Food Lust People Love: peanut butter

Showing posts with label peanut butter. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Dark Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

These wonderfully soft, chewy cookies are chock full of pecans in addition to the cocoa, dark chocolate and creamy peanut butter. But there is only so much information one title can contain. A cold glass of milk is an essential accompaniment.

Comfort Food Cookies
The theme for this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange is comfort food cookies. Hmmm, comfort cookies. There are a lot of things that I find comfort in but, I’ve got to say, as a person who doesn’t crave sweets as much as she does salt and fat, I’m more likely to go for a link of smoked sausage or a slice of cheese than a cookie. I considered baking savory cookies but, I’ll be honest with you, that didn’t really say comfort to me either since they are usually more cracker-like. So, what it came down to was, if I were to eat a cookie for comfort, what would it look like? 1. It would have to have dark chocolate - black chocolate, as the French call it, because sweet milk chocolate is for chocolate wimps. 2. It would have a salty element. I considered bacon but decided on peanut butter, which helps with the next requirement. 3. It needs to be chewy. And for good measure, 4. I was going to throw some pecans in there. Because pecans are my favorite nut. They remind me of home home and that’s a comfort.

What would a comfort cookie look like for you?

Ingredients for 2 dozen thick cookies or more thin ones
3 1/2 oz or 100g dark chocolate
1 cup or 100g pecans
1/2 cup butter or 115g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 140g creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1/2 cup, packed, or 100g dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup or 40g cocoa (I used Hershey’s regular, not the dark special.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
Roughly chop the chocolate and pecans with a sharp knife and set aside.

With your electric or stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter and two sugars together until they are light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down a couple of times as you go.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Add the egg and vanilla into the butter/sugar and beat well.

Now add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix till combined. You will have a fairly stiff dough.

Add in the chocolate and pecans. Mix again.

Turn the dough out onto a large piece of cling film and shape it into a large roll.

Cover the roll tightly with the cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Slice your dough into rounds and place them on the prepared pan. Neaten them up with your hands, if need be. I like my cookies thick and chewy so I sliced mine pretty thick. If you prefer a crunchy cookie, by all means slice yours thinner.

These don't spread out much so you can put them fairly close together.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are done the way you like them. I baked my thick cookies for just less than 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Okay, go ahead and eat one!

Serve with a glass of ice-cold milk.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cookie Exchange theme this month is Comfort Food Cookies! What cookie says comfort food to you? If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links. Many thanks to Laura for all the work it takes to organize this great group each month!

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out all the comfort cookies my fellow CCE bloggers have made this month:

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares #ChocPBDay

These rich chocolate peanut butter squares are like homemade peanut butter cups made easy, just a peanut butter and sugar base topped with dark chocolate. The chopped peanut butter-filled cookies are optional, but they add a nice crunch.

Today marks the initial celebration of the best day ever - it's Chocolate Peanut Butter Day! Hosted by Carla of Chocolate Moosey and Miriam of Overtime Cook, 31 bloggers are sharing favorite chocolate peanut butter recipes, ranging from cookies and bars to scones and muffins. Follow the hashtag #chocPBday on social media and join us with your favorite chocolate and peanut butter recipes. Looking for recipes all in one place? Follow our Pinterest board.

My very first real job, after I graduated from university, was my dream job, promoting a “product” I had benefited from since childhood and truly believed in, the Girl Scouts. In fact, I was a registered adult Girl Scout, working in the marketing and development department, which is a fancy way of saying promotion and fundraising.

Among other responsibilities, my boss and I were in charge of the calendar and cookie sales for our Girl Scout council, based in Houston, but serving 26 Texas counties. As part of our promotion of the cookie sale my first year, we delivered boxes and boxes of cookies to Houston area chefs who had agreed to use them to create sweet recipes for an evening fundraising event.

Those days came back to me as I was making these chocolate peanut butter squares for Chocolate Peanut Butter Day and so I added some chopped Girl Scout peanut sandwich cookies to the tops. What’s better than peanut butter with chocolate on top? Peanut butter and chocolate with extra peanut butter cookies on top. They add a lovely crunch.

Ingredients
For the base:
1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar
1 2/3 cups or 200g icing sugar
1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter
1 cup or 255g smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

For the topping:
10 1/2 oz or 300g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 oz or 100g peanut butter-filled cookies

Method
Mix all the ingredients for the base together. When I’ve made this before, I used my stand mixer and got a more homogeneous dough but I am in a rented house this week so I had to do it by hand. It worked but was much more crumbley. It still presses down nicely into a base and tastes the same, so don’t let that bother you. Use a mixer if you have one or a spoon and then your hands, if you don’t. It's kind of like a peanut butter shortbread. I know, right?! Mmmm, peanut butter shortbread.

Chop your peanut butter-filled cookies roughly, if using, and set aside.

