Peanut Butter Nutella-Swirled Brownies

I'm ba-ack! :)

Vacation was AMAZING. I am so going on a cruise again, that's for sure. Alaska was beautiful, and, trust me, we have the pictures to prove it. Between Dave and I, we wound up with just over 1200 pictures. Don't worry, I will not be posting them all. In fact, I need a break from organizing photos, so it'll be a few days before any of those get posted.

The food? Oh, man. I tried valiantly to balance out my fruit/veggie consumption with my dessert consumption. I think I was mostly successful. Definitely didn't have to worry about this girl getting scurvy. I kept a notebook with what I ate (including the many new things that I tried), but that's in the other room at the moment, and.. yeah, I'm a bit lazy tonight.

Yesterday morning didn't start out in its usual way. I overslept, didn't wake up until 10:30a. So right there, only one baked good would be made. Which would be good... if only I knew what I was going to make.

I have no idea how I found it, but I wound up at The Craving Chronicles where this recipe was posted. And having read that it was a "forgiving recipe", I decided to alter things around a bit. Theresa mentioned that she found them too sweet, so I dropped the sugar down a bit, and added a bit more Nutella, because, truly, is there such a thing as too much Nutella? I think not.

Overall? It's a dense brownie that has a variety of flavors. LOL I taste more of the peanut butter, while Dave and my mom taste more Nutella. *shrug* I guess it could be a sort of a surprise brownie? Or one of those "choose your own adventure" brownies? LOL (I was never a fan of those books, though. Hmm.)



Ingredients:
½ cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
¼ cup peanut butter
½ cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients before gradually adding to butter mixture.

Put peanut butter and Nutella in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, until they're easily stirrable. Fold into brownies. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies

To begin, I must say this: Yay for the 200th post! :D

So our big vacation is creeping steadily closer. And while I'm thrilled with the "only so-and-so many working days left!" countdown, I am starting to get a bit nervous.

Oh, did I mention where we were going? For Dave's mom's 60th birthday, his dad decided to take the family on a cruise. An Alaskan cruise. (Have I mentioned how glad I am to be part of this family? Just kidding lol) We fly out on May 8th, for two days in Vancouver (haven't been there yet; heck, haven't been to Canada either!), then a seven day cruise through the southern part of Alaska, two days in Denali National Forest, and then what winds up being a day and a half in Fairbanks. We get back here on the 21st. I am super-duper excited. So many new places and all the food! I was looking at the cruise website and their sample menus. *jaw drops* Holy moly.

But I am nervous, though. I'm not a big fan of boats. I've been on two in my entire life (those dinner/dance cruise-around-the-harbour kinds in Norfolk, VA, and up in Boston), and those were okay. They were big enough. So I'm sure I'll be fine. But still, I wouldn't be me if I weren't a bit wary of it.

Anyways, that has nothing to do with these brownies, but I couldn't come up with anything else to say. :D (It was a long day at work today, can you tell?)

So. Brownies. I poked through the cabinet and discovered I still had some of the Nestle's Swirled morsels. When nothing came up on my usual blogs, I decided to go the Nestle website. These won mostly because it involved the same temperature as the strawberry lime bars.

They remind me a great deal of those Peanut Butter Munchies from January. PB and I got along well enough. But these I have no qualms about bringing to work or sharing with my dad. Besides, there are still some of the pomegranate chocolate cupcakes; everyone else can have those and these, and I'll have my lime bars. ;)



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. water
10-oz. Nestle's Peanut Butter/Chocolate Swirled morsels, divided
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with water. Stir in 1 cup morsels. Spread in prepared pan.

Combine peanut butter and granulated sugar medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until it reaches a pourable consistency. Stir until smooth. Drop mixture by teaspoonful over batter in pan. Swirl into brownie batter with back of a spoon. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.

Bake at 350F for 23-28 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out still slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

When I woke up yesterday morning, I only knew of one thing that I was going to be baking. This wasn't it.

