Peanut Butter Pie

I love having the day off from work (thanks New Year's Eve!) but I hate the feeling that comes with it.  I can't ever just relax.  I feel guilty so I feel like I have to be super productive to make up for not being at work. 

Today, though, the house is mostly clean (thanks to my wonderful husband picking up yesterday), the laundry basket isn't so full that we don't have any clean clothes, and I scrubbed the kitchen counters clean yesterday.  Christmas decorations still need to be put away but they can wait! 

So, I decided some baking was in order.  I have been searching for a great peanut butter pie recipe and I think I found a contender.  It's creamy and peanut butter-y and tastes just like the pie from one of my favorite Huntsville restaurants.

I used a different crust for this pie than what the recipe calls for.  I didn't have any Oreos and even if I did, I probably would have used graham crackers anyway.  You can't say no to a graham cracker crust.  The recipe below is updated with my changes.

Peanut Butter Pie
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve plus 2 crackers)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, melted, for decorating

Directions

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, and melted butter.  Press mixture firmly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

 

Make the filling: Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in peanut butter and vanilla.

 

Beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3rd of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon filling into cooled crust. Freeze, uncovered, at least 4 hours (or overnight, covered with plastic wrap).

 

Place melted chocolate in a resealable plastic bag. Snip tip from one corner of bag to make a very small opening. Holding bag about 5 inches above pie, drizzle melted chocolate over top. 

 

Serve cold and refrigerate leftovers.

Enjoy!

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

 

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  I love Christmas but I hate the feeling after it's over.  All of the buildup and excitement -- shopping, wrapping, baking, making plans, driving, etc. -- all for a few hours or a day, and then it's all done.  Kris and I drove back home last night, unloaded the car and then just sat on the couch and looked at each other - "now what?".   

Thinking about the new year is daunting to me.  It's a clean slate - but you have to live up to it.  It's the time to make resolutions - lose weight, save money, clean more, be a better person.  It's nice to imagine those things; but does anyone actually keep them up for the entire year?  Maybe a few, but not the majority.  So what's the point?  Anyway.  I don't know why I feel so cynical right now, or why I felt the need to go off on that tangent.  Back to the yummy stuff.

One of the items Santa brought me this year was a stand mixer (thanks Tay!) so of course I had to break it in.  I also got several boxes of cake mix (thanks Grandma!) so between having that and feeling lazy, I wanted to find a doctored cake mix recipe instead of making something from scratch.  I was excited when I found this one - I've never baked with soda before and I actually had all the ingredients on hand.

I used the cupcake recipe from one site and a glaze recipe from another and they worked perfectly together.  I got 22 cupcakes from the recipe but as you'll see below, I could have gotten several more out if I hadn't filled them as much.

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

Source: BS in the Kitchen

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate)
• 1/2 cup of melted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of Dr. Pepper (just drink the remainder of the can!) 

I was a little confused at first - the butter and Dr. Pepper are in place of the vegetable oil and water that the box calls for.  Don't use the oil and water!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine the cake mix, butter, eggs, and Dr. Pepper until the batter is smooth.  Pour into cupcake liners - fill about 1/3rds of the way full (you could do this as a cake as well).  This is where I messed up.  Most of the cupcakes I've ever made say to fill the liners about 2/3rd full - so I did.  Well, don't do that.  The carbonation in the Dr. Pepper caused the batter to rise a lot more than I expected so I ended up with cupcakes that have huge muffin tops.  (New Year's diet anyone??  Haha.)  They tasted great - more room for glaze!  But weren't very pretty.  Bake for 15-18 minutes.  I did mine for 18 and they were perfectly spongy. 

 
As they are cooling, start making the glaze.

Dr. Pepper Glaze
Source: Adapted from The Recipe Link

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 6 tablespoons Dr. Pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 (1-pound) box confectioners’ sugat, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  
  In a saucepan, combine the butter, Dr. Pepper, and cocoa powder. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat. Gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is smooth, then fold in the vanilla extract.  Dip the cupcakes in the glaze being sure to let the excess run off.
  
