I’m a huge fan of Reese’s. I don’t think there’s anything they make which I don’t like. Well, besides the inside out peanut butter cups. And the white chocolate peanut butter cups. Seriously, what were they thinking? Well, we all make bad decisions.

Anyway, any true Reese’s fan can tell you that the holiday edition items are the crème de la crème. Whether it’s the trees, eggs, or hearts, the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio is so much more perfect.

Why make regular peanut butter cups when you can make delicious(and festive!) eggs? You wouldn’t. These were just as easy to make as regular cups, and I think I liked them more. I used peanut butter that was just peanuts and salt, but no-stir peanut butter should work as well. You could even use white chocolate instead of the semi-sweet chocolate, but I will judge you slightly(Just kidding… sort of).

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 7 eggs):

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4oz semi-sweet chocolate

Method:

1. Melt the butter and mix in the peanut butter and powdered sugar until there are no clumps(If you’re using no-stir peanut butter, you might want to melt that, too, so it’s easier to mix together).
2. Refrigerate the peanut butter mixture until it’s mostly solid.
3. While the peanut butter is chilling, melt the chocolate until smooth and silky. Let the chocolate sit at room temperature for 10 minutes once melted to cool slightly, but keep it hot enough so that it doesn’t reharden.
4. To shape the eggs, take about an ounce of chilled peanut butter dough and roll it in your palm into a log. Then press down slightly on both sides to flatten. If the dough gets too soft during this process, stick it back in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes to make sure that it’s solid before touching the melted chocolate.
5. Drop the egg into the melted chocolate. Flip it using a spoon or a fork and spread the chocolate around the sides. Move the chocolate-covered egg onto a piece of parchment paper.
6. Repeat with all of the peanut butter and chocolate.
7. Refrigerate the eggs until the chocolate coating has hardened. Keep chilled for up to 2 weeks.

Just take my advice and double the recipe. 7 will hardly last a day.

Something hit me when I was browsing TasteSpotting a couple weeks ago: I haven’t had a cookie cake in ages. I decided right then I wanted a cookie cake at my birthday party this year, because clearly I’m 20 going on 12. But then I figured why wait? I could bake a cookie cake for any occasion.

Of course I made mine gluten-free using one of my favorite flours: Almond flour. It also just happens to be dairy-free because I was low on butter that day. The peanut butter helps to act as a binder, makes the cake richer and adds a nutty flavor. You could substitute in almond butter to work around a peanut allergy.

I liked mine slightly under-baked because it kept the inside moist and gooey almost like eating cookie dough. If you like your cookies a little crustier, I would recommend adding a few minutes onto the baking time and watching it carefully.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 6 Tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 Tablespoons chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the almond flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. Beat in the eggs, peanut butter, oil, vanilla extract, and water.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Pour the batter in and spread it around the bottom into an even layer.
6. Bake for 20 minutes until the outside is firm and bounces back to the touch.
7. Let cool slightly before cutting in.

I thought this could have used a little more sugar, but that’s probably because I love things sweet. If you’re making this for adults, it’ll be fine the way the recipe is. If you’re making this for little children or me, I would add a 1/4 cup of sugar to the recipe.

I love it when people request certain desserts for parties because it makes it so much easier to decide what to bring. This year my cousin asked for Christmas Eve that I bring the same dessert I brought last year: Peanut Butter S’mores Bars.

These are absolutely one of my favorites, too. I’ve also been meaning to make them all year because I wanted to take better pictures than the old ones I had for this recipe, so it was an all around win. 

The bars are a layer of peanut butter graham cracker crust with a peanut butter and marshmallow filling topped with soft chocolate ganache. The best thing about them is that they’re no-bake, so you don’t have to turn on your oven to make these; just a microwave will do.

These bars can easily be adjusted for different dietary restrictions. To make them gluten-free, use gluten-free graham crackers. To make them vegan, use vegan graham crackers, vegan marshmallows, a dairy-free margarine and dairy free chocolate chips. I made all of these alterations for this batch and they came out perfectly.

No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes(allow at least 30 minutes for these to harden in the refrigerator)

Ingredients(Makes 16 bars)

For the crust:

• 16 individual graham crackers(not full sheets) OR 8oz graham crackers crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons natural style peanut butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

For the filling:

• 1/3 cup natural style peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows, or 1 cup regular marshmallows cut into bite-sized pieces

For the top:

• 6oz(about 3/4 cup) chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon butter 

Method:

1. Melt together 3 Tablespoons of butter and 6 Tablespoons of peanut butter until it’s thin and creamy.
2. Break the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Running them through a food process for 30 seconds is the best way to do this.
3. In a large bowl, add the peanut butter mixture to the graham cracker crumbs. Sift in 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Work the dough until the ingredients have come together and press it into an 8×8 pan in an even layer.
4. Make the filling by melting together 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Sift in 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
5. Pour the mixture over the crust. Spread it out to cover all parts.
6. Press in the marshmallows on top of the peanut butter layer.
7. Melt together the chocolate chips and 1 Tablespoon of butter until it’s smooth and runny.
8. Pour the chocolate on top of the dessert in an even layer. Carefully spread it out to make sure it covers as much of the marshmallows as possible.
9. Put the dessert in the refrigerator to harden. Remove 10 minutes before serving, cut into 16 pieces and serve.

I have a feeling I know what I’ll be making next Christmas Eve.