I started poking around my usual fave blogs for inspiration, and somehow peanut butter came to mind. I guess me and PB are having some good times right now. And, not surprisingly, I found myself over at Cookie Madness, browsing through the peanut butter section. Simplicity was the goal, since I'm so ehh on cookie-making still. So when I found this recipe, I just halved everything and went from there. I wound up with about a dozen normal-sized cookies and one larger heart-shaped cookie for Dave. :)

Oh, and the taste? There are five cookies left. That pretty much sums it up, right?



Ingredients:
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ cup peanut butter
1 egg
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in peanut butter and egg, followed by the salt, baking soda, and vanilla. Gradually add flour.

Form dough into 1-inch balls, placing them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Use a fork to create criss-cross marks on the top.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Let sit on pan for a few minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Updated: PB Blondies with Chocolate Chips

So, sadly, my cupcakes the other didn't turn out the way I had planned. The taste that I was aiming for was faint, and the texture on the top was just... odd. It's back to the drawing board on that one.

This is an update post on a recipe I made a while back. Amelia's birthday is coming up, and this was her birthday request. The original was thought up during a 'cake break' at work. Aww, I miss cake breaks!

Anyways, the recipe is really simple, just a basic blondie with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Like a thicker cookie bar, if you use the recipe off the bag of Nestle's chips. :)

(No picture as the lasagna's almost ready! lol)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Cream butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mix to the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

The other day, my mom comes up to me in a store, holding a jar of The Peanut Butter Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams (don't worry, we paid much less for it lol), saying that I should make brownies with it, like the Nutella ones that she so loves. I wanted to do something slightly different, thus this post and recipe. Based on this recipe, I switched out the unsweetened chocolate and then, obviously, used the peanut butter as the frosting.

If you make this, definitely don't overbeat, as I wound up with that kind of light crust on the top of the brownies, particularly on the edges. They do taste moister on the second day, and I actually liked them better then.

I'm curious about their other peanut butters. Anyone else use them? The cinnamon sounds particularly intriguing. Could this be the end of my love/hate relationship with peanut butter? *suspenseful music* Find out next time!

(Not really; I was just going for the dramatics. I've got something else planned for my next baking, and I'll even give a hint. It involves a soda that originated in Chicago in 1919.) :)



Ingredients:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
Chocolate chips and nuts, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Melt chocolate and butter together, either on stove or in microwave. Let cool for at least 5 minutes.

Beat chocolate mixture with sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and salt. Gradually add flour, but do not overmix. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Once out of oven for 15 minutes, spread the chocolate peanut butter on top, sprinkling with chocolate chips or nuts, if desired. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Peanut Butter Munchies

For all the warnings of the big, bad Internet, I think I've been really lucky. Over the past... 16 years (holy moly!), I've made some really great friends. Friends that I know will be around my entire life. Two, in fact, have been around for more than half my life already.

Ivy (originally from CA) and Sandy (from IL), these girls have been my best friends since were 11 and 12 years old. It started out as a mutual love of Mickey Mouse Club, which then progressed into being penpals, and then back to the Internet again. We don't talk all the time, but I know that no matter where I am in life, they can always be considered a friend. I finally got to meet Ivy this past summer, when Dave and I drove through Phoenix. No awkwardness or anything. In fact, I think Dave might have felt a bit left out, what with all the inside jokes and memories that were shared. Oops. Sorry, honey. :)

My other lifetime friend is Courtney, also in IL. By best reckoning, it's been about ten years now. I was doing fundraising for RAINN and what began as her ordering some tshirts (was that it?), lead to emails and eventually "conversations" over the computer. Anyone remember v-stream, where you could call up an 800 number, say whatever you wanted, then email the confirmation number to the intended? Yeah, we did that for a while. We've been through a lot in life, and I've never, ever felt that she didn't support my choices 100%, and vice versa. :) She was the one who passed on this recipe, originally from Midwest Living, describing them as a "mouthgasm". The girl does not lie, let me tell you. These are fan-freakin'-tabulous.

They're very reminiscent of a Girl Scout cookie, the tagalongs, I believe? The ones with the peanut butter inside the chocolate dough. Just minus the chocolate coating on the outside. They're definitely worth the work. And they're the first cookie that I've made in nearly a year. At least it was something worthy. ;)



Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Set flour mixture aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and the ¼ cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1¼ inches in diameter. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and remaining ½ cup peanut butter till smooth. Shape into 32 (3/4-inch) balls.

Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling.

Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Lightly flatten with bottom of glass dipped in remaining sugar.

Bake at 350F for 8 minutes, or until just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes 32 cookies.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Triangles

What a mouthful!

A very long time ago (this could be over a year ago, we can't remember), Dave said that he was interested in oatmeal cookies... but with certain, um, prerequisites.

1. No raisins. He's one of those "get those raisins out of my cookies" kind of guys.
2. It had to have peanut butter.
3. It had to have chocolate chips.

When I set out to find something to make yesterday, I had Dave in mind. It was his first day back to work after a week of vacation/work around the house, so something peanut buttery was a must. Out of accident, really, I wound up clicking on a link I've had bookmarked since the first conversation of oatmeal cookies happened. The Canadian Baker posted a yummy-sounding recipe back in '05. (Does this date the conversation? Perhaps.) But you guys all know that I don't like making cookies all that often. So bar form was created. And then I decided to cut 'em in triangles for a change of pace.

The end results? A chewy, sturdy bar that packs a lot of flavor into a bite or two. More positive reviews than negative, at least. Dave's kinda ehh on them (poo!), but they've also been "reborn" with ice cream, both as a base and crumbled over the top. Yum! :)



Ingredients:
1¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups oats (I used the old fashioned kind)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until completely incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until combined. Stir in oats and chips. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 22-27 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in pan before cutting into triangles.

Double Decker Peanut Butter M&M Bars

That's a mouthful, isn't it?

Yesterday's baking did not go as planned. The can of pumpkin mysteriously disappeared, with no note whatsoever. You'd think if it was kidnapped, the fiends would leave a ransom note, right? And if he ran away, didn't I raise him better than to leave without a note? Hmph. Watch, he'll come back just after Christmas.

Anyways, thankfully I discovered that before putting together the dry ingredients for my originally planned recipe. I do so hate being wasteful. Thus began my search for something else, when my eyes fell upon Dave's half-full bag of peanut butter M&M's. (He had another full bag still, so it wasn't considered blasphemy for baking with them. He's quite the fan) Surprisingly, my brain went back to a post that I saw on Cooking Madness last week. Voila! :)

I think my only complaint with the recipe is how sticky the dough is. I wound up greasing my hands with Pam spray just to spread the dough into the pan. Other than that, no complaints. And holy moly, Dave's eating something that I made. Lately it's been hit-or-miss with him, so I'm happy. I like the combination of the regular cookie dough and the chocolate, and the general cheeriness that the M&M's give it. I'm easily amused, can you tell? (And also braindead for work today lol)



Ingredients:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2½ tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup Peanut Butter M&M's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch dish (or line with foil).

Whisk together 2¼ cups flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars, until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Divide dough in half.

Blend cocoa and melted butter in a small bowl, then stir into half the dough. Spread cocoa dough onto bottom of pan.

For remainder of dough, stir in ¼ cup flour and ½ cup chocolate chips; spread over cocoa dough. Sprinkle M&M's over the top.

Bake at 350F for 32-38 minutes, or until edges begin to pull away from the sides. Let cool on wire rack before cutting into bars. Makes 24-32 bars (depending on how they're cut)

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Pie

This was part two of my weekend baking. The first one has been filed under "Experimental Baking: Category Two - The Gone Wrongs" and has been sneezed away. Needless to say, no Sugar High Friday this time around.

I wanted something simple, with flavors that most of my family enjoys. As most of you know, that means chocolate for my mom, peanut butter for Dave, and anything homemade for my dad. Which leaves me out sometimes, if I'm not wanting those particular flavors, but it's okay. Having other people enjoy what I make is just as good as eating it.

Found over at the Hershey website, it's a really, really easy recipe. I changed it up a bit, omitting the nuts and adding a layer of chips to the base prior to pouring in the batter. We had it tonight for dessert, after Dave grilled some delicious steaks. It's a really, really rich pie. I had the smallest piece, and am so glad that I did. The whipped cream helped (I'd like to tell you that it was homemade whipped cream, but I don't want to lie lol), but man! I'm not sure if I would make it again, or eat it myself, but everyone else was pleased, and that works for me. :)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Stir together brown sugar, granulated sugar and flour in medium bowl. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or just until set and golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

I've made something like this before, haven't I?

