Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

While these little goodies are labeled "cupcakes", I think of them as more of a brownie.

Either way, they combine two of my favorite sweet flavors together for one deliciously rich hand held treat.


from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Cupcake batter
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.
Whisk granulated sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.
Make Peanut Butter filling by combining butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
Spoon 2 tablespoons chocolate batter into each lined cup, followed by 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling. Repeat with another tablespoon of batter and top with 1 teaspoon filling. Swirl top of cupcake batter and filling with a wooden skewer or toothpick.
Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Three-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Would you believe that by using just three simple ingredients, you can make delicious cookies?

Just like my stone soup recipe, you can make them even more tasty by adding a little something something (your choice).

Unlike my stone soup recipe, these are actually divine without the frills.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Combine all ingredients, roll into balls, bake on lightly greased cookie sheets at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Frills: mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, roll the dough in coarsely chopped roasted peanuts. You could place an unwrapped peanut butter cup in the center, or press your thumb in the middle and fill the indentation with jam.

PB Cup Tartlets

Here I go with another Chocolate and Peanut Butter post.

My handsome husband always keeps a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups on hand. Just the mini-ones. He doesn't like the chocolate/peanut butter ratio of the standard size.

I've seen these little treats at parties and finally got around to making some myself. They are SOOOOO tasty. You most likely have everything you need to make them...

You do have a mini muffin pan, right?

And you have a stash of mini PB cups in your pantry or freezer, don't you?

Doesn't everyone?

Recipe adapted from Hershey.com

About 40 (13-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from candies. Spray mini muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy in large bowl. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place one in each prepared muffin cup. Do not flatten.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until puffed and lightly browned; remove from oven. Immediately press peanut butter cup onto each cookie. Let cool 5 minutes in muffin pan, then carefully remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 40 cookies.

Simple Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

This is my go-to brownie recipe. I always have the ingredients in my kitchen. They are much better than a boxed mix, and come together just as quickly. On a whim, I threw in a bag of peanut butter chips. Good decision on my part.

3/4 c butter
3 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c + 2 T flour
11 oz bag peanut butter chips.

Melt butter and chocolate together in saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Bake in greased 9" x 13" pan for 18-20 minutes at 350*.

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

This weekend, we made our annual trip to Jackson.

Can I just say I love this trip.

For me, it entails a nine to ten hour drive in an air conditioned Suburban with some great girl friends.

Sure there are some mad dashes to the feed zones, several frenzied hand-offs of musette bags, lots of yelling (and whistling) out the window at men in tight shorts...Who's complaining?! But the drive was also spent enjoying excellent company.

When we arrived in Jackson, we met up with our husbands, who treated us to a nice dinner and then took us to a fancy hotel (props to Jenn, the hotels are a lot nicer now that she is booking them).

The cyclist, however, has a different idea of fun when it comes to road trips. You see, he spent those same nine and a half hours ON A BIKE.

206 miles.

Over a lot of hills.

Just for fun.

On a bike. Did I say that already?

The kind you pedal.

handsome, huh?

Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter how he gets there. Just as long as he meets me at the finish line. Jackson's no fun without him.

This year, he found these tasty little cookies in his feed bags.

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups quick one minute oats

Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, peanut butter until peanut butter melts. Add oats. Stir until mixture begins to stiffen a little (a minute or two). Drop by rounded clusters onto foil or waxed paper. Let set.

Sinful Peanut Butter Brownies

Come November, the cyclist and I are boarding a plane and heading to a lush tropical island somewhere.

I have only three months to get this body bikini ready!!!

That means high protein cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast. Egg white omelets for lunch. Chicken and veggies for dinner.

But with a diet that healthy, there has to be room for some dessert, right? I'm not talking about angel food cake, or sorbet, or fresh fruit. I'm thinking something decadent...something that I can really sink my teeth into...something that will stick to my ribs....


Good-bye, bikini.

Hello, MuuMuu.


In all seriousness, these brownies are sooo good. Cut them small (1 inch x 1 inch is perfect...if you still want more, eat another square). They are moist, rich, fudgy. The saltiness from the nuts and pb cups put them right over the top.

Brownies:
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter chips 


Combine melted butter and cocoa, add sugar then eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake in greased 9X13 pan @ 350 for 30 minutes.


Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon water
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 1/4 -3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter, whipping cream, water, cream cheese and vanilla in a bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in cocoa and powdered sugar until smooth. 



Here's the kicker:
3/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
30(ish) small Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, quartered

Sprinkle over frosted brownies.

A word of warning: only make these when you can take them somewhere. Unless you are the type that can walk past a half eaten pan of brownies all through the day and not feel the need to nibble each time you go by. I am not that type.

Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

I have made several things from my "Baked" cookbook. So far, nothing has disappointed. These cookies are divine. The perfect peanut butter cookie. Rich, moist, and with big chunks of chocolate throughout. Don't you just love the PB and chocolate combination?

The dough must chill for a few hours, so plan ahead!

Peanut Butter Cookies

adapted slightly from Baked

1 3/4 c flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling

1 c firmly packed dark (yes dark) brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I'm a Skippy fan)

1 bag milk chocolate chips (I like Guittard--they are larger than the regular chocolate chip)

Sift the flour, soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until just incorporated.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least three hours (I was anxious and got away with two hours).

Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray well with cooking spray.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared pans, at least 2 inches apart. (I used a large cookie scoop and ended up with 27 cookies). With the palm of your hand, very gently press each cookie down ever so slightly; you don't want them flat.

Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sugar and bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the individual cookies to wire rack to cool.
Eat a few while they are still warm.

O'Henry Bars

These are my version of Scotch-eroos. They have been a summer picnic staple for many years. I've tweaked the recipe a bit from the standard. I like the flavor a little simpler, so I omit the "scootch". I've also reduced the amount of rice krispies, as I like mine gooey.

This recipe makes enough to fill a jelly-roll pan. It may seem like a lot, but they go fast. Any you don't eat right away can be frozen for a couple of weeks. Make sure you cut them into individual bars before you freeze them. When you're craving a PB and chocolate fix, just take one out of the freezer and set it on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes. Enjoy.

2 C sugar
2 C corn syrup (Karo)
2 C creamy peanut butter
11 C rice krispies
2 bags chocolate chips

Pour cereal into a LARGE bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until it melts. Pour over cereal and stir to coat. Press into a greased jelly roll pan (rimmed cookie sheet).
Melt chocolate chips in microwave or over double boiler and spread evenly over bars. You may need to refrigerate them to get the chocolate to set, but bring back to room temperature before you cut them.

Cyclops Cookies

For my eighth birthday, my grandparents gave me my first cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Kids. Twenty some-odd years later, I still turn to it to make some of my most loved cookies. Some pages are falling out, some are sticky, but whenever I flip through it, I feel like an eight year old again.
Give these peanut-buttery cookies a try. Don't you want to be a kid again?

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (that's the only kind the cyclist will allow in the house)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
granulated sugar
30-36 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

In large mixer bowl, beat butter and peanut butter on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and soda. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, beating well.
Cover and chill 1 hour (not completely necessary if you don't have the time, it just makes the dough easier to handle).
Preheat oven to 375*. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm. Immediately press a chocolate kiss atop each cookie. Cool on rack.

Orange Peanut Stir-Fry

My family loves this dish. My first born is anti-vegetable (and quite vocal about the issue), but she gobbles this right down...even the mushrooms. My second LOVES veggies and usually sneaks bites of this off her sister's plates.
The flavor combination in the sauce is fabulous, and it's quite healthy.
I don't know that it is technically a stir-fry, but that's what we've always called it.
You can add any protein you'd like. We usually add Yoshida's Salmon.

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter* (can use low fat)
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (can substitute regular)
1/4 cup honey
2 t bottled minced garlic
2 t bottled fresh ginger
1-2 t crushed red pepper flakes (Dustin, remember t=TEAspoon)
zest of one orange (if you don't have a zester or microplane, use the smallest grater you have)
chopped peanuts

about 2 lbs of your favorite vegetables, chopped, sliced, or julienned (think matchsticks)
red onion
red, yellow, orange, or green peppers
broccoli
mushrooms
carrots
snow peas

Cooked noodles (I usually use spaghetti)

Combine sauce ingredients in large saute pan. Cook over low heat until peanut butter melts. Dump veggies in sauce. Stir and cover. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in cooked noodles. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

*Speaking of peanut butter, I'd like to thank Lindsey for the "spoonful of pb dipped in plain m&m's" tip. My hips, however, don't thank you.