PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

This is, by far, the best peanut butter brownie recipe I've tried. It is quick and easy and has a FIVE STAR peanut butter-honey frosting. We can't seem to stop snacking on it!!

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I use Jiff)
1/3 cup butter at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini-chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan (personally, I do not grease, I use parchment paper instead.

By hand or mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter till smooth. Add brown sugar and white sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips.
After it's all mixed together, add it to the peanut butter mixture and mix just until well combined, don't over mix.

Spread evenly in parchment lined pan and bake for 25 minutes or until top springs back when you touch it. Don't over bake!! You might be tempted to give it an extra 5 minutes for good measure, but don't!!

Cool completely before frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER - HONEY FROSTING
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften them.  Whisk everything together until smooth.

If the frosting seems a little thicker than you want, add an extra tablespoon of milk. If it seems thinner than you want, add an extra tablespoon (or two) of powdered sugar.

ENJOY !!!

 

Make sure you toss the mini-chocolate chips with the flour, so they don't sink in the batter.

POTLUCK PEANUT BUTTER PIE

If you are looking for a GREAT recipe for a holiday potluck, this is it. It is very quick and easy to make and disappears from the buffet table first, followed by lots of requests for the recipe.

You can double or even triple this recipe for a big crowd. These photos were taken recently when I made just 1/4 of the recipe since we are empty nesters. You'll just have to use your imagination for the 9 x 13 size.

CRUST
2 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine all crust ingredients and press into a 9 x 13 pan (pushing up the sides a little) and bake in preheated 375° oven for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack before you add the filling.

FILLING
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups creamy peanut butter  (see note)
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

In your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, then add the peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla.  Beat until the mixture is very well mixed and smooth.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until you get stiff peaks, then gently fold it into the peanut butter mixture by hand, making sure that it is well mixed and you don't see any streaks of white.

Pour filling over the baked crumb crust. Frost with additional whipped cream and chill the whole thing for 3-4 hours.

NOTE: OK......here's a warning.... if you are like me and you like to lick the beaters and spoons, you will notice sugar grains in the filling.....don't freak out. After it chills in the fridge for a couple of hours, they will totally disappear and the filling will be SILKY SMOOTH!! I promise.

 

 

ANOTHER NOTE: You would think that a recipe with TWO CUPS of peanut butter would be very heavy, but this dessert is light as air!!

NOTE: HALF of this recipe will fill a 9" pie plate perfectly.

This stuff is totally addicting!!

ENJOY !!!

EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE EVER !!!

A friend shared this recipe with me and I can guarantee you that I will be making this fudge over and over, it is REALLY fast and easy, and it is SUPER yummy!!

 

2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (smooth) peanut butter

In a medium sized saucepan (with a heavy bottom), mix 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup evaporated milk. The heavy bottomed saucepan will keep this mixture from scorching.

Cook on medium high heat, stirring, until bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook until the mixture starts to boil (bubbles all across the surface that don't go away when you stir it). Boil for exactly 2 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until very smooth (whisk works well here).

You can pour this cooked mixture into any size pan you like (larger pan gives you thinner fudge), but just make sure you have lined the pan with parchment paper or foil first. I had great luck using a loaf pan.

Sit this pan of hot fudge on a cooling rack. After about an hour or so, the fudge will be FIRM, but still very warm. This is the BEST time to cut the fudge cleanly.  Just grab onto the parchment paper or foil that you lined the pan with, and lift the whole thing out of the pan. Slice the fudge with a THIN, SHARP knife.

You can also wait and cut the fudge after its completely cool, but it cuts easier and more cleanly if you cut it while its still warm.

Store cooled fudge in airtight container.

 

ENJOY !!!

PEANUT BUTTER ECLAIR CAKE

The Éclair Cake idea has been around for years. It is a magical dessert that starts with pudding mix and graham crackers, and when it sits in the fridge overnight, something magical happens. The graham cracker layer "softens" and sort of turns into a "cake" layer (people are shocked when they find out its just graham crackers). The whole thing is delicious and I've made it a billion times.  But todays post is a new and simple twist to the Éclair Cake: peanut butter!!

Yes, peanut butter is mixed into the pudding and it takes this simple dessert in a whole different direction. The next time I make this variation, I will use chocolate graham crackers (I only had regular ones this time)....you've gotta give this one a try.  