  
  
   It's ok if you get some on your fingers.  You can lick it off. 
  
  
  The glaze will be very wet and runny to begin with, but it will begin to dry after just a few minutes.
  
  
  You can't really taste the Dr. Pepper in the cupcakes but the effect it had on them was amazing.  They were so light and airy.  The glaze is delicious.  The Dr. Pepper flavor is subtle but you'll pick it up in the tangy-ness.  
  
  
  
  
  

Homemade Marshmallows

If I had had any idea how easy marshmallows were to make, I would have made them much sooner.  I just had the idea in my head that it would be a long, difficult process.  These weren't hard at all.  Now, they were time consuming and my arm got tired, but I also don't have a stand mixer.  If you have one, these would be no problem at all.

Now, it might be weird to make a batch of marshmallows all by themselves.  I made mine to go with chocolate ganache blocks to make hot chocolate on a stick to give as Christmas gifts (I'll post the recipe soon!).  These are supposed to keep for about 3 weeks in a air tight container.  They are fluffy and light and melted perfectly in a mug of hot chocolate. 

Homemade Marshmallows
Source: Alton Brown at Food Network

Ingredients

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (I used flour instead)
• Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high.

Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover.

Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

I used Christmas tree and star cookie cutters.  Cutting these out was fun - the marshmallows are very stretchy and soft so you can pull and shape them a little bit.

 

You can cut up all of the leftovers to keep to snack on!

Cake Batter Sprinkle Cookies

Two of my favorite things: cake batter and sprinkles.
 
I don't know why some people love the flavor of unbaked desserts to much, but I am one of them.   Cookie dough, brownie batter, cake batter...I bake to eat the unfinished product.  Licking the spoon is the best part! 

These cookies satisfy the craving for raw batter without actually being raw batter and are just plain yummy!  The cookies are a little crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with a random little crunch of sprinkle.  And with Christmas colored sprinkles, they are very festive! 

I make some cake batter bars earlier in the week that only called for a cup of yellow box cake mix, so I had a half used box sitting in the pantry calling my name.  But I need to find something to make that didn't need the whole box.  When I found this recipe, I figured it would be easy to adjust and it turned out great!

Cake Batter Sprinkle Cookies

About 2/3 box yellow cake mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C colored sprinkles (I just eyeballed my sprinkles and I used two different kinds)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder.  Stir in egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the sprinkles. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack. They will be very soft at first. 

Enjoy!

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Peppermint Mocha is back at Starbucks!  That's how I know it's Christmas time!  These cupcakes were inspired by that popular drink and I think they capture the flavor perfectly.  I had never made a mocha cupcake before but I really liked it.  You don't taste coffee, but it adds a deeper flavor that was wonderful! 

I have to admit something though:  I did use a canned frosting on these.  I tried to make a Swiss meringue buttercream to top them but I don't have a stand mixer and couldn't get my egg whites beaten.  So my wonderful husband made a late night run to the grocery store.  That's why I keep him around. :-)

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
Adapted from Annie's Eats
 

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk (I used 1/2 cup 2% milk and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and it worked just fine)
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 tsp. peppermint extract (I ended up adding about 2 1/2 tsps. because I completely spaced and added this to the dry ingredients first - it ended up okay though!)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir together.  Combine the milk, coffee and peppermint extract in a liquid measuring cup.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugars.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Blend in the eggs one at a time.   Alternately mix in the dry and liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.   Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Homemade Oreos

I have never been a huge Oreo fan.  I enjoy them every once in a while but I usually prefer a chocolate chip cookie.  For some reason though, these homemade Oreos really intrigued me.  I had the urge to bake tonight and for once actually had all the ingredients to make something without having to run to the store so decided to try them.  And I'm glad I did!  I don't think the cookies themselves tasted very much like an Oreo but I think the filling is almost a perfect match and together, the two parts are delicious. 

