Mini Peanut Butter Brownies

I'm back!!!!!  Wow!  It's been over 2 months since I last posted anything.  I attempted to do the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  I only got to week 7.  I tried to keep up.  I wanted to add recipes to my blog.  But then, life happens.  Since August I had been studying for a huge certification exam for work.  It took over all my spare time.  There wasn't much cooking or baking going on.  Honestly, on top of all my other responsibilities (full-time job, teenage daughters, husband, home), I just couldn't blog anymore.

Well, I'm happy to report that I passed my certification test a few weeks ago.  I earned my PHR certification! (Professional in Human Resources)  It was really a big accomplishment for me.  I graduated college 25 years ago (yikes!) so it's been quite a long time since I've had to study.  But it's over and now I can get back to my "normal" life.  

I hope I still have some visitors to my blog.  Because you don't want to miss these fantastic little peanut butter and chocolate brownie bites.  Can I just say they are AWESOME!  They are very rich.  I had to down 2 glasses of milk after I just ate one.  

Perfect bite size dessert for this weekend's Super Bowl.  These will be making an appearance at my office Super Bowl food day later this week.  

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  I am new to Pinterest and it is really fun and addicting.  This is a simple recipe.  It uses a box brownie mix.  I recommend Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix but I'm sure any boxed mix or even a from scratch recipe will work just fine.   

Mini Peanut Butter Brownies

Recipe by Baked Perfection

Makes 30-40 mini brownies

Ingredients

1 box of your favorite brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease 30-40 mini-muffin cups.

Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups (about 1 heaping teaspoon). Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet. After brownies are out of the oven, wait for centers to fall. This will happen upon cooling. If not then tap the centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter.

***I had to use a back of a spoon to push down the centers to form a well to hold the peanut butter and chips.  Do this while the brownies are still warm.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds then stir. While brownies are still warm spoon about half to one teaspoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.

To remove brownies, take a sharp knife and go around edge of brownies to loosen from pan.  They will pop out easily.  They also need to cool in the pan before removing or they will fall apart. 

    

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Here's another brownie bite recipe that brings together the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate.....

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites.

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

Welcome to October....can you believe it? This is one of my favorite months.  The weather is getting cooler, there's a briskness in the air, cooking my favorite fall foods like soups and stews, fall baking, getting ready for the upcoming holidays.  The first one is Halloween.  We always decorate our front yard for Halloween.  I love sitting on my front porch and giving out candy to all the kids.  


Do you like to have adult Halloween parties?  Here is a Halloween inspired menu from the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  This month's theme focuses on Halloween....the spooky, orange or black.  


I made this "Devilishly Devine Peanut Butter Caramel Corn" which is in the October issue of Cooking Light Magazine.  Making caramel corn is so easy and so addicting to eat.  This one is a little different with the peanut butter and almonds but definitely a yummy treat.  A great little party snack.  


Click here for the original recipe on Myrecipes.com

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Cooking Spray

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 regular-size bags of microwave popcorn, popped

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Spray a jelly-roll pan with cooking spray (better idea would be to use parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray)

3. Microwave popcorn according to package instructions.

4. Place popped popcorn in large bowl or pot.  Add almonds.

5. Combine sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occassionally. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and vanilla.  Stir until smooth.  
6.  Spread popcorn with almonds on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle peanut butter mixture over popcorn and toss well.  
7.  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool before breaking apart and placing in sealed container.  


Note:  Everytime you stir the popcorn, more pieces will be coated and the caramel will get harder.

(Print here for recipe)

The rest of our Spooky Halloween Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club menu is below.  Click on their links for more recipe details. 

Mary Ann (Meet Me in the Kitchen) - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Empanadas

Sandi (Whistlestop Cafe Cooking) - Devilish Eggs (Deviled Eggs w/Smoked Salmon and Herbs)

Val (More Than Burnt Toast) - Roasted Squash Soup with Turkey Croquettes

Jerry (Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants) - Dracula's Revenge (Baked Penne with Sausage and Garlic)

Roz (La Bella Vita) - Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies

This popcorn keeps well in a plastic container.  Great for opening up and grabbing a handful.  And another.  And another.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  I did not use parchment paper on my baking sheet.  I sprayed it with cooking spray.  My popcorn did stick some when finished baking.  I just used a spatula to get most of the popcorn off the pan.  If I would have used parchment paper, I'm sure it would not have stuck as much on the pan.  The lesson.....use parchment paper.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Peanut Butter.  My favorite.  Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.  My favorite childhood sandwich.  Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.  My new favorite dessert bar.

