re-post: flourless peanut butter cookies

(photo via Instagram)

I made these cookies last night and posted them on my Instagram and had a few of my gluten-free friends ask me for the recipe. I've made them before, but I thought I'd re-post, with a few changes and tips that I've added since then. You have to follow the recipe pretty darn exactly, or they just don't turn out quite right. I'm not gluten free, but I would still choose this over a recipe with flour in it. They have the perfect texture I'm looking for in a PB cookie. Chewy and soft, but still a little bit crumbly. Plus, they are crazy easy to make and even easier to shove in your mouth. 

1 cup smooth peanut butter (I've tried natural PB and it doesn't work as well, unless you use Skippy Natural Creamy PB. This recipe is all about the right textures, and you have to use the right type of PB)
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and baking soda and mix for 1 1/2 minutes (before, it called for two, and it seemed too greasy and didn't crumble a little bit, which I like). Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out the dough, then roll into a compact ball (This size is just right for getting the perfect cookie - however, this makes less cookies than a normal batch, approximately 16, so you may want to double your batch, depending on your needs/self control). Use a fork dipped in sugar to make a criss cross pattern on the top of the cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Rest the cookies for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack—this is important! Let cookies sit on wire rack at least 5 minutes before consuming to your heart's content. 

***I can't stress enough how you have to follow this recipe exactly to get the perfect PB cookie. 

peanut butter-chocolate chip pie

Whenever my 2.0 comes into town, her family is nice enough to invite me to Sunday dinner. I always like to bring a dessert, because that's how I do. This family is a chocolate loving family. Like, for serious rich, decadent, chocolate insanity loving. I mean—the grandkids eat dark chocolate squares for dessert snacks—if that tells you anything. It took me to get to my 30's before I was down for the dark side like that. So, I always feel like I have to bring my chocolate A-game to these events. This time I brought my favorite combo, peanut butter and chocolate. My offering was a success, and it's safe to say that I will be invited again in the future. Phew!

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Pie, adapted from one of my very favorite food blogs, Bake or Break.

Crust:
1 package Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chocolate chips, pulsed a few times in a food processor (I like the mixture of big pieces and fine pieces that come from doing this step)

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all crust ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until moistened. Press mixture on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until combined. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Fold in already processed chocolate chips. Pour filling into baked crust. Refrigerate for about 4 hours, or until set, before serving. Keep pie refrigerated.

re-post: peanut butter banana chocolate chip cake

Since I posted about this cake, the last time, I've made a few changes—thanks to my sisters. They made it a bunch, but thought it would work better in a 9x13 pan, and doubling the topping. This is still one of my all-time favorites, and with the new adjustments, it's a dream come true. Such great flavors and textures, all working together to make my tastebuds so, so happy. So, do yours a favor and make this. Make it now.

For the cake:
4 very ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups chocolate chips

For the topping:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 square pan. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs and vanilla, and stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon—then add to the banana mixture. Add the peanut butter and when that is combined, add the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and granulated sugar. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, then sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

guest post: Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Fudge Sauce

My lovely sis wrote this post for me, knowing I had a crazy few weeks and wouldn't have time to bake and post something myself...

Banana, peanut butter and chocolate together in any form is the key to Caroline’s heart. Hence, this recipe (for my sweet little sister, in honor of her birthday last week): Peanut butter banana cream pie with fudge sauce. It is by far one of the best B,PB,C combinations out there. Another one I have yet to try: thick-sliced banana bite topped with a spread of peanut butter, then frozen, then dipped in chocolate. Yes? But that’s for another time.

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Fudge Sauce
-adapted from Southern Pies, by Nancie McDermott

Pre-baked piecrust for 9-inch pie, cooled.

For Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons milk
3 cups heavy cream, divided
3-4 bananas, sliced
¼ cup granulated sugar

For Fudge Sauce:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

To make the filling:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and milk. Beat on med-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.

In another large bowl, beat 2 cups cream until it thickens and holds firm peaks. Add the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture and fold gently to combine evenly into a smooth, thick filling. Add the sliced bananas, mixing gently, and then pour the filling into the baked piecrust. Smooth out the filling, mounding it up into a nice peak in the center of the pie. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

To make the Fudge Sauce:

Combine the half-and-half, sugars, and butter over med-low heat. Cook, stirring often, to melt the butter and dissolve the sugars into a smooth sauce. Add the chocolate chips and stir constantly just until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and cool to room temperature.

**When ready to serve, combine the remaining 1 cup cream with ¼ cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Beat on high speed until the cream holds firm peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the chilled pie, and cut into 8 slices; arrange on plate. Drizzle (or pour) fudge sauce over top of each piece of pie.

