Warning - I Gots Me Some Brownies

...ok I lied. I don't have these brownies anymore because I made them last week to take over a friend's house. A group of us have been hanging out more and more lately, so I decided I wanted to bring some treats over so I'm not showing up at my friend's house empty-handed. I asked for requests, and one was caramel brownies. I don't have any caramel and saw I had two open jars of peanut butter, so I decided I was doing PB instead.



I decided to make Nestle Tollhouse's brownies from their cookbook. I already made these brownies before but without the PB swirled in. As you can imagine, these brownies didn't last very long, mainly because I ate most of them but shhhh. The measurements are slightly weird because I cut the recipe in half for an 8x8 pan.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 Tbsp water
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate OR 6 Tbsp cocoa + 2 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8x8 pan or line with foil.

2. In a saucepan, melt sugar, butter, and water. Add chocolate and stir until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour, baking soda, and salt. Do nout pour into pan just yet.

3. In a microwavable bowl, combine peanut butter, sugar, and milk for 45 seconds or until smooth. Pour brownie batter into pan. Spoon PB mixture on top; swirl in with a knife.

4. Bake 20-25 minutes. Toothpick should have a few crumbs on it. Cool completely in pan before cutting into bars.

Makes 1 dozen.

Source: Nestle Tollhouse Best-Loved Cookies 1995, p. 83



Just make sure you share. Too many brownies could result in breakage.

See's Peanut Brittle Ice Cream

A few weeks back, I mentioned See's Candy offered me a sample of anything from their company if I agreed to make a recipe with it. Originally, I had asked for Awesome Peanut Brittle Bars, but I received an email from their lovely staff and was informed that they sent me regular peanut brittle instead. They even offered to send me the bars along with the regular brittle. As tempting as it was, I figured both would be good in ice cream, so I stuck with the peanut brittle.



Honestly, I expected a small sample. When I went home Easter weekend, I was being nudged, both by my cat and my dad, to hurry up and open the giant box. Inside was a 1 1/2 lb. box of brittle. 24 ounces!! I better get to work! I already had in mind a peanut butter ice cream with brittle thrown in. I was debating on adding a fudge swirl, but I decided not this time because I didn't want to cover the brittle flavor. While I was getting everything ready, of course I ate a piece. Mmmm, yummy! Definitely high quality. It reminded me of pecan pralines except peanut and more crunchy.

I definitely endore See's Candy, not only for excellent peanut brittle but for awesome customer service. The guys who emailed me seemed down-to-earth and not stuck-up sales people. Go buy their candy now!



The ice cream turned out really well. The peanut butter base came from Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream book. I was skeptical because it only calls for 1/3 cup peanut butter, but it's enough without overpowering. Now, I was a little concerned because they don't cook their eggs. After a discussion on Live Journal, salmonella is found mainly on the outside of the egg and doesn't affect that many people. As long as you don't drop shell into the mix, it should be fine. Unless you have someone with a poor immune system.

I freeze my ice cream by hand because I don't have room for an ice cream maker. Hasn't failed yet! I included those instructions below.


See's Peanut Brittle Ice Cream


1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup broken peanut brittle chunks

1. Beat egg until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Beat in sugar, little at a time. Beat 1 minute more. Pour in cream and milk. Beat in peanut butter. Place in a freezer-safe bowl and freeze 45 minutes.

2. After 45 minutes, bring out ice cream. Beat for 1-2 minutes to break up any ice crystals forming. Repeat every half hour for 2-3 hours. When it looks almost firm, stir in peanut brittle. Freeze for another 30 minutes then serve if ready. If not, keep freezing.

Makes 1 pint.

Source: Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Dessert Book

The Spirit of Cupcakes

Well, I'm home from school for the holidays, although it doesn't feel like it. I'm slowly regaining my spirit after an incident last week, but that's life for you. And although lately a lot of my baking has been a flop, I did somewhat make cupcakes. I put too much batter in because the overfill resulted in a flat and brittle top. At least they tasted good, especially with peanut buttercream on top.

I halved the recipe and got 6 cupcakes. The recipe below makes 12 cupcakes and without leftover frosting. To halve the 3 eggs, use 1 egg, 1 Tbsp water, 1 1/2 tsp oil, and 1 tsp baking powder.

Also, did you know maraschino cherries get their flavor from almond extract? Seriously. When you come across almond extract, smell it. If you are not a fan, sub the almond for more vanilla.

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream



Cupcakes
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Peanut Buttercream
2 2/3 Tbsp peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

3. In another bowl, beat together both sugars and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, stirring by hand until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Scoop batter into prepared liners. Bake for 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs and a little melted chocolate. The tops will not spring back when touched. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing to cooling rack.

