Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Peanut Butter Brownie Parfaits
Posted: April 25, 2012 Filed under: The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: baking, brownies, dessert, food, parfait, Peanut butter, pretzels 15 Comments »
It’s a mouthful, I know.
Let me break this down for you.
Chocolate-covered pretzels + peanut butter mousse + brownie chunks = parfait paradise.
And while we’re at it, let’s top it with some fresh whipped cream, just because we can.
There are so many delicious aspects at work here that it’s almost too much for your taste buds to handle. Almost. It’s like that crazy insane party that was so mind-blowing you barely survived, but in the aftermath you’re just like, “…whoa.”
All the flavors come together in a way that equates to sweet and salty wonderment. Salty pretzels, meet sweet chocolate. Salty peanut butter, meet sweet brownies. Oh, preztels, have you met brownies? Chocolate, have you met peanut butter? The flavors are mingling like socialites at a cocktail party, and everybody is friends tonight.
Like this:
Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream
Posted: April 6, 2012 Filed under: The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: dessert, food, Ice cream, Oreos, Peanut butter 5 Comments »
Way back when Smart Cookie was still a baby in the world of blogs, I professed to you my love of peanut butter and Oreos. It sounds like an odd combo if you’ve never tried it, but those who have know how magical a pairing it truly is. PB and Oreos have a cult-like following, and for good reason. It’s a sinfully delicious combination. So the next time you’re about to pop a plain Oreo into you’re mouth, reconsider. Grab that jar of peanut butter from you pantry and slap some on the cookie. Then proceed to enjoy.
It’s like crack for your taste buds.
Now, we’ve all had cookies and cream ice cream. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the best classic ice cream flavors of all time. You just can’t beat creamy vanilla ice cream coupled with crunchy, chocolatey Oreo cookie crumbles. There is only one way I could think of to make this crunchy-creamy classic even more incredible: add peanut butter.
Like this:
Peanut Butter Easter Eggs
Posted: April 2, 2012 Filed under: Candy, Dessert | Tags: candy, chocolate, dessert, Easter, eggs, Peanut butter 13 Comments »
Every Easter, the Bunny brings me something extra special: Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs. They’re like the original Reeses Cups, only in the shape of an egg and with even more peanut buttery bliss. Now, since the Bunny has been so good to me year after year, I thought I’d return the favor. This year, I’m making homemade Peanut Butter Easter Eggs. Not to jump the gun or anything, but I’m pretty sure the Bunny will be bouncing of the walls with excitement once he tastes one.
Those store-bought eggs just don’t compare to my homemade gems. There is something about making food from scratch with good-quality ingredients and a homemade touch that gives it a leg up on anything mass-produced. These Peanut Butter Eggs taste just like your store-bought favorites, only better. They’re chock-full of creamy peanut butter filling, sure to give you the PB fix you crave. Wrap it all up in a smooth chocolate blanket to create the ultimate salty-sweet duo. It’s a melt-in-your-mouth, chocolate-peanut-buttertastic party.
Now, what the Bunny doesn’t know is that I won’t break a sweat making these eggs. They’re quick and easy, but yielding such impressive results. They make a great gift, especially since everyone loves some PB & chocolate. The fact that you put forth the effort to make them homemade will only make the recipient that much happier.
Skip the store this Easter. Stuff your basket with these indulgent homemade eggs instead.
A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:
- Make sure you watch my video to snag some helpful tips and see the step by step breakdown!
- This recipe is adapted from my original Peanut Butter Cup recipe. Check it out to see how to make the traditional candies and also grab the recipe for a white chocolate version!
- Use dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate if you prefer.
- These guys need the pre-chocolate freezer time or they will fall apart when you dunk them in the chocolate.
- Need more Easter treats? Head over to my Easter Eats Page, and you’ll find everything from awesome side dishes to decadent desserts.
- I’ve got two other how-to videos for amazing Easter desserts. Check out my adorable Chocolate Bunny Cake and Bunny Butt Trifle videos!
- I double the recipe to make 18 eggs. Feel free to do the same!
Peanut Butter Easter Eggs
By The Smart Cookie Cook
Yield: 9 eggs
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips
- 4 bars of milk chocolate(1.55 ounces each), coarsely chopped
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
- 1 + 1/2 tablepoons butter, softened
- 1/2-3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for shaping the eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: colored sprinkles for garnish
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and salt until smooth. You may add the remaining powdered sugar if you want a stiffer texture. Cover and freeze for 10-15 minutes, or until stiffened.
- Meanwhile, line a cooking sheet with waxed paper. Put some powdered sugar in a bowl and take the chilled peanut butter mixture out of the freezer. Dust your hands with powdered sugar and grab a scant tablespoon of peanut butter. Coat it in powdered sugar and shape into a ball. Gently flatten out the ball and shape it until it resembles an egg. Place on waxed paper and repeat with remaining peanut butter. When finished, stick the peanut butter eggs in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, until frozen.
- In a microwave, heat the chocolate chips, candy bars, and peanut butter for 15-second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
- Remove the frozen peanut butter eggs from the freezer. Use a fork to dip them in the melted chocolate, making sure they are completely coated. Let the excess drip off and set back onto the tray. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes. If there is excess chocolate around the egg, use a knife to cut it off.
