Category Archives: chocolate peanut butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cakes in a Jar

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Want to show someone you love them this Christmas (or any time of year)?

Make them these chocolate cakes + peanut butter frosting in a jar a la Forgiving Martha. Girlfriend KNOWS her chocolate cake. I followed her cake recipe (substituting greek yogurt for the sour cream) and it was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve had. So moist and fluffy. And you bake it right in the mason jar!

Then you top those cute little jar cakes with peanut butter buttercream (recipe below). I’m telling you. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be peanut butter buttercream. I want to bathe in that stuff. As did all 6 of the coworkers I gave these cakes to. Seriiiiously. Heaven. Leave one of these cakes in a jar for Santa and I bet you’ll get EVERYTHING on your wish list.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk (I used soy)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • chocolate chips, for garnish

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium high until smooth. Scrape down the bowl and add the peanut butter. Beat on medium high until fully incorporated.
  2. Scrape down the bowl and add the confectioners sugar. Start with the mixer on low, and as the sugar becomes incorporated, turn it up to medium. Beat for about a minute.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and salt. Beat on high for 2 minutes, or until frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting seems too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. Pipe onto the cakes and garnish with chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter M&M Blondies

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In the past week I’ve attempted to make french macarons six times. SIX. TIMES.

Do you know how many eggs that is? Eighteen.

What the heck?? I’ve made macarons before and they came out just fine. But for some reason this week it’s just not happening for me. I’ve tried three different recipes, old egg whites…new egg whites, gel food coloring…regular food coloring, flavoring…no flavoring, whipping for 4 minutes…whipping for 10 minutes, silicon baking mat…parchment paper, using a food scale…not using a food scale, praying…not praying…

You get it.

So when my sixth batch of macarons came out of the oven and promptly deflated onto their sad little feet I said…

NO SIR,

NO WAY.

I’M NOT GONNA LET THAT RUIN MY DAY.

And then I pulled out a jar of peanut butter and fifteen handfuls of Christmas M&Ms. Comfort.

Listen up. Even if you’ve made macarons six times and failed six times, or your dishwasher broke, or you tripped and fell, or someone at work laughed at you, or you went to the {very, very, quiet} library and farted out loud…peanut butter M&M blondies will fix it.

And that’s a promise.

Peanut Butter M&M Blondies (adapted from Handle the Heat)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup M&Ms (or chocolate chips)
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil; coat lightly with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium pot, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. After the peanut butter mixture has cooled slightly (it should still be warm but not hot - you don’t want it to cook the eggs!) add the vanilla; stir until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until fully incorporated.
  5. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until ingredients are fully incorporated; fold in one cup of M&Ms.
  6. Spread batter into prepared pan; smooth it out with a spatula (or your hands) until evenly distributed. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of M&Ms and lightly press them into the batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are just golden brown.
  7. Allow blondies to cool for at least 45 minutes. Melt semisweet chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir until completely smooth. Drizzle over cooled blondies.

Pssstt…hey you! If you’re reading this, leave me a comment! I’d love to hear from you :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie

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I almost lost my toes Saturday night.

Although this was the predicted weather forecast:

I was dressed as Rosie Grace McClelland for Halloween, and you KNOW girlfriend does NOT wear snow boots. So I went out in ballet flats. Which was fine, until me and my roomie Domenica were completely unable to get a cab home (because Boston has THE WORST cab system in all of the world) and gallivanted around in the slush for 30 minutes, essentially… barefoot. I called Mike in complete hysterics, and our conversation went a little something like this:

Me: (sobbing uncontrollably) I c-c-c-c-CAAAAAAAAAN’t get H-h-h-H-H-OOOOOOOOOOOOME.

Mike: Where are you? Calm down.

Me: I C-C-C-C-AN’T feel my feet and I CAAAAAAAAAAAAN’T GET HOME. I’m strAAAAAAAANded.

Mike: Where are you? Can I come pick you up?

Me: MY FEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. I CAN’T FEEL MY TOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEESSSSS. What will my PARENTS SAY when I have to explain why I LOST MY TOOOOOOOOOOOOOES?

