Author: Amy

Peanut Butter Bars

peanut butter barsThis week’s chocolate/peanut butter baking continues with these delicious, old-fashioned peanut butter bars. I found this recipe in a Good Housekeeping magazine, and they remind me of something you’d see at a bake sale or church picnic. You can leave them plain, but I chose to spread some melted milk chocolate chips on top for a peanut butter cup-type treat.

My only improvement would be to use chocolate frosting, rather than melted chocolate on the top, as the chocolate layer does separate from the peanut butter layer a bit when you bite into them. Next time, I’ll probably use this fudge frosting for my chocolate layer.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 ounces milk chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, dark brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add extracts, beating well, then add eggs, one at a time, beating until completely combined.

With the mixer running on low, add flour mixture and beat well, until completely combined; dough will become thick.

Press dough into prepared pan, flattening as best as you can with your hands.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely in pan; once cool, lift out and remove foil.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips, stirring until completely smooth. Pour over cooled bars and spread; allow to set completely before cutting.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

peanut butter chocolate chip cookiesWhat could possibly top a chocolate chip cookie? A peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. And nobody knows chocolate chips like the folks at Nestlé, which marketed Ruth Wakefield’s famous chocolate chip creation, the Toll House Cookie.

This recipe comes from the Nestlé Very Best Baking site and offers a delightful balance of chocolate and peanut butter. Bear in mind that peanut butter cookies over-bake very quickly, so you want to make sure you pull them at 10 minutes, even though the centers will still look a bit raw. This yields a nice crunchy edge, but chewy middle, once the cookies have cooled completely.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 package milk chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add egg and beat to combine.

Add flour in three batches, beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet about halfway through, until edges are just golden but centers still look puffy. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pecan Chocolate Chip Toffee Blondies

pecan choc chip toffee blondiesBlondies provide a nice base for your favorite ingredients, and the mixing and matching possibilities are endless. Nuts and chocolate chips seem to be blondie staples, but you can go well outside the box if you like. Some of my ideas for future baking include dark chocolate chips and dried cranberries, Reese’s Pieces and M&Ms, plain toffee bits and semisweet chocolate chips…I could go on and on.

I paired three of my favorite ingredients – pecans, chocolate chips, and toffee bits – for these tasty treats. Next time I make this recipe, I’ll drizzle melted chocolate and sprinkle more toffee bits on top.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 12 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee pieces

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan completely with foil and lightly spray with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar; mix well to combine.

Add melted butter and stir to incorporate slightly; add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well to fully combine. The dough will be fairly dry, so you’ll want to use your hands to fully incorporate your ingredients.

Add pecans, chocolate chips, and milk chocolate toffee pieces and mix with your hands to combine well.

Press dough into the prepared pan; if you like, sprinkle some extra chocolate chips and milk chocolate toffee pieces on the top, pressing them gently into the top of your dough.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then lift out by the foil and place on a wire rack; peel foil back slightly and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, remove foil entirely and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

Orange Cream Frosting

orange cream cupcakeOrange cream always makes me think of summer. It’s the middle of winter right now and we’re just digging out from a snowstorm, but how else would we appreciate the summer without the winter?

This frosting originally appeared with orange cream cupcakes and would yield enough for 2 dozen miniature cupcakes or at least 1 dozen regular-sized cupcakes. You could very easily double the recipe for 2 dozen cupcakes or a two-layer, 8-inch round cake.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract*
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • About 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • Yellow liquid food coloring
  • Red liquid food coloring

*Substitute orange juice if you don’t have orange extract.

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on low speed for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, orange extract, and vanilla; beat on low speed until well-combined. Add second cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon orange juice and beat until well-combined. Add additional orange juice, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, to reach a smooth (but not runny) consistency.

With your mixer running on low, add about 3-4 drops of yellow liquid food coloring, followed by 1 drop of red. Beat on medium speed until color is well-distributed, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, to achieve a pale orange color.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

honey cupcakesLet’s take a moment to thank the bees of the world for making honey. I love that there are so many varieties, and that honey from bees in Maryland will taste different than honey from bees in Pennsylvania. My favorite honey can be found at the market at Soergel Orchards in Wexford, just north of Pittsburgh; they stock locally-made wildflower honey that is excellent for baking.