Line your square pan (about 9 in x 9 in or 23cm x 23cm) with parchment paper or foil. Press the base out evenly into the bottom of the lined pan.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt your chocolate and butter with a few short zaps of 20-30 seconds each, stirring well in between. Pour the melted chocolate on to your base and spread it around evenly, all the way to the edges.

Sprinkle the chocolate with the chopped cookies and press them down gently into the chocolate.

Refrigerate the pan until the chocolate is almost set. Cut into small squares. Enjoy!

If you love chocolate and peanut butter like we love chocolate and peanut butter, you are going to want to check out every single one of these recipe links:

Buckeye Cheesecake Bars by Chocolate Moosey
Peanut Butter Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cheesecake Filling by Overtime Cook
4 Layer Chocolate Brownie Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting by Neighborfood
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cannolis by Souffle Bombay
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Crumb Parfait by Hungry Couple
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Jam Bars by Poet in the Pantry
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies by In The Kitchen With KP
Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls by Gotta Get Baked
Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake by I Wash You Dry
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Doughnuts by It’s Yummi!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifle by Kelli’s Kitchen
Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies by Jen’s Favorite Cookies
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Blondies by What Smell’s So Good
Chunky Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies by Snappy Gourmet
Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream by Kelly Bakes
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cups by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares by Food Lust People Love
Dark Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies by Mind Over Batter
Flourless Peanut Butter Cup Swirl Brownies by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Mini Chocolate Caramel Peanut Butter Cheesecakes by The Spiffy Cookie
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Scones by All Day I Dream About Food
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies by The Cooking Actress
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips Bars by Roxana’s Home Baking
Peanut Butter Chocolate Biscotti by Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Kudos Kitchen By Renee
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quick Bread by Magnolia Days
Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Parfait by Hip Foodie Mom
Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars by Crumb: A Food Blog
Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Cheesecake Bars by Food Faith Fitness

Three lucky winners will win one of the following:

Prize Pack #1: OXO Baking Tool Set: One 3-in-1 Egg Separator, One Bent Icing Knife, One Brownie Spatula, One Cake Tester, One Cookie Spatula, One Cupcake Icing Knife, One Cupcake Corer, One Egg Beater, One Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, One Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons, One Medium Cookie Scoop

Prize Pack #2: King Arthur Flour ingredients: One bag of all-purpose flour, one package of Guittard bittersweet chocolate disks, and one bottle of pure vanilla extract

Prize Pack #3: Peanut Butter and Co. package including: one Dark Chocolate Dreams 6-pack, One Variety 6-pack, and One 31 Days of Dark Chocolate Dreams cookbook

This giveaway is open to US residents only and winners will be picked from random draw.

Giveaway ends Monday March 31 at 11:59 PM. The winners will be notified via email and have 24 hours to respond. If not, the prize is forfeited and another winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Disclaimer: This giveaway is being provided by OXO, King Arthur Flour and Peanut Butter & Co. #ChocPBDay bloggers have not received product or been compensated as a part of this giveaway.***

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid #TwelveLoaves

Chocolate yeast dough and peanut butter yeast dough, braided together, make a wonderful loaf. Two very different flavors that complement each other, intertwined so each bite contains a piece of both.

In many cultures, braids are a sign of unity, symbolic of a bond that is not easily broken. After all, what is a braid but the weaving in and out of three or more strands that become one and are generally stronger for the weaving? You can see where I am headed here.

This month’s theme for #TwelveLoaves is chocolate but I decided that chocolate would not stand alone. This is a loaf of love. Chocolate with peanut butter chips and peanut butter with chocolate chips. Because we are all a little sweet and all a little salty and it’s the combination of the two that makes life interesting.

The chocolate dough has been slightly adapted from David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Bread and the peanut butter dough has been adapted from Celine Steen’s Peanut Butter Bread.

Ingredients
For the chocolate dough:
6 tablespoons or 90ml milk, heated until just tepid
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 ounces or 45g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 egg - yolk and white separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
2 scant tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the special dark.)
1/3 cup or 60g real peanut butter chips

For the peanut butter dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
1/4 cup or 65g smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
3 tablespoons, packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup or 65g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
First we’ll make the chocolate dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Put your butter and chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and give it a few quick zaps of 20 seconds, stirring in between, until both are just melted and form a smooth chocolate syrup.

Add the remaining sugar, the egg yolk, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well. (Reserve your egg white for glazing the loaf before baking.)

Stir in half the flour and cocoa powder.

Add the chocolate syrup and stir again. Now add the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Beat for five minutes with the dough hook in your mixer or knead by hand. The dough will be quite moist but I found that the butter kept it from being too sticky.

Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for two hours.

Now we’ll make the peanut butter dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well.

Stir in half the flour.

Now add the peanut butter and the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Place dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and start kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky. I tried to knead in my mixer with the bread hook but this dough was just too soft. Kneading by hand worked best.

Cover and let rise for 1 – 1 1/2 hours in warm place.