Homemade Oreos

Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats; originally from Retro Desserts by Wayne Bachman

 
For the cookies:

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1-1½ cups sugar (depending on how sweet you want your cookies - I ended up using about 1-1/8 cups because I ran out of sugar)
• 10 tbsp. (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg

For the filling:

• 4 tbsp. (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening (I used all butter because I didn't have any shortening)
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

In a food processor or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Mix briefly to combine.  Add the butter to the bowl and pulse or mix briefly to incorporate.  Add in the egg and mix until the dough forms a cohesive mass.

Scoop between 2 tsp to a scant tbsp of batter (depending on how large you want them) onto the baking sheet.  Continue scooping, spacing the dough balls a couple of inches apart.  With moistened fingers, gently press down on the dough balls to flatten slightly.  Bake for 9-11 minutes (closer to 9 minutes for smaller cookies), rotating the pans halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to a wire rack and let cool completely until the cookies are firm and set.  Be sure the cookies are completely cooled before filling.

To make the filling, combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the vanilla extract.

To assemble the cookies, pair them up by size.  Use a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip to pipe a swirl of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Sandwich together with the remaining cookie and press down so that the filling reaches the edges.

I was able to get 24 large cookies, which made 12 sandwiches.

Pretzel Kisses

These little treats are so simple it's hard to call it a recipe.  But they are so yummy and cute that I had to share them with you.  Full disclosure:  They are addicting!  I took a few to work with me one day and had to fend off my coworkers!  :-)

I originally saw these on Pinterest (speaking of, if you haven't joined yet, you should!) and a quick search on Google brought up tons of links.  So obviously they are very popular and I somehow missed the memo before now.

You could adapt these to all sorts of different occasions with different kinds of Kisses and different colors of M&M's.  Tonight, I made some regular ones with milk chocolate Kisses and multi colored M&M's and also tried a Christmas-y combination.  At Target I found some Candy Cane Kisses - I don't know if they are new or if I was living under a rock again but they are amazing!  I shouldn't have made them at the same time as the regular ones (details below) but they are so festive!

Here are the instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 300.  There are many opinions about how hot to have your oven and how long to bake the Kisses.  The lower the heat, the higher the time.  I like to use 300 because it give me a few minutes to clean up my wrappers and get my M&M's ready.  I baked this batch for about 4 minutes.  This was too short for the regular Kisses and too long for the Candy Cane ones which is why I shouldn't have done them at the same time.  I probably should have let the regular ones go for another minute or so.



2.  Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.

3. Place pretzels on foil.  I used regular mini pretzel twists but you could also use the little square ones.  This recipe is great because you can make as few or as many as you want.  But why would you ever want a small batch?!

4. Top each pretzel with a Hershey Kiss.

5. Bake for about 4-6 minutes.  Pull them out when the chocolate is shiny.  This is obviously not an exact science.

6. Immediately press an M&M "M" side down into the Kiss. 

7. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes so the chocolate can harden.  As you can see here, my Candy Cane Kisses melted way too much.

8. Store in an airtight container (if you haven't already eaten them all!)  I keep mine in the fridge because I love cold chocolate but you could also keep these on the counter.
Enjoy!  These would make great little stocking stuffers wrapped up in a cute container!

First post!

Well, here it is -- my very first blog post!  So exciting!  I have been thinking about doing this for a while but never took the time to set it up.  Well, that, and I couldn't think of a cute enough name.  :-)  I'm still not in love with this one but I got too anxious to set this thing up.  We'll see how it works out! 

I wanted to start a blog for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, as I have started cooking and baking more in the past few years, I have depended a lot on blogs to give me recipe ideas and tips and I feel like I shouldn't just take and take and not give anything back to the internet world (not that I think anyone is actually going to really read this, but that's ok).  Secondly, every once in a while I make something that I really think is good and I want to be able to document it - and if I'm able to share it with other people, even better!  The last reason is just simply to give me something to do.  Wedding planning took up so much of my time and now that that's over, I'm a little lost for hobbies.  While I do cook and bake fairly often, I definitely have more opportunities to do so that I don't always take.

So hopefully, this thing being finally underway will encourage me to learn and explore in the kitchen and make lots of messes and make the hubby do lots and lots of dishes!