Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies–YUM!

Let me start by saying that I am a huge peanut butter fanatic. I love the stuff so much that I eat it straight from the jar with a spoon. So when I saw these chewy peanut butter brownies, I knew I had to make them.

All I can say is they are really very good. Surprisingly, they’re not too sweet either. That was something I appreciated since most of these types of food are a little heavy on the sugar. The amounts in the recipe are just right.

Peanut Butter

Since the flavor depends upon it, use a good-tasting peanut butter. This can be your favorite brand and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. For my taste, the best one is Walmart’s house label. It has a rich, deep peanutty taste that beats the more expensive brand in my opinion.

A honey roasted variety would work well here too. As far as crunchy peanut butter goes, it would probably be OK to use although I have never tried it. If. you use it and get good results, please let me know so I can list it as an option.

Like Chocolate?

OK I know–who doesn’t. However you can dress up these brownies by drizzling some melted chocolate on top. You could really get bold and top them with chocolate frosting.

Personally, I think the drizzle would work best here. That way there’s no overkill with flavor. Chocolate is strong so it may mask the peanutty taste.

The drizzle I’d use is a simple ganache. That’s about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream where you just nuke and stir. The best part is whatever is left over hardens to a great bark-like texture. I spread the leftover on wax paper and just let it solidify. Delicious!

The Recipe

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Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies

For peanut butter lovers

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brownies that don't have chocolate, peanut butter brownies

Servings: 9

Calories: 315kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside
• In a medium bowl, cream the peanut butter and butter. Gradually add the sugars, beating until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, beating well after each. Blend in the vanilla.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the peanut butter mixture, blending well.
• Turn into prepared pan, making an even layer.
• Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool and cut into 9 portions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 263IU | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Since these cookies are so easy to make, you’ll definitely make them often.

The key here is to use a top-quality peanut butter because that’s the main flavor here. Creamy peanut butter is the standard for use, but I’ve also tried these with chunky peanut butter and they are very good too.

Classic peanut butter cookies bake up in no time at all. I usually bake mine for about 6 minutes because I like them a bit on the chewy side–which works pretty well even now right after dental surgery!

Easy Mix

The reason these are so easy and mix beautifully is that there’s no softening of anything here.

These cookies use vegetable shortening which is at room temperature already so there’s no waiting for any ingredient to come up to the ambient temperature.

Honestly I’m not one much for vegetable shortening, but it works here because it really lets the flavor of the peanut butter shine through. It’s the traditional kind–not the butter-flavored one. That stuff is nasty!

Don’t worry about the egg. That you can use straight out of the refrigerator with no consequences but it you’d like to have it at room temperature, just drop it in a bowl of warm water (it’s still in it’s shell FYI) while you measure out everything else.

Now And Later

I rarely bake the entire yield with these because they are so quick cooking you can make them fresh when you want them.

The dough keeps well. I’ve kept it for at least two weeks in the fridge without any bad effects. So I make what I want and save the rest of the dough for later.

If you do small batches, they’d probably be good made in the air fryer. I haven’t tried this yet but I would make sure to use the parchment liners and maybe a small rack on top in case they fly around. I’d go with the same temperature as the oven but I’d check these for doneness after about 4 minutes.

The Recipe

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Easy and delicious

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time7 minutes mins

Course: cookies, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: classic peanut butter cookies, peanut butter cookies using crisco, traditional peanut butter cookies

Servings: 18

Calories: 179kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375F/190C. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls of dough 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of a fork.
• Bake one baking sheet at a time for 6 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookies | Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 17IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

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Best Copycat Girl Scout DoSiDos

i’ve tried a lot of copycat recipes for these perennially favorite Girl Scout cookies, but none have come as close to this one.

There’s something for everyone in these cookies. If you like oatmeal, check, it’s in here. If you like coconut, check, it’s also in here. As a side note if you’re not fond of coconut, it can be left out. Last but not least is the creamy peanut butter filling. It’s absolutely wonderful!

These aren’t formed in the usual peanut butter cookie way so leave the fork in the drawer.