I really shouldn't do blog posts while watching the Harry Potter movies. LOL But - give me one moment of fangirlishness - it IS Order of the Phoenix, and that IS one of my favorite of the movies. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super looking forward to the sixth movie coming out.

Alright. With that said, I really think I've made these before. But mom wanted chocolate and I wanted to bring some in to work on Monday, thus... these were made.

Originally from Hershey, the only thing I didn't do was the peanut butter 'icing' on top. Like most Hershey recipes, pretty easy and basic, but yummy enough to impress people. :)



Ingredients:
1-2/3 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¼ cups butter, melted
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
10 oz. peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until completely mixed in. Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread into pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Makes about 36 brownies

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

If it hasn't been obvious yet, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody is one of my favorite blogs. I generally read my "blog list" once or twice a week, and bookmark as needed. But when I'm not sure exactly what I want to make, Peabody's is one that I'll browse through, and more often than not, I'll find something that sounds great. And today was no exception.

Dave and my dad spent most of the day outside, redoing the stairs on the deck, so I wanted to make something just for them. My dad is growing less picky when it comes to baked goods and Dave won't argue with anything peanut butter. So when I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a winner. Since my big pan is still in use, I halved the recipe and used a 9-inch pan.

And, now that I think about it, this could be a Peabody weekend, as I really need to use some lime juice and FINALLY have acquired some cake flour. ;)

These taste exactly like peanut butter cookies. I almost felt like the bars should have criss-crosses on the top, they're that similar. The only thing I didn't do was the topping, as I was lacking in ingredients. (I really miss being within walking distance of a grocery store) Even without it, though, it's that classic pb cookie flavor. :)



Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cold butter, diced
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
½ cup peanut butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluff. Add egg and vanilla, then add peanut butter, mixing well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until completely incorporated. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 bars.

Peanut Butter Chip Cookie Pie

(That's a mouthful, isn't it?)

Today's been an odd day. After running some errands, I got home and decided to attempt a blackberry/raspberry clafoutis. And, well, something happened, and I found it to taste like scrambled eggs, but with the added berries. It was bizarre. Dave took one bite and choked it down, then pushed the dish away. Hmm. Maybe I attempted clafoutis a bit too soon.

Moving on, the subject line happily used up two things: pie crust and the bag of peanut butter chips. Found over at the Hershey's website, it's an incredibly easy pie to put together. Super-duper easy, if you will. Unlike the linked recipe, I only used the peanut butter chips, as my remaining chips probably wouldn't have gone together all too well. (Raspberry and peanut butter? No, thank you!)

It's very peanut buttery. The whole wheat crust that I had doesn't quite go with it, but Dave ate his entire slice, so that's a good sign. I'd make it again.



Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
2 cups peanut butter chips
1 unbaked 9" crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat butter until smooth, then add eggs and vanilla. Stir together the sugar and flour, then add to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in peanut butter chips. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown.

King Arthur's Triple Play Peanut Butter Cookies

Countdown to moving: 26 days. (Holymoly)
Bags of baking chips left: 11 (and three half-bags)
Boxes packed: 1

Granted my math skills aren't the greatest in the world, but there's just something not right with those numbers. I need to make the 11 and 1 switch places, I'm sure. So when I came across this recipe over at Cookie Madness, I knew it'd go over well. Dave loves peanut butter cookies, so I figured they'd disappear fast. Surprisingly, there are still some on the plate. ;)

I split the recipe in half, making about 18 cookies, with some extra dough leftover. The mixing method is different than most cookies, but the end result is fabulous. It's puffy and firm. I made them a bit larger, using a 2 Tbsp. scoop (I think), and they seem the type that you'd find in bakeries or coffee shops. :) Oh, and instead of using pb chips, I used a bag of the chocolate/caramel swirled morsels that needed to be used.



