelly bars

i found this recipe on one of the baking blogs, bake or break, that i subscribe to on my trusty google reader. they are originally from martha stewart's cookies. they are easy to make and not too bad if i say so myself.

1 cup butter, softened, plus more for preparing pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pan
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 & 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups strawberry jam (or other flavor)
1 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped


Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9x 13 baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Beat butter and sugar together on medium speed of an electric mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add eggs and peanut butter, and beat about 2 minutes or until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add vanilla and mix.

Transfer two-thirds of dough to pan and spread evenly. Spread jam on top of dough. Crumble remaining dough on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until golden. Rotate pan half-way through baking. Tent loosely with foil if bars are getting too dark.

Cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges to loosen. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes about 3 dozen bars.