TGIF Cupcakes Recipe December 15, 2021September 8, 2017 Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF! This recipe was inspired by a book I read last week. I don’t know if it’s like this for anyone else, but there always seems to be a food theme in every book I read…. or at least there is in my mind. And maybe “theme” is a bit too strong of a word. But do you know what I mean? You’re reading a book, and maybe it’s set in Antebellum South, and the main character eats a lot of cornbread smothered in honey and butter. All of a sudden, all I can think about is cornbread and honey. Or the main characters frequently hang out at the local pizza joint. Now all I want to eat is pizza. You get the picture. In last week’s book (which was #3 in the Porter Family Novel series by Becky Wade), a side character (who was the main character in #2) works in a bakery, and this is cupcake is her Friday specialty. The moment I read the description, I knew I wanted to recreate it for you guys. And so…. ta-da! This has been one of my favorite recipes that I’ve made in a while, and I’m thinking that it needs to be recreated into a layer cake, a poke cake… possible fudge? Definitely into a cookie. So expect more TGIF treats to grace the blog before too long. And I think these flavors are perfectly timed for Fall. They’re rich with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch and just perfect for winter comfort sweatpants food. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe December 15, 2021May 25, 2017 Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting, peanut butter cups, and a rich peanut butter chocolate ganache make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd. Happy Thursday! I’ve been saving a good one for my peanut butter and chocolate trifecta finale. Things may have started out a little more conservatively with this Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie, but we are definitely finishing on a wild note! Because there is nothing mild or tame about this two-layer chocolate fudge peanut butter cup beauty! This may look like a simple 2-layer cake at first glance. But what you’re really seeing here are actually nine layers of peanut butter chocolate-y goodness. Count them with me: ???????? my all-time favorite chocolate cake. ???????? homemade peanut butter frosting. ???????? Reese’s peanut butter cups. ???????? more chocolate cake. ???????? more peanut butter frosting. ???????? peanut butter chocolate ganache. ???????? more peanut butter frosting. ???????? more peanut butter chocolate ganache. ???????? MORE Reese’s cups! See those Reese’s cups in the middle? That’s my favorite part. You know I’m all about the texture, and those little bits of Reese’s give the middle of this cake a perfect little something extra to bite into. What are you waiting for?! It’s practically the weekend– dig in!
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Bites Recipe December 15, 2021May 24, 2017 Easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter pretzel bars made with only 5 simple ingredients! I’ve been on a real chocolate and peanut butter kick lately, with three back-to-back Chocolate PB recipes coming your way! Be excited ????. I like chocolate and peanut butter in all sorts of ways. From the super indulgent recipes like Tagalong Pound Cake, No Bake Peanut Butter Cup Bars, and Peanut Butter Brownie Trifles to healthier recipes like this Super Skinny PB Cup Smoothie or my favorite Peanut Butter Granola. My favorite way to eat PB will always be in the form of a cookie. Preferably my Grandma’s Monster Cookies or my mom’s Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies! Or in any of these 75+ Ways to Eat a Reese’s. Obviously. Today’s recipe combines three of my great loves: PB + chocolate, pretzels, and no bake. Side note: the way to my heart is to make something EASY. And these no-bake bars have do that in spades! We’re basically mashing these Peanut Butter Cup No Bake Bars (have you made them yet??) with two cups of pretzel crumbs. Speaking of mashing… You could put your pretzels in a food processor for a rough chop if you want when you’re making this recipe. But I just dumped mine in a gallon-sized zipper bag and beat them with a rolling pin. It worked out just fine (and one less thing I have to clean). You can see in the photo above that you don’t need to aim for super fine crumbs. The PB mixture will hold the pretzels together perfectly even if there are some bigger chunks. In fact, you may find that you like having big chunks of pretzel bites in there! You only need 5 simple ingredients for this recipe, and you probably have them all on hand already! creamy peanut butter pretzels (2 cups of CRUSHED pretzels) chocolate chips powdered sugar butter See? Easy peasy. I added some honey roasted peanuts to the top of mine for some additional crunch (and I like the look of it), but that’s totally up to you. I also think M&MS would be pretty on point if you’re considering additional toppings ????????. Enjoy!
Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe December 16, 2021May 18, 2017 35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake! I’m going to be really honest with you… the weight loss thing isn’t really my strong suit in life. I haven’t quite cracked the code on that one. Do I love Weight Watchers? You betcha. I love to exercise too, believe it or not. And I can whip up healthier versions of dessert recipes all day long (like Skinny Chocolate Donuts, Skinny Brownie Batter Dip, and Banana Pancakes). But when it comes to actually dropping the pounds… not so much. However, I fully anticipate that I will one day eat my way through enough Halo Top Ice Cream to discover that it’s finally made me skinny. At least that’s what I tell my husband every time I spend 5.99 on a pint ????. Good man that he is, I never actually see him roll his eyes. Anyway. The point that I’m trying to make here is… I may not be very good at the actual losing of the weight. But I’m very, very good at breakfast on day one of a new diet. Ahem, er, “lifestyle change.” ???? Side note: how irritating is it that no one is allowed to “diet” anymore. The PC way to say diet these days is, “lifestyle change.” But… what if I just want to lose 30 pounds? Do I really have to change my mindset and my pantry for the rest of forever. Is that really totally necessary?? Is it???? *hysterics* But back to breakfast on day one… How about a ridiculously decadent smoothie WITH 35 FREAKING GRAMS OF PROTEIN that tastes like peanut butter cups? Works for me. Enjoy!
Tagalong Pound Cake Recipe December 15, 2021March 8, 2017 An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients! There are three very important things happening in this uberly (it’s a word. shut up.) delicious cake. ☝????Pound cake. Easy, Sara Lee, ALWAYS GOOD and always easy ???? pound cake. ✌???? Peanut butter. And I don’t mean peanut butter that’s been diluted with sugar or whipped cream or something. I mean PEANUT BUTTER. In all of it’s creamy glory. The way the Girl Scouts intended it to be. ✌????☝???? (why isn’t there an emjoi for three??) Chocolate. Duh. Step number one: buy a Sara Lee pound cake out of the frozen section. I’m not even going to bother arguing with the make-it-from-scratch crowd here. Trust me. It’s just as good if not better than a homemade pound cake for this particular recipe. I rest my case. Step number two: smother it in creamy, creamy peanut butter. Step number three: Freeze it. Really about 30 minutes ought to do the trick. We just don’t want it to melt when we pour the chocolate over it. Are you ready for this step? Canned frosting. Mmm-hm. I’m not even embarrassed. Homemade frosting has it’s place. Like on this cake. But half a can of melted Pillsbury Milk Chocolate frosting works like a dream for this recipe. Plus… mama likey easy. So, to sum up: Cake. Peanut butter. Chocolate frosting. Crazy stupid easy. Crazy stupid good. Yep, I think that about covers everything. Enjoy my dears!
Peanut Butter Brownie Trifles Recipe December 15, 2021July 20, 2016 Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won’t believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!! I’m all about the easy in the summer time, let me tell you. Part of me kind of thought that summer might be a little easier than the school year. I mean, I knew it would be challenging having both kids home all day every day. But I guess I still thought that just maybe I would feel like I had more hours in the day to get stuff done. Since I figured the days would feel longer and all. Turns out, I was part right. And part so, so, so very wrong. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this… the days are NEVER ENDING. Never, ever ending. And yet somehow, there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. WTH? If someone figures that math out, let me know. In the meantime, I’m doing lots of quick-and-easy around here. I average cooking a real meal about once a week. Cleaning just doesn’t get done. And I let the kids pretty much rule the roost all day. Seriously. As I sit here and type, I can see a (LARGE) milk puddle in the carpet that I haven’t sponged up since lunch time (that’s gonna be fun), CJ is rubbing in applesauce on the rug at my feet, clothes and knick knacks and what nots litter every inch of living space as far as the eye can see, my empty fast food cup of soda is leaving a water ring on the table to my left, and there’s a sticky bottle of infant’s Ibuprofen stuck to a book on my right. I still don’t know what we’re having for dinner, Chris will be home in about 15 minutes, and then I’m leaving for a baby shower. I’m not complaining. But at some point… the situation does become comical. So when it comes to prepping recipes for the blog? It’s gotta be EASY. We’re talking the minimum amount of effort here. And friends, it does NOT get any easier than this recipe for Peanut Butter Brownie Parfaits. You’ll need pudding mix, peanut butter, Cool Whip, and milk for the mousse part. And you’ll layer that with brownie bites (home baked or store bought, box mix or from scratch, my recipe or yours, WHATEVER) and chocolate chips. Guys, this recipe is the very definitely of minimal effort. And it’s SO GOOD. And it looks so fancy too. People will never know that you whipped this up whilst standing in a pile of smushed grapes and animal crackers in your yoga pants! …not that I did that or anything. ????
Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Banana Muffins Recipe December 15, 2021July 11, 2016 My mom’s famous banana bread muffins made with peanut butter and swirled with Nutella. We didn’t have a crumb left! If you need me to convince you that peanut butter and Nutella and banana muffins are a match made in heaven.. then you are possibly on the wrong site. ???? People ask me all the time what I do with all the treats I bake. All.the.time. I guess I should be flattered that people don’t take one look at me and think that I eat every single thing that comes out of my kitchen. But, oh, if they only knew how many of my baked goods never quite make it out the door to all the places I intend to send them. Well, I’d be horrified. So I’m glad that they don’t know. But what I’m confessing is: I eat a lot of it myself. Case in point: these muffins. I took one bite, and I was gone. Or rather… the muffins were gone! ???? Super soft, moist banana bread bursting with peanut butter flavor and swirled with Nutella. A LOT of Nutella. So, so, so, good. And so comforting! I don’t if it’s just me, but these are all flavors that just make me feel good and cozy on the inside. My mom’s banana bread always makes me feel that way. But adding the peanut butter and the Nutella added to that even just a little bit more. Of course, OF COURSE, the key to any great banana bread recipe is to use incredibly ripe bananas (how to quickly ripen bananas). Like, almost rotten ripe. I mean, if they’re moldy and leaking… then no. Gross. But soft and squishy and super brown– YES. Those are exactly the bananas we want in this recipe. Overripe bananas will add a tremendous amount of natural sweetener and moisture to any recipe. So we definitely want them in these. My mom’s recipe that I’m basing this variation on typically calls for a little additional oil. But we’re going to skip that this time, since we’re adding peanut butter which will take care of the fat needed to help keep the bread soft. Plus, it tastes good ????. When it comes time to swirl in the Nutella, I actually like to step a little outside of the box here. Instead of just adding the Nutella directly to the batter, I actually like to mix it INTO a portion of the batter, and then swirl the Nutella batter into the remaining batter. Nutella batter = more Nutella taste = better. These muffins are great warm out of the oven. But like all banana bread recipes, they’re even better at room temp. Something about cooling and sitting for a while really gives the flavors a chance to stand out! Enjoy!
Reese’s Cup Peanut Butter Banana Bread August 24, 2022June 8, 2016 Super moist banana bread made with peanut butter and Reese’s cups. You’ll love every last bite. This bread is dangerously delicious. If you love peanut butter and chocolate (and banana bread!), then you are in the right place, friends. …or the wrong place. Depending on your self control (er, or lack of, as the case may be ????). This banana bread is dense and indulgent and bursting with some of the best flavors of all time ever: peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas. And Reese’s Cups. This bread is PACKED with Reese’s Cups. Who’s on board?? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? If you’re the healthy sort, you should know that it’s packed with FOUR hefty bananas as well. So… you know. It’s basically health food. ???? The key to super moist banana bread? Really, really, REALLY ripe bananas. In fact, I usually let mine get even more brown than what you see in this picture. I let these guys sit on the counter for an additional few days before turning them into another drool-worthy banana bread creation (recipe coming soon guys!). If you’re lucky, you can snag over-ripe bananas that are on their way out in some grocery stores for clearance pricing. Which is always the best thing ever. Or, if you really can’t wait for bananas to ripen on their own, try this trick for ripe bananas in less than 30 minutes. The other ingredient that contributes to INCREDIBLE moist bread in this recipe is the peanut butter. This banana bread is simply my mom’s recipe with an additional 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter. So I left all the ingredients we normally use in her banana bread– which is moist already– and just added to that! More good fat (PB) + 4 whole bananas = the most heavenly moist banana bread of all time. Plus, this recipe is really super easy. It takes kind of a long time to bake, but the prep is a breeze (you don’t even need a mixer)! And all that time in the oven means your house is going to smell ah-mazing while it’s baking. You’re gonna fall in love, I’m telling you. We haven’t even talked about all the stuff inside the bread yet!! Although, I guess there’s not all that much to say. There are A LOT of chocolate chips and Reese’s Cups in this bread. Like, a lot. Annnnnnd that pretty much sums up that. ???? If have been looking for a wow-your-pants-off-delicious banana bread recipe… well, let me tell you– this is THE ONE. Enjoy!! 🙂