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.

family foods

I was just in Southern California to see family for a last minute, much needed getaway. I really wanted to hang out with this girl (and the rest of my family, too).

I'm sure it goes without saying, that when I'm around my family, the food is always in delicious abundance. Here are a few things we ate/made.

 

My sister made homemade chicken noodle soup (homemade noodles, too!), and My sister-in-law made this amazing sourdough artisan bread, which she's been working on perfecting for a bit. I'd say she hit the mark. My goodness, it was fantastic! I will see if she'll do a guest post and give us all her secrets.

 

Sis-in-law, will heretofore be known as 2.0 (that's my nickname as her, seeing as how we have the exact same name, but she's more awesome than me, hence the v.2.0). Anywho, 2.0 made some awesome sourdough pancakes and put shredded apples in them. They were a delight.

 Here is a photo of the start. I'll share the sourdough recipe at the end of the post. You're welcome. (You'll need a sourdough starter to make this)

And one of my favorites, and 2.0's as well, Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cake.

Now for the Sourdough Pancakes recipe:

1 egg

2 T. oil

¼ c. milk

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 T. sugar

Add 2 cups warm water and 2 ½ cup flour to 1 cup start. Mix together and let sit overnight. In morning, put one cup in with starter again, leaving you with 4 ½ cup batter. Add any fruit or other lil' nuggets you like to the pancakes. For shredded apples, you add it to the whole batter, if you add chocolate chips or blueberries, add them to freshly poured batter. Griddle or pan should be at medium heat, flip when doughy side bubbles. When pancakes are cooked as golden as you like, EAT THEM UP.

              

***For Sourdough Waffles, add 2 more tablespoons of oil.

peanut butter ice cream

I was hangin' with my awesome niece this weekend, and we decided we wanted to make ice cream. I think it's well established that I love all things peanut butter, so naturally, that was what I was looking for. Thankfully I found this recipe. And I'll tell you what, it delivered. I loved it, the niece loved it, and so did all the other taste testers. So bottom line is, you need to make this! Like right now!

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
Yield: About 7 cups of ice cream
Prep Time: 12 min + processing time

A peanut buttery ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cup chunks mixed in...

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate peanut butter cups (I used a bag of the mini Reece's peanut butter cups)

Directions:
1. Make the base: In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Add milk and mix on low until sugar is dissolved- a full two minutes. You don't want to be tasting crunches of sugar in your ice cream, so give it a chance to dissolve. Mix in heavy cream and vanilla and beat until well combined and smooth.

2. Process the ice cream: Turn on your ice cream machine, pour the base in the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. A couple of minutes before you're ready stop the mixing, add in the chopped peanut butter cups. The ice cream will be a soft-serve consistency. You can eat it right away, or freeze to eat later. If you freeze it for later, it will be more ice-cream-scoopable. Let it sit out for a few minutes before you try to scoop it.

Source: RecipeGirl.com (adapted from The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker recipe booklet)

peanut butter munchies

A new friend of mine from work came over the other day, wanting to have a baking night. We were looking through some recipes I had pulled a while back of things I wanted to try. She was feeling peanut butter, and you know how I'm always down for the peanut butter. I had printed out this recipe that I found via foodgawker, and boy are we glad we made them! They are really easy to make and so much easier to eat. We brought a few to some friends and the rest to work the next day, and if you like chocolate and peanut butter, these are THE cookies for you. If you don't, well then I don't think I can help your special kind of problems...

Peanut Butter Munchies

Chocolate Cookie Dough:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat together butter, both sugars, and peanut butter until creamy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix well. Beat in dry ingredients. Put dough in refrigerator while you make up the peanut butter filling.

In a medium mixing bowl mix together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. It will be the right consistency when you can shape it into balls. Shape the mixture into 32 small (2 cm) balls.

On the palm of your hand flatten out a ball of the chocolate dough like a pancake, place the peanut butter ball in the middle and wrap the chocolate dough up around the peanut butter ball until it is covered. Repeat for the rest of the dough and peanut butter balls. Place balls on cookie sheets (about 2 inches apart).

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until they are just set and the surface begins to crack. Let cookies stand for 1 minute, transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

how to be a domestic goddess recipes: chocolate peanut butter bars

like most foodies, i saw the "julie and julia" movie and loved it. my friend and i were inspired to go through a cookbook as well. so we decided on nigella lawson's book, "how to be a domestic goddess". the tagline of the book is: "baking and the art of comfort cooking" - which is totally up my alley. whenever people ask me what i like to bake and what my style is, i always say that it's baked comfort food, stuff your (my) mom would make. so it's the perfect book to go through. this was my first recipe to try cause i had the ingredients mostly on hand, it included chocolate and it took almost no time to make. awesome. the taste of these is very similar to peanut butter bon bons so that's pretty dreamy, but a simple approach to the same concept. anyway, enough chatter... get to making these!


ingredients for the base:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

ingredients for the topping:
7 ounces milk chocolate (i didn't have milk chocolate, so i just used 11 oz. of semi-sweet instead of the milk and bittersweet)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

stir all the ingredients for the base together until smooth. press the sandy mixture into a 9-inch square brownie pan and make the surface as even as possible.

to make the topping, melt the chocolates and butter together (in a microwave for ease, for a minute or two on medium) and spread the base. put the pan in the refrigerator to set. when the chocolate has hardened, cut into squares (after you let it sit out for a bit for the chocolate to soften just a touch, otherwise it will crack when you cut it)

flourless peanut butter cookies

i first found these on joy the baker's site. and i heard my sister talk about pretty much the same recipe, so i had to try it. and i'm soooooo glad i did. best peanut butter cookies of my life! and since they don't have any flour, it's pretty much pure protein at that point, right? sure, whatever.

1 c. smooth peanut butter
1 c. sugar (1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. granulated sugar)
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 t. baking soda

preheat oven to 350°. in a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. roll into walnut sized balls and create a cris-cross pattern with a fork, dipped in sugar. bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

banana peanut butter chocolate chip cake

yes, you read that title right. why haven't i thought of this or seen it before? what could be better? those three flavors in combination just feels RIGHT. you know what i mean? i saw a recipe for it here via foodgawker. i didn't have peanut butter chips or cinnamon chips, so i'll write up the recipe the way i made it and you can look at the original here.

4 very ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups chocolate chips

for topping:
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
approx. 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. grease an 8-inch square pan. in a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. add the eggs, and stir well to combine. add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. add the peanut butter and when that is combined, add the chocolate chips. pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside. in a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and granulated sugar. sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, then sprinkle brown sugar over the top. bake for 35-40 minutes (it took me longer so just be aware it might take more time), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

peanut butter fudge

i made this after i found it on food gawker. i used one cup of peanut butter instead of 3/4 c. like the recipe called for and it was pretty much the easiest recipe ever. and very creamy and delicious. even my boss who doesn't really like fudge liked it. it was a great treat to give to co-workers for christmas. i made that and these again to give away. so if anyone needs a quick recipe to make for a new years party, this could be a good way to go.

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.

peanut butter bon bons

i gave some of these away at work and to a few friends. these are candies that my family loves that we got from my brother's friend's mother. got that? anyway, these are a better take on a lot of the "buckeye" or peanut butter bon bon recipes i've looked up. the use of rice krispies adds a great texture.

1 stick unsalted butter
2 c. peanut butter (i like to use one cup creamy, one cup crunchy)
1 lbs. powdered sugar
2 c. rice krispies (crushed)

12 oz. choc. chips (i used more than that, and it helps to melt a tiny bit of shortening with the chocolate to make it melt better and to look shiny)

roll peanut butter into balls.


once the peanut butter balls are formed, it helps to put them in the freezer first so they are easier to handle and set up better once you dip them in the chocolate.

to melt chocolate, i just put the chips and shortening in a heat safe bowl and melted it over boiling water, and if you keep the chocolate over that hot water, it stays easy to handle. but can be a bit hot. so be careful.

this is a really blown out picture of my hand dipping the chocolate. once they are dipped and chilled, i like them best kept in the refrigerator so that they are really crunchy.

i don't have a finished product picture, unfortunately because i had to give them all away. but they are pretty and so good to eat.

picture time

ok, so i finally made those cupcakes and peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. and these are the photos to prove it. enjoy!


ok, so i didn't have lime oil yet for the cupcakes so i just used the zest and juice of two limes. and i didn't have a blowtorch so, i broiled them on low in the oven, which worked great and is actually probably easier and faster than the blowtorch method.



these cookies are such a great version of peanut butter cookies. i swear, oats make everything better. i did one batch, cooking them at 11 minutes, and the second batch at 12, which made for a slightly chewy/crispier texture which i love in peanut butter cookies. also, i tried 4 different ways of storing them to see what help up the flavor/texture/etc. the best. method 1: wrap cookies in towel and put them in the microwave (too dry), method 2: cookie jar (too dry), method 3: tupperware (pretty good), method 4: ziplock bag (the best). none of them kept the perfect crispy texture that you have the same day that you cook them, but the ziplock kept the chewy moisture the best.

try a little tenderness

i think i'll try this recipe sometime this week or weekend. it looks pretty good and i love using oats. i'll let you know what i think.