Peanut butter | Just About Baked

Peanut Butter Berry Brownie Pizza

Ever heard the expression “Waste not, want not?”

Of course you have. But have you ever really thought about it? What does it mean? If I don’t waste the half-eaten banana my kid left on the floor by hurling it immediately into the garbage, then…I’ll eat it? And I won’t be hungry?

I mean, I’ve done that. Eaten scraps my family leaves around. But I gotta tell you, I still want. Food. Of my own. That wasn’t left on the floor. Or in a doll’s bed.

While I do admit (and yes, I’m ashamed) to being pretty wasteful in some aspects of my life, I am very good about using what I have in the kitchen. Last week I made these S’more Brownie Cupcakes and I had brownie batter left over. So what better to do than take the batter, put it in a tart pan, bake it up and make a brownie pizza?

Double Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

I’m on a peanut butter kick, people. Just roll with it. It’s Sunday!

One peanut butter cup is never enough. Have you noticed that? You eat one and then this force overtakes you and controls your mind, telling you that nothing will satisfy you until you eat another peanut butter cup. Or several.

Can you relate? Can you tell I’m an addict?

That’s why I decided that for these cupcakes, there need to be two peanut butter cups involved. One for you, and the other for…you. The peanut butter cake and peanut butter chocolate and buttercream are nice, too. You may feel like you’ve had almost enough by the time you’re through with these. But no guarantees out there in life, people.

Peanut Butter Bars

Everywhere I look these days, I see ads for Botox. Is it just me, or is everyone offering to inject your face? First it was dermatologists. Then my dentist joined the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start offering Botox along with your latte at Starbucks.

It’s just not fashionable to age gracefully. Okay, cool. Though I sometimes wonder if the Botox makes people look younger. They just look…smoother.

But knowing me, I’ll probably be running to the needle soon enough. I’m very into trends. Fads are awesome. They’re totally logical and everyone should do what their friends are doing.

In the meantime, my secrets to the fountain of youth are simple. Sleep. Eat veggies and fish. Drink water and green tea. Use moisturizer and sunscreen, even when it’s fifty below zero outside (vampire skin is sexy). And eat peanut butter every day, preferably along with your daily hefty dose of chocolate. See? Simple!

Soft-Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

There are few snacks quite so satisfying as a pile of soft, chewy peanut butter cookies with a glass of milk (or Ovaltine, in my case). Peanut butter cookies can be made so many different ways, and I’ll be showacasing all of those different methods over the coming months. Sometimes I like the cookies a bit crispier or crumblier. It really depends on my day. But this time, I wanted that melt-in-your-mouth softness that comes with making a thick, gorgeous cookie.

This recipe was featured just a few days ago as part of my Reese’s peanut butter egg cookies, and it works great if you want to stuff anything into the middle. But luckily, this baby is versatile. It’s a great cookie on its own, too!

Peanut Butter Egg Cookies

‘Tis the season. No, not spring! It’s unusually cold for this time of year. Nope, even better! Reese’s Eggs are out! Praise the peanut butter and chocolate gods!

Of all their products, these eggs are my favorite. The ratio of peanut butter to chocolate is a bit different than with their ordinary cups. Translation: there is more of that amazing peanut butter filling in a Reese’s egg, and that equals happiness. Extreme, sweet, peanut buttery happiness.

When I was a kid, my mom would buy us these eggs as a treat, and it was always such a holy moment. I’d unrap the egg slowly and eat it, perfect bite by perfect bite, always sorry when it was over. Actually, not much has changed. I still feel that one egg is just not enough to satisfy my Reese’s-fueled lust for peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Cupcakes

March 21, 2014
Mir
C is for COOKIE!, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes
2 Comments

When I was a young and inexperienced baker trying to make up recipes, I didn’t have much success. I mean, I was 15. The process of creaming butter with sugar was a completely terrifying prospect. And whipping egg whites until stiff peaks form? I still remember doing it by hand one day. It worked, but I was traumatized.

Now, many years and one Kitchen Aid mixer later, I am much wiser. But I still remember fondly the recipes that were not epic fails when I was just starting out. And one in particular that I kept making time and time again were these cookie cupcakes. Because they worked. And because they were actually delicious.

These are peanut buttery without being too sweet or over-the-top intense. They remind me of classic peanut butter cookies: same flavor, same happy nostalgic feel, same need for the glass of milk. But there’s more in each serving, more to bite into. The middle is nice and soft while the edges are chewy. And best of all, they have that Reese’s cup in the middle.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Since this is my inaugural post, I’m going to start this relationship the way I want to continue it: honestly.

And to be downright truthful, I have to admit that when it comes to dessert, I have absolutely the highest threshold imaginable for sugar tolerance. When everyone else is saying things like, “Wow, that’s so rich. I can’t eat more than one bite,” I’m halfway through my second helping, feeling like I just don’t get it.

When is anything ever too decadent? Perhaps that explains my tendency to put a lot of EVERYTHING into my baking.