Chocolate Peanut Butter Pizza

This is a favorite recipe of my family.  We have made them for years.  I don't remember now where the recipe originated.

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Peanut Butter Pizza

1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. whole wheat
2 C. miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix well. Pat into a 15x10x1 inch backing sheet. Bake at 375F for 12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow to rest a couple minutes then spread the chocolate around with a knife. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Return to the oven for 4-6 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven, cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then cut into bars.

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These bars also freeze well. It’s probably best to refrigerate first, then layer the bars in a sealable container with wax paper between the layers to prevent sticking. I like to box them up in portions that I know will be useful at some future time: 4, 6 or 8 pieces to a box. This is handy for pulling out when we’re having a family time, or a few guests. Also, it keeps us from eating up the whole pan in just a few days – think “too many sugar calories”. :-) Plus, it makes my work go farther and saves time and energy at a later date.

[Originally posted here 6/2010.]

Cookie Dough Fudge

 

I got the original recipe for this online, but it had way too much sweetening in it.  It was very sweet as I made it, so for our family it would have been pretty much inedible with extra sugar!  I so often change recipes anyway, so I made some other changes as well, and then renamed it since it seemed more like candy to us, than “cookie bars”.
Enjoy!  :-)

Layer One

Mix together well in medium mixing bowl:

1/2 C. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. molasses
1/2 C. shredded coconut
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. oat flour (you may use another preferred flour here)

Mix in:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. chopped peanuts (optional)

Spread in a 11x7x2 cake pan fully lined with waxed paper.  (It may not completely fill the pan.)

Layer Two

Melt together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring well:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/4 C. coconut oil

Spread evenly over dough.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.  Cut into smallish squares.  Do not remove from the fridge till ready to serve or the fudge may become soft.

Freezes well.

I did not put in the chopped peanuts on my first go of this, but I think it will be a good addition, so I’m adding it. :-)

For this, I really do recommend fully lining the pan.  I think it would have been nearly impossible to remove it intact without the waxed paper.

Random Recipe Links

 

I’ve been working on scheduling blog posts for the upcoming week at least, and since I’m still sick at the time of this writing, I’m making it easier on myself by using items that were previously written or that require less work. In this post I’m giving you a smattering of links that I saved for the blog or that I stumbled across. :-)

Enjoy!

These chocolate waffles were made by my husband. Here’s the recipe, only he made some changes, and we ate them with real whipped cream, peanut butter and real maple syrup (among other things).  YUM!  Our family breakfasts….words fail me. :-)

Handheld Blackberry Pies – (Gotta love the pun, people!)

Fresh Ricotta – Someday I want to try this, really….I think…maybe…

Chocolate Molten Cakes – I do want to try this one!

Chocolate-Coconut Angel Cupcakes – These sound really good too.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies – With special regard to my grain-free and gluten free friends. :-)

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – And another.

Runnemede Remembered Recipes – from my friend Judi.

Boudin Meat Balls – “Boudin, the king of Cajun food...”  I’ve heard this is really good and would like to try it sometime, but it’s probably not something I would make. 

And just to throw in something really odd for you all to ponder, in the category of strange ingredients we have -

Corn Smut – not your usual fungus.

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

 

This is an old family recipe.  My family has eaten a lot of these over the years – for more than one generation.  I love the simple way old recipes are sometimes written.  They get straight to the point and don’t bother with all the “expanded” directions.  Obviously they were written in a day when women were expected to know the basics. :-)

Someone told me that these are also called “Haystacks” or something like that.  Some alterations that have been made in our family over the years include using coconut instead of nuts and using extra dark cocoa powder (pictured above) instead of regular.

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No Bake Cookies

In a heavy sauce pan mix:

2 C. sugar
6 Tbl. cocoa powder
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. milk

Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often, and remove from heat.

Stir in:

3 C. quick oats
2/3 C. chunky peanut butter OR chopped nuts
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix thoroughly and drop by spoonsful on waxed paper to cool.

Almond Butter Cookies

 

This recipe came about as the result of allowing my almond butter to get too old.  It was near it’s expiration date and we hadn’t even opened the jar yet!  I started with a peanut butter recipe and made a lot of alterations, including doubling the recipe.  You may wish to half it for a single recipe.  You may also use peanut butter in place of the almond butter and then use 2 tsp. of vanilla extract instead of the almond extract.  Enjoy!

Almond Butter Cookies

2 C. butter
2 C. almond butter
2 2/3 firmly packed brown sugar
2 – 3 tsp. almond extract
6 eggs
3/4 C. white whole wheat
1 C. oats
4 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. chocolate chips
1 C. coconut flakes

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, almond butter and sugar.  Add almond extract.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add whole wheat, oats, salt and baking soda, mixing well.  Add all-purpose flour gradually mixing till is well combined.  Shape into 1 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. (I recommend lining it with parchment.)  Dough should be slightly sticky, so you may need to flour your hands.  Flatten with a fork.  Bake at 375F for 7-8 minutes or until golden.  Remove to wire racks and cool.  Store in air tight container.

Yield:  This makes a large batch.  I did not count them.  You can half the recipe for a single batch.

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These cookies kept well in the cupboard in a sealed container. They seemed to me to stay fresh longer than the average chocolate chip cookie.

Also, I pressed some of the cookie balls onto squares of parchment and stored them in the freezer.  The dough froze well, but I recommend bringing the cookies completely to room temperature before baking them.  This does not take long if you set them out on the cookie sheet preparatory to baking.

Me in my new-this-year cotton apron. :-)