Peanut Butter Pie

One of my friends brought this heavenly pie to a gathering a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it so much that of course I had to get the recipe and make it myself! :) Not only is it creamy, rich and peanut buttery, but it is also super easy to make! If you need a chocolate and peanut butter fix, this is the recipe for you!

Click here for printable recipe.

From AnnaLisa:

Ingredients:
FILLING:
1- 8 oz. cool whip
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
~1/4 cup milk


OREO CRUST

1-1/2 cups finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs
3 Tbs. melted butter

For crust, generously butter a 9 inch glass pie plate. In a large bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and the melted butter. (You can crush the cookies in a food processor or blender.) Using your fingertips, firmly and evenly press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

For filling, whip together cool whip, softened cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla. Pour mixture in the Oreo crust. Line bottom of separate bowl with chocolate chips and pour in enough milk (1/4-1/3 cup) so that chocolate chips are about half covered. Cover with plastic wrap and melt in microwave for 1 minute stirring it when there's 30 seconds left. After fully melted, spread thin layer over top of peanut butter filling.

Chill in refrigerator. I cooled mine overnight, although I think just a couple of hours would work.
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Fudge

I found this recipe in a family cookbook admin compiled several years ago, but it took until this year for me to try it. It turned out amazingly creamy and yummy, and when we gave some of it away one of the recipients told us that they fought over who would get the last piece.  Next time I make it, I'm dipping it in chocolate for extra decadence!  :)

Click here for printable recipe.  

Peanut Butter Fudge
posted by admin's Mom

The ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cups milk
1-18 oz jar peanut butter
1- 7oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla 

Mix sugar, brown sugar, and milk in a large saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, marshmallow creme, and vanilla. Mix quickly before fudge hardens. Pour into well buttered 9 inch pan. Cool then cut.  Enjoy!

The Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie

Finally! After one failed attempt at this recipe due to poor planning on my part, I have finally conquered Coleen's ultimate filled peanut butter cookie recipe. With its peanut butter cookie on the outside and a Reese's PB cup on the inside, these were every bit the chocolate fix that I was looking for! They were super easy to make, sturdy enough to hold up well for lunch boxes and bake sales, and quite impressive in appearance! People kept asking how the PB cup had gotten inside the cookie without totally melting (shhhh....don't tell them how easy it was)! Thank you Coleen!!!

Click for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

1 bag of miniature Reese's peanut butter cups --FROZEN
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (no substitutions)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Crisco, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Next add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place them in an UNgreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.

Immediately press a FROZEN miniature Reese's PB cup into the center of each cookie--pressing down until the top of the candy is at the same level as the top of the cookie.
Allow to cool in the pan for at least 2 minutes before removing them. To remove, insert just the tip of a thin knife between the cookie and the pan. Allow to cool completely and the chocolate to reset before serving. Makes about 30-36 cookies (mini-muffin size).
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

My name is admin and I am totally addicted to anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter. I've tried to deny this problem for years, but it's just no use. I just can't get enough. I recently found this recipe for the Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie over at Coleen's Recipes and found that I just couldn't stop thinking about them--even in the middle of the night. I was a woman obsessed! Next grocery trip I made I bought the peanut butter cups and next time my daughter begged to make cookies I insisted she make these.

Too bad I was so focused on getting the PB cups that I didn't notice that I'd run out of butter flavored Crisco and did not own a mini-muffin tin.

Normally these obstacles would deter me enough to patiently wait until I could get to the store to buy what we needed before trying them, but this is peanut butter and chocolate we're talking about here and there would be no distractions! I found this recipe for PB cup cookies in a church cookbook and decided it would do the trick perfectly for satisfying my chocolate/peanut butter sweet tooth for now! It worked like a charm--these soft chocolatey cookies were just oozing with peanut butter flavor and I found my hankering perfectly satisfied at last (or at least until I can buy butter flavored Crisco and a mini muffin tin)!

The ingredients:

Click here for printable recipe.

2-1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 package (10-oz.) peanut butter cups, cut into chunks and FROZEN

1 cup chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl beat butters, sugars, and vanilla for 3 minutes. Add eggs to wet ingredients one at a time. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir in frozen peanut butter cups and chocolate chips. Roll into balls and bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Beware: The dough is just as good as the baked cookies! :)

Enjoy!

Banana and Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

My kids eat bananas like they're little monkeys, which means I buy bananas four or five pounds at a time. Although my monkeys kids usually eat them all up before it's even time to go back to the grocery store and get sad that we've run out, it's also not that uncommon that a few bananas go brown and mushy before their time at which point I quickly toss them straight in the trash. I know I could be more creative in using them up, but I just don't care for banana bread and freezer space is way too tight at our house to worry about saving monkey food. Plus it's not like bananas have feelings or anything....
One day my sister was visiting and got a little upset that I was wasting perfectly good mushy bananas, so she begged to make something with them. Now I may claim to be on a diet on any given day, but on any given day it is highly unlikely that I will ever turn down delicious treats...especially when they're made by someone else. So it was that Banana Whoopie Pies came to be. She used the "pie" recipe from King Arthur flour and the filling and glaze from another site (that I completely forgot to write down). They were out of this world delicious and now I'll be purposely buying extra bananas just so we can have this treat again!