I first made this frosting for honey cupcakes a few years ago at Rosh Hoshannah, but you certainly don’t have to reserve this recipe for the Jewish New Year. It would go very well on spice cake, or just a regular vanilla cake. The recipe below will frost at least 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 dozen cupcakes and a single-layer 8-inch round.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until well-combined and fluffy. Add honey and vanilla extract and beat until very well-combined. Add powdered sugar, one half-cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Note: various web sources claim that you can store cream cheese frosting in the fridge for a few weeks, but I’d use it quickly, within a week at least.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

cinnamon roll cupcakesCinnamon is among my favorite spices, and when you add it to cream cheese frosting, something magical happens. Besides cinnamon roll cupcakes, you could use this delightful frosting for spice cake, gingerbread, or an orange spice cake (note to self: find recipe for orange spice cake).

Cream cheese frosting is easy to work with, but it does need to be refrigerated once it’s made to keep from spoiling. Unlike buttercream, which you can store at room temperature, the sugar to butter ratio in cream cheese frosting isn’t high enough to prevent bacteria growth. You can bring your treats to room temperature before serving them if you like, but this frosting is also delicious when it’s cold.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl often.

Marshmallow Creme Frosting

cherry cola cakeI love old cookbooks, especially the kind that feature recipes from church picnics and community potluck suppers. My Aunt Liz has a few amazing ones, and I bet somewhere in there, we’d find a recipe like this.

Marshmallow creme frosting packs a serious wallop of sugar, and while this is going to sound counter-intuitive, I need you to trust me: if at first taste it’s too sweet, add a bit more powdered sugar. I don’t know why, but it mellows out the flavor a great deal.

This frosting originally appeared on the cherry cola cake pictured on the left. I tinted that frosting pink, but you could certainly leave it plain or choose another color depending on what you’re baking. This recipe made enough to frost the top and middle of a two-layer 8-inch round cake; to frost the whole cake, I’d increase the ingredients by half.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

Preparation

Beat butter and powdered sugar until completely combined.

Add marshmallow creme and beat until well-combined.

Butter Pecan Frosting

butterpecancakeThis frosting will change your life. Seriously, folks – it’s among the most delicious I’ve ever made.

Originally featured on this butter pecan cake and cupcakes, this frosting would pair very well with a vanilla cake or cupcakes and offers an old-fashioned, go-visiting-on-Sunday kind of flavor. I suspect my grandmothers would have loved it.

The batch below can frost a three-layer cake or at least three dozen cupcakes, but you could cut it in half for a smaller batch.

Ingredients

For the butter pecans

  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter

For the frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 – 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For the butter pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, extending the foil over all four sides.

Place pecans and butter onto the baking sheet; bake for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently, until pecans are toasted and fragrant. Be careful not to burn them – pecans can burn easily after several minutes in the oven.

Remove pecans from the baking sheet and place on a platter to cool completely before using. Chop to medium-fine pieces.

For the frosting:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute.

Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is completely incorporated into the butter. I cover my mixer with a towel to prevent a sugar storm.

Add vanilla and beat until combined; check your consistency and if it is too thin, add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Stir in butter pecans.

Chocolate Ganache

bostoncreamcupcakesEvery baker should have a good recipe for chocolate ganache. This one uses bittersweet chocolate, an essential ingredient for the right flavor profile of a Boston cream pie (or as pictured here, Boston cream cupcakes). You could substitute other types of chocolate depending on what you’re making; semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate will yield a much milder flavor and would be good for things like chocolate cake or peanut butter cupcakes.

Heavy cream is a must for ganache-making, and if you have some left over you can always whip it up (literally) for topping, or use it to make pastry cream.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, corn syrup, chocolate, and vanilla over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat and allow to cool, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches room temperature; mixture will thicken and become glossy.

Spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Almond Buttercream

burnt almond torteAlmond buttercream is a great go-to frosting because it pairs well with a range of other flavors, from chocolate or vanilla to lemon or orange. The recipe below plays a big role in burnt almond torte, which you see here on the left.

If you don’t have heavy cream, you can substitute regular milk to thin your frosting and help make it fluffy. Remember, always add liquids sparingly, especially when working with frostings. You can always add more, but you can never take it away.

This recipe can enerously gfrost one single-layer 8 x 8 square, 8-inch round, or about 18 cupcakes. You can easily double it for a two-layer cake, sheet cake, or two dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 1 minute, then add salt and beat another minute.

Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until all of the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes.

Add vanilla extract and almond extract, beating well to combine.

Add heavy cream and beat for about 2 minutes until fluffy.