Shaping

Unlike the usual shaping of traditional peanut butter cookies, with these you don’t press them down in a cross-hatch with a fork,

These cookies are actually drop cookies and you can just drop them on the cookie sheet and let ‘er rip, as they say. However, if you want consistent sizes, you’ll want to go the extra step of rolling them into small balls. The issue, besides aesthetics, is that they are sandwich cookies so you want them all to be pretty much the same size,

I actually measured out the dough using a standard measuring tablespoon–and leveling it off. This made balls about the size of a hazelnut and that worked out very well as far as consistency in size went. I didn’t want humungous cookies. If you do, then make the balls a little bigger. Remember the yield is actually half because you use two cookies to make one–if that makes sense,

Filling

This is crazy delicious so you have to stop yourself from “taste testing” before the cookies are filled.

The caution here is that it makes quite a bit so you may have some left over. I did and I wasn’t cheap with filling the cookies either. Granted I didn’t measure the amount I put on; I just eyeballed it but I would say it was about 1 1/2 tablespoons if I had to guess.

A pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round tip works pretty well for distributing the filling, but I just dropped it on with a spoon, placed the other cookie on top and squeezed the middle. Worked for me and I had less to wash up.

The Recipe

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Copycat DoSiDos

Best copycat of the beloved Girl Scout peanut butter cookie

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Chill Time30 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: copycat dosidos, copycat girl scout cookie recipes, peanut butter sandwich cookies

Servings: 16

Calories: 465kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup sweetened coconut

Peanut Butter Filling:

• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, peanut butter and butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, coconut and oats in another bowl; mix well. Add this to the peanut butter mixture, beating at low speed until well blended. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Drop by level tablespoon onto prepared sheets spacing 2-inches/5 cm apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are beginning to get golden brown. Cool on sheets 2 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
• Beat all filling ingredients together until the mixture is creamy. You may have to add a drop or 2 more milk to get the proper consistency--it should be like a soft frosting.
• Place about 1-2 tablespoons of filling on half the cookies (on the side that's flat that was the down side on the sheet) then top with another cookie and press so the filling shows around the edges.
• Yield varies but I got 32 sandwich cookies.

Notes

Confectioner's sugar is icing sugar in UK/EU

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookies | Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 273mg | Potassium: 264mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 329IU | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg

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Lava Mug Cake Is Perfect

Since a lot of us who live alone don’t want a huge cake hanging around just to go bad, a mug cake is the perfect solution. It’s also a great go-to for when you’ve got a craving for cake but don’t want to commit to an entire recipe for one.

Personally, I’m not that much of a cake lover. However, when I want some, I want it now so this is a great solution. With a mug cake I’m getting a single serving with nothing left over to go moldy.

Cake Mix Works Too

For years I’ve made these with cake mix–and that’d work here too in a pinch. I’d add about 1/4 cup of cake mix to an appropriate-sized vessel then just add water until I got a batter consistency. This is an ultra-quick way to do it. Just follow the directions in the recipe for the add-ins and cook time if that’s the way you’re going.

I always prefer homemade to mix–mainly it tastes better–and making from scratch is pretty easy. And I’m sure you have the ingredients for from-scratch where you might not have a cake mix handy so that’s a plus.

Don’t Skimp On The Chocolate

As always, use what you have on hand. But if you want to make this really special, then don’t skimp on the chocolate. I used a high-quality bittersweet chocolate in these. That’s 60 per cent cacao.

As for the peanut butter, I absolutely love the honey roasted variety so I used that–I have it on hand always. Since the center becomes liquified, chunky peanut butter sort of defeats that purpose, but if that’s all you have, then by all means use it.

Now a word about cup size–it’s always better to use something bigger here so you don’t get messy overflows where you will have to clean the microwave. I made these in 14-ounce mugs  and the batter didn’t rise all the way to the top so that’s a safe size. Mugs that are 12 ounces will do nicely too, but keep your eye on them to avoid mess.

The Recipe

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Mug Cake

Like Reese's in a mug cake

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time3 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: microwave lava cake, peanut butter chocolate lava cake, reeses lava mug cake

Servings: 2

Calories: 799kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbs dark chocolate chips or 2 oz (2 squares bar chocolate)
• 2 tbs creamy peanut butter
• whipped cream for topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Place flour, baking powder, cocoa, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to compbine.
• Add the milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk until well blended.
• Divide the batter between 2 large mugs (I used 14 oz mugs). Microwave for 30-45 seconds on high.
• Remove the mugs and place 1 tbs of the chocolate chips into each mug. Next add 1 tbs of peanut butter to each mug. Press the chips and peanut butter into the batter.
• Return the mugs to the microwave and cook for an additional 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The length of time will depend on your microwave's power so an exact time can't be reliably calculated. When the batter rises to the top of the mug, that is when the cakes are done so you must watch it carefully.