The ingredients:

Click here for Printable Recipe.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (3 medium) mashed over-ripe bananas
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur's white wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips (optional, we didn't use these)
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional, we didn't use these)

FILLING:
2 pkg. (8-oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.

For the cookies: In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, and then the bananas. The mixture will look curdled; that's okay. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Whisk together the flour and baking soda; add to the banana mixture, mixing until evenly combined.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix for 1 minute more. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts just until combined.

Scoop the dough by the quarter cup for large cookies, and the tablespoon for small cookies. Allow plenty of space between them.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched with your finger, and the edges are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to a rack to finish cooling completely before filling.

For the filling, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix until combined. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag with the end cut off. Pipe filling onto the flat sides of the whoopie pies and then top with another cookie. (We just used a plain old spoon for this job, rather than a pastry bag).

For the chocolate glaze, melt all ingredients in double boiler or a glass bowl in the microwave. Mix until smooth. Do not overheat. Drizzle over whoopie pies.

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles

This past week I found myself unexpectedly out of town with only one of my five kids at my grandmother's funeral in Wyoming. My grandmother was a beautiful lady who would have been 94 next week. She raised 11 children and left a legacy of love, faith, service, hard work, and handiwork that I will never forget. While, of course I still miss her very much, my heart is full when I think of the happy reunion there must have been when she was finally reunited with my grandfather. I was thrilled to be there to honor her life and legacy.

So now I'm back home after a week away completely surrounded by (and enjoying) all the rambunctious noise and chaos that goes with having five kids, but realizing that with all my traveling and readjusting back to reality that I haven't typed up any recipes for a couple of weeks. Generally I try to have at least a week or two cushion of recipes made, typed, and scheduled to publish every other day, so I don't have to stress when life gets crazy that I don't have time to post. But here I am now with a pretty substantial stack of recipes that I've made but still need to be typed and I can't seem to focus...so without further ado....Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (typed and published the same day). :)

This is another one of those recipes I tried from the awesome Sisters' Cafe that I really enjoyed. I made it one time at home for my family and then made it again for my extended family in Utah while we were there last week. The first time I made it I added one whole cup of water as indicated on the original recipe and thought it made the sauce just a little too watery, so the second time I tried it with only about a third of a cup and thought it was perfect. My family (especially my Dad) went gaga over the slightly spicy savory sauce. I highly recommend adding the water slowly until you get to your spiciness level.

I actually had enough natural light at my parents' house that I didn't have to go outside to take the picture. :)

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

The ingredients:
1 lb. whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
2 Tbs. sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 - 1 cup water (the original recipe calls for a whole cup, but the second time we made it with only a 1/3 cup and we much preferred the spicier flavor)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cups chicken breast, cooked and shredded (One time I sauteed it on low heat and the other time I stuck it in the crockpot)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds

Set the water to boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile prepare sauce in the food processor (or blender). Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water (to taste). Set aside.

Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in cooked chicken breast, cilantro, and salt. Stir until heated through.

Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

I love making pies, I love eating pies, and I've been told I'm not too bad at either one. Cakes, however, are more of a mystery to me. I know a good cake when I taste one, but that's about the extent of my expertise. I'm pretty sure that if I took a class on cake decorating I'd get the same grade as I would get in rocket science. My cakes are the very epitome of real Cake Wrecks (much worse than the ones on the website). On the other hand, my 12-year-old daughter is quickly becoming a cake connoisseur. She is always on the hunt for a new recipe to try and loves looking at books and magazines for fun ideas for decorating. I have gladly handed all cake baking over to her and my family's not complaining a bit! Here is a glimpse at one of her latest creations and believe me when I say it tasted every bit as good as it looked!

Click here for Printable Recipe.

The ingredients:
3 eggs
1-2/3 cups sugar, divided
1-1/2 cups milk, divided
3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:
2 packages (8-oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14-oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 cups peanut butter
1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
3 milk chocolate candy bars, broken into squares (she used chocolate chips instead)

In a saucepan, whisk one egg until blended. Stir in 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and chocolate squares. Cook and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted and mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add remaining eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with remaining milk, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate mixture; mix well.

Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add milk and peanut butter ,beating well after each addition. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with peanuts. Garnish with milk chocolate curls and squares.

Enjoy!

Fluffernutter Brownies

Ah, fluffernutters. The guilty pleasure of sandwiches now in brownie form! With the stress of the last week of school and all the concerts, award ceremonies, and other stresses all the while my husband has been out of the country and I have been in serious need of some comfort food lately. I believe that the key to success for these is to pick a good brownie base. I personally like the Duncan Hines triple chocolate mix or this recipe for fudgy brownies from my sister-in-law Karey. These disappeared in one evening in our house! (This is like the twelfth recipe I've made from the Rachael Ray 30-minute cookbook; I'm going to be sad when I have to return it to the library soon. )

The ingredients:

1 package chocolate brownie mix + ingredients to make the mix (mine called for oil and an egg)

1 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix brownie mix according package directions, but DO NOT bake it yet. Stir peanut butter chips into brownie batter. Grease and 8x8-inch baking dish with softened butter and spread the brownie batter in an even layer. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and bake, 20-22 minutes total, scattering marshmallows on top for the last 3 to 5 minutes of baking time ( I added some PB chips on top too). Remove from oven and cut into 12 brownies. Serves 12.