I absolutely love the combination of this peanut butter cookie bar with a layer of jelly filling and crunchy peanuts on top.  Adults and kids will love them.  Try these.  But be warned.  They will not last long.

I first saw this recipe on Jerry's blog, Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants.  I then saw it soon after in my March 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Recipe by Bon Appetit, March 2011

Serving: 16 bars

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup grape jelly or other jelly or jam
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts
• 
  

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving 2-inch overhang around edges and pressing firmly into corners and up sides of pan. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter, sugar, and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed until smooth. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Transfer half of dough to prepared pan (about scant 1 1/2 cups). Place remaining dough in freezer for 10 minutes. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom of pan. Spread jelly over in even layer. Remove dough from freezer; using fingertips, break into grape-size pieces and scatter over jelly layer. Sprinkle chopped nuts over.
• Bake bars until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool bars completely in pan on rack.
• Using foil overhang as aid, lift bars from pan. Gently peel foil from edges. Cut into 16 squares. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.        

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Change the flavor by using different jellies and jams like strawberry, raspberry or blackberry.  

Rich Peanut Butter Cookies from Tablespoon.com and a Prize Pack Giveaway

This blog post is to share a quick and wonderful peanut butter cookie, to intoduce a new website, Tablespoon.com and to offer a prize pack giveaway from MyBlogSpark & General Mills. Tablespoon.com is a new website by General Mills where you can find over 25,000 recipes, save and share recipes. When you join the website, you can add your own recipe creations, print coupons from a variety of brands as well as the ability to rate, comment & save recipes you try.

MyBlogSpark contacted me about this new website and sent me a "Pass the Inspiration" Prize Pack that included a set of measuring spoons, a measuring cup and 2 terry cloth pot holders. They are also offering a "Pass the Inspiration" Prize Pack to one of my readers.

In order to be eligible for this giveaway, go browse the website Tablespoon.com and then leave a comment here about a particular feature that you liked on Tablespoon.com. Maybe there was a recipe that caught your eye or the printable coupons. I will choose a winner by Random.org. The deadline to leave a comment will be Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00pm (CST). I will announce the winner on Wednesday, October 28th.

Now, I want to share briefly about this cookie recipe. This is a peanut butter cookie kicked up a notch with the addition of peanut butter chips. It was so quick to make a batch and my daughters and husband were very happy to come home to these baked treats.

Click here for the recipe: Rich Peanut Butter Cookies on the website Tablespoon.com

The ingredient list

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Keep your pantry well stocked with items to bake with such as sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, confectioners sugar, brown sugar, different flavors of chocolate chips/morsels, cocoa powder and several variety of nuts. That way, when the mood strikes, you'll be ready to make something home baked your family will appreciate.

An All-Time Favorite - The Peanut Butter Cookie

When I came home from work the other day, it was a rainy afternoon. So, the girls and I decided it was a great time to make some cookies. We knew the "man of the house" would love them too. Since I had 2 large jars of peanut butter in my pantry, I knew what cookies to make, classic peanut butter cookies. To make things easier, I pulled out some of my cookbooks and decided to make the recipe from my Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook. This is a great cookbook, by the way. It's full of very good everyday recipes. Well, these cookies didn't disappoint. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Great with a tall glass of cold milk.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook (Limited Edition, Pink Plaid)

Makes about 36 cookies (ours were larger so we got around 28 cookies)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Granulated sugar

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour, a little at a time, until all combined.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

It's hard to resist these classic cookies.


Enjoy!


Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Cover and chill dough for about 15 minutes for easier handling. Also, I sprayed the back of the fork very lightly with cooking spray which helped with sticking issues during the crisscross process.