5. Peanut Buttercream: Cream peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add milk until desired consistency is achieved. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Both recipes make enough for 12 cupcakes without leftover frosting.

Sources: Cupcake, Frosting


Evil alien cat?


Don't know if you can tell, but Murray's eyes are closed.

I Hate Pittsburgh Sometimes...

Why is Pittsburgh so hard to navigate? This past weekend is the third time I got lost coming home. My dad told me when coming home, get on the Parkway. Parkway = 376, so I'm driving home, looking for the 376 sign. Nobody told me 376 turned into 279 on the way there, so technically I was looking for 279 which would later turn into 376. Ok so it was sorta outside the city. The second time I got lost, I was inside the city and couldn't figure out how to get back onto 376 because Pittsburgh does not post enough signs. And when I figured out I missed the turn, it took me about 10 minutes to make a U-turn because the city is not built like a grid. In other words, you can't go the next block down and turn around because you physically can't. Seriously, are other cities this complicated?

At least I was with my best friend, and she had Verizon Navigator. However, it does not work fast enough because we kept getting "Recalculating route...recalculating route...make the next legal U-turn." Thanks, Verizon, thanks. I somehow managed to get back home an entirely different way, all because I recognized Walgreens. That is the second time Walgreens saved me. The first time I got lost, I was coming home from my internship in Pittsburgh and took a detour because of construction on 376 (see a pattern here?). I was on the phone with my mom for directions because it was unexpected. She told me to go straight, but she failed to tell me there was a Y in the road and I should yield right then go straight. I somehow made it to an intersection with (a different) Walgreens and knew how to get home.

Moral of the story - pack these no-bake cookies because you will get lost coming home from Pittsburgh. You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter! haha

No-Bake Cookies




2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup cocoa
5 1/3 Tbsp margarine
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups quick oats

Mix sugar, milk, cocoa, and margarine. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir in oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Freeze or refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Makes 3 dozen.

Source: Recipe Zaar

Thumbs Up To Thumbprints

Good news is I have access to my laptop again. Bad news is I'm using an attachable keyboard until I can get it fixed after finals week. At least I can type in my room and not worry about going all day without checking my email.

I visited my best friend last night in the hospital, and she is doing great. Even the surgeons were surprised she was sitting up and alert so soon. She was discharged early this afternoon and is resting at home. As a surprise, I baked her cookies. When she tried one, she said, "This one goes in the book" (meaning I am baking these again). Her mom wants to know why I'm not majoring in baking haha Trust me, I mess up too many times to bake as a professional. Plus it wouldn't be as much fun.

Here is the recipe I baked for her - double chocolate peanut butter thumbprints. They are double chocolate because there is cocoa powder and chocolate chips. These cookies will spread, so try to keep them in a ball as much as possible when doing the thumbprint part. The dough requires a little bit of chilling, so make sure you leave enough time.

I also included a basic thumbprint recipe for those who prefer the sugar cookie kind.

This is also #4 on my challenge list - thumbprints.


Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Thumbprints




1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter, divided
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in microwave.

2. Beat sugar, 1/3 cup peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in melted chocolate. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Cover and chill until just firm (about an hour or so).

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a 1/2-inch dent with your thumb into each ball. Fill with 1/2 tsp peanut butter. Bake 10-15 minutes or until edges are set but center is slightly soft. Let stand 2 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

Source: Nestle's Best-Loved Cookies, 1995 p.35


Surprise-Filled Cookies




1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup fruit filling

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add flour mixture and blend on low speed until combined. Dough will be firm.

3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. If the dough is too sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. With a small melon baller or a small spoon, scoop out the center of each ball (do not scoop all the way through). Place 1/2 tsp of fruit filling in each ball. These cookies will spread when baked, so it is critical that these are still balls and not flat cookies when filling.

4. Bake 22-24 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 2 dozen.

Source: Mrs. Fields Best Cookie Book Ever!, 1996 p. 62

Not Your Typical Pasta

Pasta is one of the cheapest and easy meals any college student can make. All you do is boil water, cook pasta until soft, drain, and sauce. Voila!! You have a meal. Now, what do you do when you eat pasta at least three times a week? Change the sauce. You can go traditional with garlicky basil and tomatoes, classy with stroganoff, spicy with habanero pesto, or crazy with pumpkin sauce. Hmm which reminds me - I should add my creamy garlic sauce and garlic butter sauce soon.

Here are two more pasta varieties. I only recommend the pad thai only if you absolutely love peanut butter. By love, I mean sitting there with a jar and a spoon and happily eating away. I love PB, but the taste was a little intense. However, it tasted better the next day, so maybe it just needed time.