Notes

Nutrition calculated without whipped cream (optional)

Nutrition

Serving: 1mug cake | Calories: 799kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 683mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 4mg

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Great Treat For Easter: Candy To Make With Kids

With Easter just around the corner everyone’s mind turns to candy eggs.

This Easter is likely to be like no Easter before with everyone self-sheltering due to this world-wide illness. But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate–either by yourself or if you’re all hunkered down in the same house.

If you have kiddos, this is a great project to do with them for the holiday. Who knows? It even may become a brand-new tradition from here on. With schools shut and most parents doing remote lessons with the kids or home schooling even, this just might fit into one of those “necessary life skills” classes.

More Than Deviled Eggs

Ok, so you’re thinking, “What do deviled eggs have to do with this.”

A deviled egg plate just happens to be the perfect way to shape these chocolate peanut butter bonbons. You just press the peanut butter filing in, chill and voila–an egg shape.

I will admit it’s a bit of a trick to get them out because they form a sort of vacuum between the plate and the peanut butter mixture. All you have to do is break the “seal.” I do this by using a small paring knife.

Now, if you don’t want to bother with any fancy shape, you can just form the filling into balls about the size of a walnut and take it from there. And if you’re doing these with the kiddos, that would definitely be the way I’d go–for several reasons! Let’s just say everyone can say they helped and leave it at that

Chocolate Coating

Any chocolate you have on hand will be good for this.

I had some dark chocolate morsels and used those. If you have a bar of semi-sweet baking chocolate, that’s good too. White chocolate? That’ll do, although it wouldn’t be my first choice–and I love white chocolate. In this unprecedented time, use what you have. It’ll be good.

The Recipe

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons

Even better than Reese’s because they’re creamy and made with super-dark chocolate!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Chill Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: candy, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: candy to make with kids, easy homemade Easter candy, homemade peanut butter cups

Servings: 12

Calories: 595kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 16 oz confectioner’s sugar 1 small bag
• 2 1/2 cups dark chocolate morsels
• 2 tbs coconut oil or shortening

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Beat in sugar. Stir in coconut if desired. Form golf-ball sized portions into egg shapes or balls. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes.
• In a microwave-safe bowl or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil/shortening: stir until smooth. Dip in melted chocolate until coated; place on waxed paper to harden
• You can leave them plain or sprinkle with colored non pareils or sprinkles

Nutrition

Serving: 1candy egg | Calories: 595kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 390mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 1mg

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Fastest Cookies Ever

When you get a late-night snack attack for something sweet, these cookies may just fill the bill.

They are lightening fast to make and I bet you have all the things you need to make them in your pantry!

You’ve Got All You Need

As I said before, you probably have everything you need on hand to make these chocolate covered peanutty delights.

I always have a box of those round buttery crackers on hand and I bet you do too. Peanut butter is always on my shelf too. Chocolate chips? You bet. One secret I picked up years ago was that if you buy “candy” from the baking aisle, there’s no tax on it–at least where I am in New York. So those chocolate chips are kept on hand for basically snacking purposes.

You may not have white chocolate chips on hand, but that doesn’t matter. These cookies are fine with the semi-sweet morsel coating. And the best part when making them with regular chocolate is they taste just like peanut butter cups.

The only real effort with these is dipping them and you don’t have to get fancy like I did by gussying them up with the drizzle. But there’s a big plus that you can scarf up the errant bits of chocolate on the waxed paper!!!

Easy Dipping

The original recipe called for shortening (like Crisco) to be melted into the chocolate chips. I chose to use unrefined coconut oil. The main reason is that it makes the chocolate taste wonderful because it will have a tiny whisper of coconut taste. If you’re not nuts for coconut as I am, then use the shortening because it’s pretty much tasteless.

Another reason it’s used is to make the chocolate flow easier because it makes it less viscous. It also adds a bit of sheen to the coating.

The Recipe

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Easy Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Easiest no-bake cookies ever.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate

Servings: 15

Calories: 147kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 30 round butter-flavored crackers
• 1 cup white semisweet or milk chocolate chips
• 1 tbs coconut oil or shortening

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Spread peanut butter on half of the crackers; top with remaining crackers to make sandwiches. Refrigerate until firm.
• In a double boiler over simmering water or in a microwave, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil; stir until smooth. Dip sandwiches in chocolate mixture; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

Video

Video in post (if available)

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookies | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 62mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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This Treat Takes Very Little Time

These brownies look like they are a lot of work, but you will be surprised at how ridiculously easy they are.