Mike: Let me come pick you up. Calm down.

Me: I HAAAAAAAAAAAAATE BOSTON. Can I sue someone over my BLACKENED TOES? My TOES. I can’t FEEL THEM.

Mike: You’re not going to lose your toes. And you can’t sue Boston for being cold.

Me: (uncontrollable sobbing)

Mike: You know, the T is still running. You could take it home.

At which point Domenica and I ran to the T. I lost my flats 15 times and repeated over and over in between sobs “What will my parents say when I call to tell them that I no longer have TOES?!?!!?!?” It was the WORST. NIGHT. EVER.

The good news is I did not, in fact, lose my toes. And my oh-so-caring boyfriend greeted me and Domenica at the door with two steaming mugs of hot cocoa. We soaked our footsies in lukewarm water (Isn’t there a rule about frozen extremities and hot water? Something to do with bursting capillaries? I made that up.) then went to bed, and all I night I dreamt of chocolate and peanut butter and cookies and warmth.

The moral of the story is: Chocolate and peanut butter and cookie dough will always taste good, even if you don’t have toes.

So make this cookie pie, toeless or not.

I got the cookie pie idea over at Fresh and Foodie, but it was totally my frostbitten mind that thought of adding Reese’s mini MINIS:

Maybe I should get frostbite all the time.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie (adapted from Haute Box)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter minis (the tiniest ones - or you could cut up regular-sized)
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of mixer, blend sugar and butter on medium-high until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, and mix until completely combined.
  4. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overbeat! Fold in the peanut butter cups.
  5. Press the dough into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly golden at the edges. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

Homemade Tomato Soup

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Happy Monday! Today is the first day that I’ve….

A. seen dry sidewalks and roads

-and-

B. walked outside without my hood on

…in the past two months. Glorious! Though I hear there is more snow on the way tomorrow morning. In which case you should make this creamy homemade tomato soup. It is SO easy and SO good.

(adapted from Eat, Live, Run)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Heat butter in a dutch oven (or a big pot) on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the flour and stir to incorporate; cook for 2-3 more minutes. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Whisk milk into butter and onion mixture, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes; soup will thicken. Carefully pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth, or use an immersion blender if you have one! Serve with grilled cheese for maximum enjoyment.

And you should finish it off with this rich, dreamy peanut butter hot cocoa.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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I woke up this morning wanting one thing… pancakes. But not just any pancakes. PEANUT BUTTER pancakes. Did you know you could put peanut butter inside pancakes? I didn’t. And I’ve been missing out on a world of deliciousness.

So fluffy and chocolate-peanut-buttery. MMmmmm.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/3 cup peanut butter (I used chunky peanut butter and it was GREAT)

3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

handful chocolate chips

Mix together dry ingredients and chocolate chips in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, beat together milk, egg, peanut butter and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Pour 1/4 cup of batter on a large nonstick griddle over medium heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.

 

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

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Christmas baking season has begun! Yesterday I stocked up on plenty of baking supplies, put on Pandora Christmas and got down to business!

Though not necessarily the most Christmasy of cookies, Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies are the first thing I think of when the holiday season begins. I think its because for as long as I can remember, it was my job to unwrap the Hershey kisses when my mom made these cookies at Christmastime. I always *accidentally* unwrapped ~20 more kisses than the recipe called for so that my sister and I could eat the extras. And this time was no exception!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

(yield: about 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients

  • Hershey’s kisses
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and peanut butter until well blended. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix well.
  2. In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually mix into butter and sugar mixture.
  3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Coat the balls in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges and just slightly browned.
  4. Immediately press unwrapped kisses into center of cookies.

Confessions of a PeanutButteraholic

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Sometimes I put 3/4 cup peanut butter in a 1/2 cup measure so I don’t have to wash two measuring cups.

I have three different kinds of peanut butter in my cabinet.

And two in my fridge.

Sometimes I eat peanut butter M&Ms on the way to the gym and rarely feel ashamed.

My dad taught me that it’s okay to eat peanut butter by the tablespoon, right out of the jar.

I think chunky peanut butter is 2x the fun.