The Mediterranean pasta I made myself. To be traditional, you would use kalamata olives. However, I only had a can of black pitted olives.


Pad Thai with Creamy Peanut Sauce




8 oz rice noodles (or substitute linguine or spaghetti)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup peas

Sauce
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/8 cup peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp ginger

1. Place sauce ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 30 sec. Set aside.

2. If using rice noodles, soak them for 30 minutes in hot tap water; drain. They should be flexible but not soft. If using linguine or spaghetti, cook in boiling water until done.

3. Combine water, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder and lime juice in a small bowl.

4. Saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add garlic and onions; cook until tender. If using rice noodles, add to pan. If using linguine or spaghetti, do not put in pan. Pour ketchup mixture over chicken.

5. Push chicken mixture to side of the pan. Add egg, stirring until cooked. Add peas. If you are using linguine or spaghetti, add to pan as well. Mix in peanut sauce. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Cooking with Carnation Evaporated Milk, 2006 p.14


Mediterranean Pasta



8 oz. pasta, your choice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 small can tuna, drained
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and drained
1/2 cup olives, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese

Bring water in a small saucepan to a boil. Cook pasta until soft. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add tuna, tomatoes, and olives. Cook until warm. Add to cooked pasta. Sprinkle with feta. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe by me



Sorry for the horrible lighting, but my dad took a video of Murray being impatient for Christmas.


He's still waiting.

Sometimes Being Stubborn Pays Off

Ever had a food that although you enjoy the taste, for whatever reason your stomach rejects it? For the longest time, oatmeal and my stomach have never gotten along. I used to eat those instant oatmeal packs from Quaker Oats, mainly the fruit and cream kind. Shortly afterwards, my stomach churns. All these years later, I buy quick oats to use in cookies. I was looking online for other ways to use oats, and I came across a bunch of homemade oatmeal recipes. One called for peanut butter. I'm a huge fan of peanut butter, and for whatever crazy reason, I decided to give oatmeal one more chance. I made it, ate it, and waited...and waited...and waited. Then I went to work. Still nothing. My stomach seems to like this oatmeal, and what a comfort food it was. Nice, hot peanut butter with a spoonful of brown sugar mixed in with the oats. This makes me wonder if instant oatmeal has some kind of artificial ingredient that shouldn't be in natural oatmeal. I'll need to look at the ingredient list next time I'm at the store. In the meantime, go make some oatmeal and enjoy its warm comfort. The best part? It's the perfect snack for small budgets.


Peanut Butter Oatmeal




1/2 cup water
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter

Microwave oats and water for 1-2 minutes or until oats are soft. Stir in sugar and peanut butter until blended. Makes 1 bowl.

Source: Jif Peanut Butter

Mmmm Peanut Butter

Recently, Rebecca from Heaven With Strawberries baked peanut butter cookies. She was looking for a not-so-sandy cookie, so I decided to share my recipe. I haven't made these in a few years, and it's been awhile since I had peanut butter anything. Normally, you put a chocolate kiss on top, but since I was selling these at my neighborhood yard sale (not a big success since "everyone's on a diet", btw), I didn't want the chocolate to melt everywhere. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup peanut butter. The taste isn't very strong, so next time I'm going to add 1 cup.


Peanut Butter Blossoms




1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking
36 Chocolate kisses (squares can work too, but the kisses give a better presentation)

1. Mix peanut butter, shortening, both sugars, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Stir in flour and soda. Chill dough at least 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Using a fork, flatten each ball in one direction; then rotate fork and flatten in other direction. This should make a criss-cross pattern.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine took about 13 minutes). Let cool for a few minutes; then place chocolate on each cookie. Let cool completely.

Source: High school cooking class

How Can You Hate Peanut Butter?

Studying abroad in Ireland has taught me several lessons. One of them is Irish people can't stand peanut butter. I've spoken to several Irish students about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and they think it's the most disgusting thing ever. What's there to hate about peanut butter? Ireland does sell peanut butter. This label shows you how much they hate it:



Their label says AMERICAN peanut butter. They really don't want to have anything to do with it :P

Of course since my housemates finished off the loaf of bread, I was craving for a PBJ sandwich. Instead, I used crackers. This is a basic recipe for any college student who runs out of bread lol

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cracker Sandwiches



6 crackers
Jar of (American) peanut butter
Jelly of your choice (I used apricot)
Handful of shelled peanuts

1. Spread peanut butter on 3 of the crackers. Spread jelly on the other 3.
2. Put peanuts on top of the peanut butter crackers.
3. Top the peanut butter crackers with the jelly crackers. Don't do it the other way because the peanuts might fall off.

Makes 1 serving

Recipe source: ME! :D