Enjoy!

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

These chocolatey layered bars are unique with light brownie layered with marshmallows, then crispy chocolate, peanut buttery goodness. Serve these easy bars to your friends and they're sure to be impressed! Don't worry they're easy to cut and serve and not gooey at all, as you might expect with a marshmallow layer.

The ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. cocoa
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
4 cups miniature marshmallows

TOPPING:
1-1/3 cups chocolate chips
3 Tbs. butter
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread in a greased 15-in x 10-in. x 1-in. pan.

Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake; bake 2-3 minutes longer. Using a knife dipped in water, spread melted marshmallows evenly over cake. Cool.

For the topping, combine the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well blended. Remove from heat; stir in Rice Krispies. Spread topping immediately over bars. Chill. Yields about 3 dozen.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake

Any of you fellow cooks out there who have been following our blog for long, know that we're a little nutty for peanut butter in our family. (haha--I just crack myself up sometimes). This cake is moist and peanutty on the inside with a hardened chocolate shell on the outside. In other words, it was crazy good and we gobbled up the whole thing in less than 24 hours.

The ingredients:(anything that starts with a cake mix is a friend of mine)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (divided)
3 eggs
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.

In large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, beat cake mix, milk, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and eggs until blended, about 1 minute. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping sides occasionally. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan.
Meanwhile, microwave remaining 1 cup chocolate chips with 1/4 cup peanut butter on high for 1 minute or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Drizzle or spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pancakes

We love all things peanut butter in our house, so when my friend shared this recipe for peanut butter pancakes,  I just knew I had to make them. So I did....the very next day. They lived up to our expectations and my girls love having another fun pancake to throw into their breakfast cooking repertoire.  Serve with  buttermilk caramel syrup or if you really like peanut butter try it with the peanut butter syrup recipe here, or if making your own syrup isn't your thing, then they're  also tasty by themselves or with old-fashioned maple syrup!  

 Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:


1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour (I used white whole wheat flour for all of it)

2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. oil
1 egg
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. milk (plus more if needed)



Directions:  Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then add wet to dry. Mix till just moistened. Cook by 1/4 cupfuls on griddle. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Enjoy!

Warm Peanut-Sesame Noodles

I made these noodles to accompany the Peanut-Sesame Chicken** and my oh my were they delicious! My kids gobbled them up like they were candy.
















The ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. peanut or sesame oil
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds
Chopped green onion (optional)
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Combine peanut butter, brown sugar, ginger, water, vinegar, soy sauce, and peanut oil in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Immediately toss with hot spaghetti. Garnish with chopped green onions, crushed red pepper, and toasted sesame seeds.

**To save time I just made a big double batch of the peanut sesame sauce and used it for both the chicken and the noodles. There is only a slight variation between them.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie

If you haven't noticed by now, we have a thing for peanut butter in our family. We love it in our main dishes, love it in our breakfast, and best of all, love it with chocolate. Oh man, I'm making myself drool just thinking about all the peanut butter and chocolate combinations. This recipe is rich, creamy chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness. Probably not so good for a diet, but oh so good for your taste buds!

















The ingredients:















CRUST: (I usually buy a pre-made chocolate crust, but here are directions if you want to make it from scratch)
1-1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (Oreos)
1/4 cup butter, melted

FILLING:
1 pkg. (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

GARNISHMENTS (optional): hot fudge, melted peanut butter, chopped peanuts, chocolate cookie crumbs

Combine crust ingredients; press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Gently spoon into crust.















It looks way too plain without the garnishments! Garnish with hot fudge, melted peanut butter, chopped peanuts, or cookie crumbs. Refrigerate. Serves 8-10.















Note to self: Don't type up recipes for sinfully delicious desserts on an empty stomach. Must have chocolate now.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

We got this recipe from AnnaLisa and quickly became hooked on it. We love the chocolate/peanut butter combination and we can't pass a month without either Glen or the kids requesting these as a treat at least once!

 Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

BARS:
1 cup butter
2/3 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 -1/2 cup peanut butter (for glaze layer)

FROSTING:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2-3 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup butter, softened

Mix first six ingredients together, then add the remaining four and mix again. Spread in cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes (do not overcook). While peanut butter crust is baking mix the frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Right after removing from the oven, dollop gobs of peanut butter over the top. After the peanut butter has softened a bit, spread it in a thin layer. Then add layer of frosting. Makes 24 bars.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is originally from a package of Nestle chocolate chips, but has become a family classic! If you ever need to get on Glen's good side, just whip him up a batch of these (and save some dough for him to eat plain) and he will be putty in your hands. Works every time.

 Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy according to preference)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Stir in morsels. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes.  Enjoy! 

For Cami's evil caloric variation: Sandwich a little scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in between two cookies, dollop a little whipping cream, enjoy...and then run 14 miles.

Enjoy!