I am utterly unable to resist any and all recipes that combine chocolate with peanut butter, as evidenced by this, this, and this. Oh, and these:

Oh baby bars by Eat, Live, Run. All I really have to say about these bars? Oh, baby. A layer of powdered sugar-sweetened peanut butter topped with a layer of hard chocolate and BUTTER. They are SOOOOOO yum. Duh. Obviously. I pretty much followed the recipe except I substituted chunky peanut butter for smooth and used more dark chocolate than milk.

Have you checked out Eat, Live, Run yet? You should. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

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EEEEEEEK I love peanut butter. I love bananas. I love baking things with bananas. And topping them with peanut butter. Especially when said peanut butter is in buttercream form.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up peanut butter and bananas qualified as a healthy snack. I used the same logic when I invented these cupcakes. I’m using the powers of selective thinking to remind myself ONLY of the mushed bananas and organic peanut butter in this recipe, and not about the 1/2 pound of butter and 2 cups of sugar. Selective thinking really works wonders in my baking and eating life.

The usual suspects. One of these guys went STRAIGHT to my thighs. Not that I’m complaining.

9 out of 10 cupcake testers cited the frosting as the *best* part of the cupcake and also my *best* buttercream creation yet. So I will share that recipe first.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

pinch of salt

Beat it! Until it is light and fluffy and oh-so-good.

The odd cupcake tester out (ahem…MIKE) chose the cupcake as the best part of the dessert. I believe his exact words were:

“Usually a cupcake is just a vessel for delicious frosting, but this time the frosting is a vessel for an AMAZING cupcake.”

Whatever tickles your fancy.

Here’s the recipe.

Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes

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Have you ever had a peanut butter cupcake? I haven’t. But I’ve always wanted to. So I invented them.*
And… you know me. I just had to kick it up a notch. So I embedded a *surprise* in these peanut butter cupcakes.

Can you guess what it is?

Any ideas?
TA-DA! Ready??….
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter Cup Center and Chocolate Buttercream

This is better than that time that I made it to the regional round of Invention Convention in 3rd grade for inventing non-slip bathroom floors.

Though I know I should be patenting this recipe and making the big $$$$, I believe in good karma and am therefore going to share it with y-o-u!

Here is the cupcake recipe. After about ten minutes of baking, push a peanut butter cup into the center. Bake for 10-13 more minutes. Allow to cool, and top with the chocolate buttercream found here.

*Disclaimer: I am probably not the person to discover peanut butter cupcakes. But it makes me feel good to think that I am.

Peanut Butter Blondies

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With homemade chocolate frosting. Need I say more?

I think I need to start a “chocolate and peanut butter” section in my recipes. There are few things I love and appreciate more than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. And when the peanut butter comes in blondie form? Yes, yes, and yes.

Alright - I’ll admit it. This recipe breaks one of my cardinal rules of baking - it requires using the stove. I’m a no-fuss baker. If I can make it all in one bowl, I will. Using the stove = extra pots to clean, extra time, and extra patience. I don’t have patience. But for this particular choco/PB combo, I’ll have to stick it out. This is just one recipe you can’t walk away from.

As always, thanks again, Joy the Baker! Truly the most fabulously delicious baking recipes out there. If you haven’t yet, you must go check her out!

Here we go…

Combine 10 tablespoons unsalted butter with 2 cups dark brown sugar in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir until the butter melts, then remove from heat. It should look something like this…

Oh, hello. Don’t you look gorgeous!
Add 1 cup of natural peanut butter. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Whisk in two eggs and two teaspoons vanilla. Look at these cute little guys from a local farm! 

Mix together 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 
Spread into a 9×13 pan and bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.
Meanwhile, get started on that chocolate frosting. 
Uh huh. Looks about right. Somewhere between chocolately heaven and fluffy frosting goodness.

Beat 6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter with 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add 1/2 cup powder sugar and 1 tablespoon milk - beat until combined. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk - beat until fluffy. Melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet) in the microwave and add to the mixture.

Saving these babies for Emily’s grad party tomorrow. They are currently sitting in a neat little tupperware at my feet as I ride the Greyhound back home. Must resist. Must. resist.