I used to make something similar years ago where the recipe was entirely from scratch. Not that brownies from scratch are hard, but there were other factors involved that made it somewhat involved to make. The center was mini marshmallows that you melted in the oven over the almost-baked brownies. Try spreading that evenly across the top! However, the hardest part was cutting them. I always joked you needed a chainsaw to do it. Of course they were delicious, but my hands were sore for hours after cutting them.

This recipe uses convenience ingredients and are much easier to cut. The recipe came from a recent ad for a local supermarket because it featured items they had on sale for that week.

Your Choice For Frosting

The recipe called for vanilla and that’s what I used. However, you can use any white frosting you want because there’s several flavors to choose from.

They would also taste fantastic with your own homemade cream cheese frosting because the cream cheese would add a little sharpness to offset the sweetness. Cream cheese frosting also comes pre-made in the tub but I find that has a rather unpleasant aftertaste to it so that’s why I wouldn’t use it.

The frosting, unlike the melted mini marshmallows, is easy to cut through. It also gives these brownies an interesting texture. The base is chewy, the center is creamy and the topping is crunchy. It’s delightful. I must add that at first I thought it might be way too sweet, but it’s not!

No Fancy Mix Needed

Don’t be tempted to buy a fancy brownie mix with add-ins because you don’t need it. A plain old (and cheap) store brand will do nicely here. I’ve found most store-brand brownie mixes are just as good, if not better, than national brands so there’s no need to go overboard with it.

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The Recipe

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Triple-Decker Brownies

Make sure to leave a couple of these triple-decker brownies for Santa! These are so easy, you’ll make them year round.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12

Calories: 347kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 boxed brownie mix 13x9 size brownie mix plus ingredients listed on the box
• 1 tub vanilla frosting see NOTES
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped cocktail peanuts
• 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
• Prepare brownie mix as per box directions. Spread in the pan and bake for the length of time stated on the box for a 13 x 9-inch pan. Cool completely.
• Spread the tub of frosting on top of the cooled brownies. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Refrigerate while making the topping.
• In a large heavy saucepan melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter over low heat, stirring constantly until no lumps remain. Add the rice cereal and stir well, making sure that all the cereal is coated with the chocolate mixture. Spread the topping mixture evenly across the top of the brownies. Chill for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Notes

You can substitute any white icing for the vanilla. You may also substitute your own homemade cream cheese frosting.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 3mg

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Kiddos and grown ups will love this peanut butter cup cheesecake and so will you! Easy and no baking necessary.

Easy Summer Dessert

Now that the warmer weather is almost upon us–and in some places it already is there–the last thing you want to do is run your oven!

This cheesecake is entirely no bake so no oven is necessary. The only thing you have to do is allow enough time for a thorough chilling before serving it.

The original recipe calls for at least 2 hours chilling, but I’d advise making it the day before and chilling it overnight for the best results.

Oh That Crust

This is one of the most delicious no-bake crusts I’ve ever tasted.

It starts out not with Oreos (although you can use them if you want) but with chocolate wafers. Yep the kind that you use to make that retro dessert with whipped cream–that looks like a zebra when it’s cut.

Funny enough, I had those wafers on hand because I intended to make that dessert. OK, I ended up eating them LOL because I really like those cookies, so I just bought more and used them for this.

It’s important here to use unsalted butter in the crust. Otherwise it will taste salty and ruin the delicious flavor. Maybe that’s because the older I get, the less into salt I am. However, the recipe called specifically for the unsalted variety and something told me not to substitute.

Anyhow, I read years ago in a baking book by Rose Levy Beranbaum that you should always bake with unsalted butter. She’s a huge expert so this has to be so.

Cheesecake Filling: Watch The Sugar

When you’re making up the cheesecake filling, go slow with the sugar. It’s perfectly OK to taste it since there’s no flour nor raw egg in the mixture.