Ingredients:
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
1¼ cups flour
2/3 cup chips (pb, chocolate, any kind you'd like)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream butter, brown sugar, suga, peanut butter, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add egg, mixing well. Add flour, beating until completely incorporated. Stir in chips. Drop by the tablespoonfull onto baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown. Cool on sheet for about five minutes before moving to wire racks.

Makes about 18 cookies.

Request: Peanut Butter White Chip Blondies

While on a "cake break" at work with Johanna and Amelia on Tuesday, Johanna suggested I make the above-named recipe. With very firm instructions, including, "no added mint whatsoever!" (As a side note, despite how weird it sounds, peanut butter and mint cookies are quite yummy)

I work well with requests, so long as they're within reason. I have like two feet of counter space, so a lot of things are just because I simply don't have the room. (One day!) Anyways, I didn't have anything in mind to make this week, so I went for it.

After some searching with no luck, I hit the jackpot at one of my favorite blogs: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I can't remember how many times I've been inspired by something she's made. And I've even learned a little bit about hockey, too. ;)

The taste, you ask? Pleasing. I'm currently in a good period with ol' pb. The white chips at times are too sweet (so I lessened the sugar in the recipe a bit), but that could just be me. I'd prefer it with either milk or dark chocolate, but hey, it is a request.

And I just realized I need to bring my camera to work on Tuesday, to get a group picture of my Official Guinea Pigs. :D



Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in white chips. Spread into pan. If desired, sprinkle some of the remaining white chips on top.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out mostly clean. Let cool before cutting into bars.

Giant Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, you did read that write. Good ol' peanut butter and I are getting along for the time being. I had a sample of a cookie at Whole Foods last week, and I've been wanting a peanut butter cookie ever since. So when I found this recipe over at Cookie Madness, and, seeing the quantity it made, I knew it was meant to be.

It's no secret that cookies aren't my favorite things to make. But when they make a limited quantity, I'm more likely to want to make them. Only because then they won't be Sitting Temptation. (Hey, I may not have made a resolution to LOSE weight, but that still doesn't mean I can dive into a plate of baked goods with reckless abandon!) So the fact that this only made nine cookies made me a happy girl.

The outer edges are crisp, while the centers are soft and moist. I'm very pleased. Oh, and my first words upon seeing them (because they do spread)? "Holy biscuit!" (Because Johanna and I are trying not to swear as much and biscuit has become my go-to word... ie: "son of a biscuit!") :D




Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg

Directions:
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In mixing bowl, beat sugars and butter until creamy. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and egg, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture.

Chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop up dough using a ¼-sized cup and shape into a ball. Press down slightly and place on cookie sheet, leaving about 4 inches in between (because they do spread!).

Bake at 375F for 13-16 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 9 or 10 cookies. :)

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking. "Pumpkin? Peanut butter? What are you thinking?" But, I swear, I haven't completely gone off the deep end. Not yet, at least. ;)

The flavors actually really compliment each other. It's a very home-y taste, a comforting taste. And while they might not be the most visually-appealing (they don't change shape much), they're usually the ones people like the most. I'm not sure if it's because of the pumpkin or the pb. Either way, I like it when people compliment my stuff. :)

Ingredients:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) peanut butter morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

So it's December 1st already. How crazy is that? But I'm doing good this year. I'm about 95% done with my shopping, have all those things wrapped, have my 'to bake for' list complete, and only need a couple more cards. Oh, and then the whole decorating thing. But that's next weekend.

But for me the first is about something even greater. It means I can finally listen to Christmas music without being judged. :) I have always loved Christmas music and see no problem with listening to it in the middle of summer. Why not, right? But you get weird looks from people. Or, worse, get told to turn it down. Hmph.

So I'm here now, on the first, with the coolest weather the Bay Area's had since last winter (it hasn't even reached 60 today!), singing along to Christmas cd number three for the day. :)

Anyways, I made these yesterday. I've been quite exhausted lately and really didn't want to do anything that required that much thought or effort. Thus, these brownies.

I'm kinda iffy on them. They're very peanut butter-y, and it must not be a good time for me and the pb. But Dave loves 'em. Ate a whole row yesterday. LOL And I'm quite sure Johanna and Henelyne will love them, too. I'm always the oddball. LOL



Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Mix together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in chips. Spread batter into pan.