- Let come to room temperature before eating. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
Peanut Butter Candy Cakes
Posted: January 16, 2012 Filed under: Candy, Dessert, Holiday, Snacks, The Smart Cookie Cook, Vegetarian | Tags: baking, cake, candy, chocolate, food, Peanut butter 11 Comments »
Smooth, melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate and creamy, salty Peanut Butter have one of the strongest long-term relationships of any food couple, despite the fact they’re so often in the spotlight. Their impeccable way of complimenting one another with their salty and sweet qualities defined them a match made in heaven from the get-go. They bring out the best in one another. True, there have been cases of exploitation: cramming PB & Chocolate into every possible food item in existence from cookies to casseroles (some obviously better than others). But despite the odds being against them, PB & Chocolate have stayed strong, inseparable even. We just can’t get enough of their perfect pairing. So long as Chocolate and Peanut Butter have the support of us adoring fans, they shall continue to dominate the foodie world as a culinary power couple.
Perhaps the most well-known work done by Peanut Butter and Chocolate is the coveted Peanut Butter Cup. A simple but classic candy, the peanut butter cup consists of a sweet chocolate shell filled with salty peanut butter. It’s easily one of the most beloved candies in America. The most famous company for producing said peanut butter cup is Reese’s, without question. However, many other companies and corporations have latched on to this too-good-to-be-true treat and began producing their own peanut butter-chocolate candies. Nowadays, people even make homemade versions. I myself have a recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, in both milk & white chocolate, that’s out of this world. It blows the store-bought versions out of the water.
Even when a creation as perfect as a peanut butter cup comes along, there is always temptation to make it even better. I wasn’t sure there was a way until the thought struck me to add a little something special to the filling: cake.
This inspiration stemmed from my love for Tastykake’s Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes as a child. These were little yellow snack cakes with a thin layer of peanut butter filling and a chocolatey coating. They were my favorite snack cake growing up, a perfect combo of flavors. However, it was always lacking in the peanut butter department, and the cake was rather dry.
Naturally, my homemade Peanut Butter Candy Cakes are worlds better than anything a brand-name corporation could dish out. A thick layer of moist vanilla cake and gobs of creamy peanut butter filling are stuffed into a thick milk chocolate shell, creating something similar to those good ol’ Kandy Kakes, if said Kandy Kakes were on steroids. These cup-shaped candies are bursting at the seams with cake and peanut butter, to the point that the chocolate can barely contain it. Luckily, this is a thick and sturdy chocolate exterior we’re talking about, not some wimpy chocolate film. As a finishing touch, pretty rainbow sprinkles allude to the fact that these are not just regular peanut butter cups; there’s something special inside.
My little cookies, the only thing better than chocolate and peanut butter is chocolate, peanut butter, and cake. These cakes are cute, handheld, and convenient, but it’s quite easy to eat three in one sitting. The trio is so sinfully delicious, the kind of treat where one bite causes you to close your eyes and drift away into euphoria. The only thing that can bring you back to reality is the inevitable empty wrapper at the end, which will just as inevitably move you to grab another candy cake.
Like this:
Sweet & Simple: Fluffernutter Nilla Wafer Sandwiches
Posted: January 5, 2012 Filed under: Cookies, Dessert, Sandwiches, Snacks, Sweet & Simple, The Smart Cookie Cook, Vegetarian | Tags: cookies, dessert, fluff, Fluffernutter, food, Peanut butter, snack 8 Comments »
Sometimes, I stare vacantly into my pantry or fridge for what seems like hours on end. My face is void of expression, and my breathing slows until I enter a trance-like state. During this intense process, my mind is calculating, my eyes frantically scanning the food storage system in front of me as if it could spontaneously generate food from air alone. When at last this process comes to an end, I will snap back into consciousness, exhale with great vigor, and then come to the conclusion:
“THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT.”
Has this ever happened to you? It’s an all too common occurrence in a human’s every day life. We don’t really mean it in a literal sense. Clearly, if I’m staring into a fridge full of food, then there is plenty to eat. I’m just not in the mood for any of it.
On the other hand, there can be plenty of items in your fridge or pantry, but no conceivable way to make a meal out of it. You’ll look at the box of pasta and the fresh garlic and think, “I could make spaghetti,” only to then realize you have no form of tomato. For the duration of time you find yourself gawking into your fridge or freezer like a zombie, you are making these calculations, linking foods together to try and form a conceivable whole.
I found myself in this exact situation earlier this afternoon when my stomach cried out for a snack. I stared into my pantry for a good five minutes before informing my dog, Reese, that there was nothing (I think conversing with animals is a sign of starvation).
There was a cornucopia of foods in the kitchen, and I knew there was a way to bring it all together, I just had to figure out how. So, I stuck my head back into the pantry and assessed my options. I started weaving things together into a delicious web. Peanut butter…a snack pack of pudding I’ll probably never eat…Nilla wafers…Fluff…AHA!
Fluffernutter Nilla Wafer Sandwiches.