The reason I say this is that the crust is sweet, the peanut butter cups are sweet as well, so you want the cheesecake to be a bit on the tart side to offset that. So start with 2 tablespoons of sugar and see how it is. I found 3 tablespoons to be the best amount for me–it made it slightly sweet but preserved enough tartness to balance the candy and the cookie crust. Your tastes may vary so start small and work up to what’s right for you.

The Recipe

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No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Kiddos and grown ups will love this peanut butter cup cheesecake and so will you! Easy and no baking necessary.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate cookie crust, no bake cheesecake, peanut butter cup cheesecake

Servings: 12

Calories: 410kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 40 chocolate wafer cookies like Nabisco’s Famous Wafers
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 17 peanut butter cups
• colored sprinkles
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

• Lightly coat a 9-inch spring form cake pan with cooking spray.
• In a food processor, pulse the chocolate wafers to form fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the heavy cream and vanilla, mixing just to incorporate. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick and stiff, about 2 minutes. Fold in sour cream.
• Arrange the peanut butter cups on the bottom of the prepared crust, breaking them to fit, as necessary, to fill any large gaps. Spread the cheesecake filling over the top of the peanut butter cups and sprinkle with Reese’s pieces. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 728IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg

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If you’re looking for a great peanut butter cookie, here it is.

Chunky Peanut Butter? You Bet

I love peanut butter, but I wasn’t crazy about most peanut butter cookie recipes.

In some of the recipes, I even substituted chunky peanut butter because I prefer it to the smooth variety. However, I still never flipped over the cookies. Until now.

Butter Is The Key

Many of the recipes I used in the past contained vegetable shortening.

Shortening has no taste so won’t impart any in a cookie. That’s a good choice when you have other ingredients that are highly flavored and want that flavor to stand out. Shortening also gives a cookie a different texture than butter mainly because it’s pure fat. Butter is about 80% fat with water and milk solids. Again, shortening is a good choice if you want a nice airy and crisp texture in a cookie.

But in this cookie, butter is the key to not only the texture but the taste. This is a rich and chewy cookie, however, bear in mind that if they cookies are left uncovered, they will crisp up. Therefore, if you want to preserve some chewiness, put them in a tightly covered container after they’ve completely cooled.

Plain Or With Chocolate

Since I’m a nut for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, I wanted to introduce some chocolate into these cookies. I split the dough in half and kept some plain though.

I generally use mini morsels because they disperse better in batters and doughs. However, I realized after the fact that I was a little too “cheap” with them so there wasn’t much chocolatey flavor. In the recipe I have given amounts that I think would be more reasonable and not stingy. If you want more or less, let your eye be your guide. The amount of chips won’t affect the basic cookie nor the formula. You can add other flavor chips too. If you really love peanut butter, then peanut butter chips would be in order here. If you really want to go radical, then combine peanut butter and chocolate chips!

The Recipe

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Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies

If you’re looking for a great peanut butter cookie, here it is.

Prep Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Servings: 10

Calories: 738kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

OPTIONAL

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips see NOTES

Instructions

• With an electric mixer, cream butter peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; stir into butter mixture.
• Stir in the chips, if using. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 ℉. Line several cookie sheets (I needed 4 large) with parchment.
• Roll dough into balls about 1-inch diameter and place on the prepared sheets about 2-inches apart. Flatten with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern (dip the fork in flour periodically as it will stick to the cookies).
• Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies begin to get golden around the edges. Leave on the sheets for 1 minute then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

If using mini chips, use 1/2 the amount of regular (general guide)

These cookies spread so make sure you place the balls far enough apart.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 738kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 471mg | Potassium: 323mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 675IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 3mg

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Marco Polo brought spaghetti to the west.  We take it back east.

This is a simple and filling dinner where meat is the condiment.

I’d had a bit of pot sticker filling (link is in the recipe), and wanted to use it, however, I didn’t want to fuss with pot stickers or wontons.  I’d bought a case of udon noodles from Amazon because I love them and they are pretty cheap bought in bulk.  I wanted to use some so I thought I’d combine the noodles with meatballs made from the leftover pot sticker filling.

Delicious!  And easy for when you don’t want to fuss.  The Kame brand noodles are all pre-cooked so all you do is add them to the pot.  I squish the little bags they come in to break them up well so I don’t get that many clumps.  You can pre-cook the meatballs and refrigerate until ready for use, so you can put this together in 2 shakes if they’ve already been prepared.

Asian Spaghetti & Meatballs

Makes 2 servings

Asian Spaghetti & Meatballs

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