Bake at 325F for 35 to 40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.

Peanut Butter Crumble-Topped Apple Pie

So this post brings two out-of-the-ordinary experiences.

1. This is the first time I've made a pie that wasn't pumpkin. Of course, the crust isn't homemade, because there's a horror story involving the makings of homemade crust (which I'm just not ready to share yet lol), but it is whole wheat and organic. ;) But I woke up yesterday morning and just wanted to make a pie. Odd.

2. Dave likes this better than I do. A whole lot better than I do. I had a few bites, and it was just kinda 'eh' for me. I looked up, his place was completely empty. And when I said I'd bring some in for Henelyne and Johanna, his words were "If there's any left by then." Very odd. I'm the sweets lover in this relationship. He's the cook, I'm the baker, simple as that.

Even with the apple peeling and slicing, the recipe was pretty easy to put together. Usually I save that job for Dave, but it felt nice, getting into the flow of peeling and what not. And it did make the apartment smell very nice and cozy. I'm just not a fan of the taste. I'm not sure what it is, if it's the sour cream or the combination of everything, but... I probably won't have any more of it, and I'm fine with that. :)



Ingredients:
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. plus 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
4 cups (around 4 or 5) peeled, thinly sliced apples
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
1 cup quick-cooking or regular rolled oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. butter, softened

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together sour cream, ½ cup sugar, eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, vanilla and salt in large bowl with whisk. Add apples; stir until well blended. Spoon into unbaked crust.

Stir together oats, remaining 3/4 cup flour, remaining ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon. In small microwave-safe bowl, place peanut butter and butter. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir mixture until smooth. Add to oat mixture; blend until crumbs are formed. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over apples.

Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover; refrigerate leftover pie.

Marbled Peanut Butter Brownies

In my quest last... whatever day it was that I made the blondies, I came across this recipe, but didn't have any cream cheese. This is what I first thought of for Myriam's Browniebabe of the Month contest. I didn't think it'd happen, so I just entered the blondies. But, yay, there was time enough, so after I post this, I'll be sending another email to Myriam. :)

These came out surprisingly well. My previous marbling experiences usually wound up... over-marbled, so I'm quite pleased with these. The peanut butter taste isn't too overwhelming, and it's a good balance between peanut butter and chocolate. I asked Dave if he wanted to bring some into work tomorrow, and his words were, "These aren't going to work. They're staying here!" Which made me happy, of course. I'll sneak some to my guinea pigs at work, though.



Ingredients:
Peanut Butter Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk

Brownie:
1 cup butter, melted
2¼ cups sugar, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
For peanut butter filling: Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, egg, and milk until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 13x9-inch pan.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add dry ingredients, beating until well mixed.

Remove 1 cup batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan. Spread Peanut Butter Filling over surface. Drop reserved chocolate batter by teaspoons over filling. Using a knife, gently swirl through top layers for marbled effect.

Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.

Double Peanut Butter Bars

On Monday night, I said - quite randomly - to Dave, "I feel like making something with peanut butter."

He looked at me and asked, "Who are you?"

I'm sure I've mentioned on here before, my love/hate relationship with peanut butter. Some days, we're friends, I'll go straight for the jar. Other days, just the scent is enough to turn my stomach. So I don't blame him for asking me that question. Besides, it was funny.

I found these on the Hershey website, in search of something peanut butter-y yet simple. It had been a long day, and while I wanted to bake, I wanted something that required little to no thinking. Voila, this recipe worked out perfect.

They taste like any other peanut butter bar, but I feel like they hardened up pretty quickly, even with being in the air-tight container. After Tuesday night, I haven't had a single bit. Other people have, with no complaint. *shrug* Maybe I'm just weird? LOL (No need to answer that one!)



Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) peanut butter chips (Or the Swirled ones, as that's all I had)
½ cup chocolate syrup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla.

Beat flour mixture into peanut butter mixture, blending well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread half of batter into prepared pan; spoon syrup over top. Carefully top with remaining batter; swirl with metal spatula or knife for marbled effect.

Bake at 350F 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 36 bars.