(2) 3½ ounce instant vanilla pudding
1 cup creamy style peanut butter
8 ounce Cool Whip thawed
3 cups of milk
1 pound of graham crackers

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

6 tablespoons butter (melted)
6 tablespoons boiling water
6 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 dish (breaking to fit if necessary). With an electric mixer, beat the instant pudding, peanut butter with 3 cups milk until very smooth (about 2 minutes) then fold in the Cool Whip. Immediately pour half of this mixture over the 1st layer of graham crackers, spreading it out evenly.

Put another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding and then another layer of pudding mixture. Top second layer of pudding with a final layer of graham crackers.

Cover the dish tightly, with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about an hour before you frost it.

After an hour of chilling, whisk together the melted butter, boiling water, cocoa and vanilla until well blended. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Immediately pour the frosting over the chilled pudding dessert and gently smooth it out.

Place dessert (uncovered) in fridge for an hour or so (until the frosting feels dry to the touch),then stretch plastic wrap over the pan(stretching it tightly so that it doesn't sag and touch the frosting)or just snap a lid onto the dish.

 Refrigerate overnight (important).

NOTE: After this "cake" has been in the fridge, overnight, it is easy to cut into squares to serve because the graham crackers are soft.

PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM

I came up with this idea one afternoon and (right out of the chute) it was a keeper.  Whipped cream that has a mellow peanut butter taste... the perfect addition to ANY dessert!!

Make this part a few minutes ahead of time, so it can cool just a little:

1 cup Reece's Peanut Butter Chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Microwave the above just until the cream gets steamy hot, but not boiling. In my microwave this takes about a minute. Remove from the microwave and whisk until the melted mixture is smooth.

Add
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool a little.

With electric mixer, start whipping 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream.
When it gets about "half way" to being whipped cream, slowly drizzle in the peanut butter chip mixture.

Continue whipping until it gets to the consistency you like.

ENJOY !!

MINI PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKES

Chocolate glazed, mini peanut butter cheesecakes, what could be better? My family loves cheesecake and I've made a bagillion of them over the years, but I've never quite mastered cutting them cleanly, especially when serving a crowd. These mini cheesecakes are the perfect solution for Easter this year.

CRUST
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup melted butter
pinch of cinnamon

Mix crust ingredients well, set aside

FILLING
(2) 8 ounce pkg. cream cheese room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy style peanut butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 eggs

Line cupcake pan with paper liners (this recipe makes 18 cheesecakes). Spoon a little of the crust crumbs into each paper liner and press down. Set aside and preheat your oven to 350°F

In a large bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese and granulated sugar until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth.

While beating, sprinkle in the flour and then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth.

Fill the paper liners almost full (I use an ice cream scoop for this).  Bake in 350°F oven for 20-23 minutes. My electric oven took 23 minutes.

Cool to room temperature, then top with chocolate glaze.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
6 tablespoons melted butter
6 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
6 tablespoons boiling water
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the cocoa into the butter until smooth. Add the boiling water and mix well. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk till smooth.  Pour over the cooled cheesecakes and put in the fridge to help the glaze "set".

Store cheesecakes, covered, in the refrigerator until time to serve.

PEANUT BUTTER SNACK CAKE

Are you old enough to remember the snack cake craze? Simple sweet cakes made for no special occasion, other than to just "snack on"; they were great. I don't  know when, or why, they faded from the scene, but I've decided to bring them back into my kitchen as a welcome change from the ever present cookie jar. Peanut butter cake, studded with mini-chocolate chips and frosted with a peanut butter and honey frosting...what's not to love?!

This cake is delicious and, if kept covered, stays moist for several days. The recipe ingredients listed here are for a 10" round cake, but you can double the ingredients and bake it in a 9"x13" pan as well.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the flour, sugar, peanut butter and butter until it is crumbly.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and mix on low speed until everything is well combined, then mix on med-high speed for three minutes.

Dust the mini-chocolate chips with a tablespoon of flour and then shake off the excess (this will keep them from sinking in the batter as they bake). Stir chips into the batter.

Bake in a greased and floured 10" round pan at 350° fir 35-40 minutes or until toothpick tests clean (my electric oven took 35 minutes).

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto serving plate.

FROST THIS CAKE WHILE STILL HOT!!

PEANUT BUTTER AND HONEY FROSTING

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

4 to 5 tablespoons milk

Warm the peanut butter and honey in the microwave until it is soft but not melted. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat with electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  FROST CAKE WHILE STILL HOT.

NOTE:  If you double this recipe for a 9"x13" cake, 

make sure you double the frosting as well.