The two doughs. The chocolate has risen a little and the peanut butter is just ready for rising.

When both of your doughs have done their rising, it’s time for the braid!

Punch down both doughs, adding in the chocolate chips to the peanut butter dough and the peanut butter chips to the chocolate dough, reserving a few to poke on top for decoration before baking. Knead a little bit to work them in.

Now break or cut each ball in half and roll the pieces out into dough snakes about 16 inches or cm long. The chips will keep wanting to fall out. Just poke them back in.

Now lay all four “snakes” out on your baking pan which has been lined with a sheet of parchment. In order to get the best braided look, start with the two chocolate ones and the two peanut butter ones next to each other. I took photos of every step of the braiding but I have to admit, they are hard to follow. So I am going to send you to the link I used to make the braid where the illustrations are clear and the instructions are easy to follow: How to braid challah. Go ahead, I’ll wait here.

Okay! Now put the braid in a warm, draft-free place to rise again for another hour. My house is still quite chilly, so I covered the loaf with a big plastic container and set the whole thing over the sink filled with hot water. Then I put a pan on top that was filled with hot water. You do what you need to!

About 10 minutes before the rising time is finished, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the rising time is finished, whisk your egg white and brush it gently on the loaf. Add the reserved chips if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap it. Mine got a little too dark because somehow my oven shot up to 375°F or 190°C while the bread was baking. Don’t let this happen to yours! The chips got quite dark as well, but fortunately, they didn’t taste any different. Mr. Lebovitz offers the useful tip that you can insert an instant read thermometer in the middle (I poked mine in from the side so the hole wouldn’t show.) and a ready loaf will read 180°F or 82°C when it’s done.)

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

The perfect bite, with some of each flavor!

The first warm slices were excellent with the dark chocolate perfectly complementing the rich peanut butter. If you really want to take this over the top, toast slices the next morning for breakfast and spread them with a little more peanut butter while still warm.

Looking for more chocolately bread goodness? You have come to the right place!

Buttermilk Chocolate Quick Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
Chocolate Brownie Quick Bread by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
Chocolate Chip Challah Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
Chocolate Swirl Bread by Holly at A Baker's House
Dark Chocolate and Prune Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
Dates and Chocolate Brioche by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
Love Me, Love Me Knots by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
Marbled Rye Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Monday, September 23, 2013

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins #MuffinMonday

What makes an American American? Is it the color of your passport, the way you were raised or to be a true American do you have to grow up in the United States? Can an immigrant arriving in the US become as American as someone who grew up there? Or can an American living overseas lose their essential American-ness? When you are raising third-culture kids, these are the questions you ask yourself. You want to take advantage of learning about foreign cultures and countries and expand your worldview – and we certainly did that – but you also want your child to have a feeling of belonging somewhere. From the very minute our first daughter was born, we knew that in all likelihood, she would go off to university in the United States. After all, we were living in a place where English was not even spoken. So we started to save for out-of-state tuition – way out of state.

I also began to prepare her in other ways. I didn’t want her, or her sister when she came along, to be a complete outsider to US customs and culture. I wanted them to know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was so I hauled jars of Jif in my suitcase, along with Nestle Quik and Aunt Jemima syrup, and chocolate chips and marshmallows and many other “essentials” of an American childhood. Barney and Sesame Street videos, every Disney movie every made, cassette tapes of Raffi’s wonderfully silly songs and Tom Chapin singing This Pretty Planet.

I loved that one – This whole planet is our home, a holy place.

Our ever-increasing home library of children’s books introduced them to my favorite classics and we made some new favorites together. When they got old enough, I organized Trick-or-Treat in our little Brazilian neighborhood, culminating in a party with apple-bobbing and cupcakes and sweet punch at our decorated house. I’ve been known to bring frozen turkey and yams and Karo and pecans on an airplane, to make sure Thanksgiving was right. We had a potted Norfolk pine as a Christmas tree in a couple of different places, because that was as close as I could get to a real tree, and we hung our stockings from a bookcase (Indonesia) or the staircase (Brazil) or the radiator (Paris) or the piano (KL and Singapore.)

When it came time for the rite of passage called drivers’ ed, I made sure they were able to take the classes and get their licenses during the summers in the States. Because I didn’t want them to be the only ones who couldn’t drive when they went off to college.

They are both living in the US now and while I know they feel “outsider” sometimes, because that can’t be helped, it is part and parcel of being a third culture kid. Despite my best efforts, I know that other third culture kids and expats will always be their true tribe, but I like to think that I eased the transition at least a little bit by passing on some of the traditions I grew up with. Like baking with peanut butter and chocolate chips.

What traditions are you passing on to your children? Please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1/4 cup or 60g sugar
1/4 cup or 50g dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup or 200g creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 75g roasted peanuts
1/2 cup or 100g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing it or lining it paper muffin cups.

Chop your peanuts roughly and mix them together with your semi-sweet chocolate chips.