..


Archive for ‘chocolate’

August 8th, 2011

double peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Name 3 things that are better than a warm, homemade cookie fresh out of the oven.  What’s that? You can’t think of three? I’m not surprised – homemade cookies are such a sumptuous delight, yet they are so simple to make.

I recently made double peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Why the double peanut butter you ask?  Well, that’s what you get when you have a bag of chocolate and peanut butter chips plus a husband who loves Reeses Peanut Butter Cups!  The cookie batter was a simple classic chocolate chip cookie batter, but instead of plain chocolate chips, I added chocolate and peanut butter chips.

But I knew that wasn’t peanut-buttery enough. So I grabbed some Reeses Cups and gave them a rough chop. I gently folded them in to the batter and then scooped the cookies on to a baking sheet. 20 minutes later we had yummy cookies!

You can serve these with a tall glass of milk, or make a dessert out of it by scooping some French vanilla ice cream on top.  Personally I prefer the simple joy of eating them straight off the baking sheet!

 

Categorychocolate, food, peanut butter, recipe, sweet | Comment6 Comments »

Tags:
June 30th, 2011

brookies: the best of two worlds

When I first moved to Florida the hubs and I hung out with a handful of different couples from his job.  This usually involved eating a meal of some sorts and what meal is complete without dessert? (Hint: NONE.)

I wanted to take a sweet something with us when we met Jeff & Rachel for dinner, but I was torn: brownies or chocolate chip cookies? Both sounded delicious, but making a whole batch of brownies and a whole batch of cookies for 4 adults didn’t exactly appeal to me…or my skinny jeans!

I opted for these little gems, which I affectionately nicknamed: Brookies! 1 part brownie + 1 part cookie = Brookie! The best part is that they are SO simple to make – in fact, if it weren’t for the fact that we only hang out with a handful of couples and the fear that eventually they would be Brookie-d out, I’d make these to take to EVERY potluck!

First you prepare your brownie mix and then fill your pan with it. Traditionally these are made in a square brownie pan, but I have these awesome dessert bar pans that I am obsessed with using – especially if I’m making treats to take some place outside of our home. It pre-portions the dessert so there is no cutting and no whining, “his piece is bigger than my piece – not fair!”

I might have heard that a once or twice in my 10 years as a nanny.

…Or maybe enough to never want to hear it again.


After I portion out the brownie mix evenly among the squares, I place one teaspoon of chocolate chip cookie dough mix on top. No need to mash it down or anything, it can sit nicely on top. Then bake on 375 until edges are crispy and cookie appears golden brown on top. Voila!

Now that I’m thinking about it… a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the cookie craters would be the proverbial cherry on top! I might just save that addition for next time – good thing these are a dessert staple so it won’t be a long wait.

I wonder what other combinations would work out as well as these two classic desserts? Maybe a peanut butter cookie for a Reeses-inspired Brookie? Ideas?

Categorychocolate, food, recipe, sweet | Comment8 Comments »

Tags:
April 30th, 2011

C.O.P. cookies

I got this recipe from my MIL, it’s been in the family for a long time and they are my hubs’ favorite cookies!  They have no known associations with actual cops, they are just affectionally named so based on their three major ingredients: chocolate, oatmeal & peanut butter.

I’ve made them twice now, but both times they haven’t turned out quite like “mom’s” version. After scrutinizing all the details and going over the step-by-step process of how I prepared them, the MIL and I have decided the humidity here in Florida is to blame.  The humidity made them a little dry (I don’t know if that is scientifically possible but I’m going with it) and they needed to cool overnight.  The chocolate will have a slightly fudge-like consistency when cooled.  Weather obstables aside, this is a simple recipe that you can make anytime there’s a call for something sweet. Which at my house is almost hourly.

C.O.P. cookies (also known as no-bake cookies)

  • 3 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1-1/2 sticks margarine
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat over medium flame until mixture comes to a hard boil (use a candy thermometer to determine what temp this is, or drop a little of the mixture into cold water and if you can form a soft ball with the mixture, then it is ready).  Remove from heat and add:

  • 8 tablespoons of creamy, regular peanut butter

Peanut butter should melt into mixture, you can stir to blend well.  Let mixture stand a couple minutes and then add, one cup at a time:

  • 4 1/2 cups oatmeal (you can use quick oats or regular)

Mix until it is very thick. Note: You may not use all 4 1/2 cups of oatmeal.  Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper. Cool completely.

Makes: 2 dozen or more cookies

Categorychocolate, food, peanut butter, recipe, sweet | Comment2 Comments »

Tags:
April 15th, 2011

peanut butter crunch chocolate treats

One day while perusing food blogs, because I’m always on the hunt for the next yummy thing to make, I stumbled across a post on ValSoCal’s website for chocolate-peanut butter treats that stopped me in my tracks.

I stared.

I fantasized.

I drooled.

I coveted.

I. Must. Make. These.

Thankfully Val published the recipe so I was able to recreate this genius. I knew hubs was gonna love me for this! The treat are really quite simple to make; just like Rice Krispie treats, only with different ingredients. And Val is right – the springtime pastel M&Ms really make this a beautiful treat… don’t you agree?

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Treats

(affectionately known by me as Peanut Butter Crunch Chocolate Treats)

1 bag of large marshmallows
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons peanut butter (you can add up to a tablespoon more if you’d like)
6 cups of peanut butter Cap ‘n Crunch cereal
1 bag of pastel colored plain M&M’s

In a large saucepan (or pot), combine the marshmallows, peanut butter and butter.  Cook over medium-low heat while stirring until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in cereal. I stirred in half of the cereal first to make sure it was well coated, and then I poured in the second half of the cereal. Then stir in the M&M’s.  Pour and pat mixture into a 9×13 pan coated with cooking spray. Let it cool completely and cut into bars.

Savor.

Thank.

Enjoy.

Categorychocolate, food, peanut butter, recipe, sweet | Comment5 Comments »

Tags:
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »