Tag Archive: Peanut Butter

Honey Vanilla Peanut Butter

Written on December 19, 2011 by in Miscellaneous

honey-vanilla-peanut-butter

I really like fancy flavored peanut butter and almond butter and all those butters. The problem is they’re usually double or triple the price. Thankfully they’re so easy to make at home. This is a great DIY recipe if you want to make breakfast a little more special, or even a great homemade gift to give a peanut butter lover in your life.

honey-vanilla-peanut-butter-jar

Honey and vanilla go so well together, even better with peanut butter. I got tired of making this in single servings and decided to make a big batch so I could eat it again and again. You can start with peanuts or peanut butter that’s already ground—the recipe’s pretty much the same either way.

Honey Vanilla Peanut Butter

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16oz):

  • 12oz(3 cups) peanuts OR 12oz(1 1/2 cups) peanut butter
  • 1/2 Tablespoon good quality vanilla extract
  • 3 heaping Tablespoons honey

honey-vanilla-peanut-butter-ingredients

Method:

  1. Put the peanuts into the food processor and blend until it forms a smooth, runny butter(if using peanut butter, omit this step).
  2. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the peanut butter in the food processor and blend until emulsified.
  3. Scrape into a seal-tight jar. Store at room temperature for up to a month.

honey-vanilla-peanut-butter-spread

I somewhat wanted to add more honey to this because it wasn’t quite sweet enough for my taste; then again, I have a huge sweet tooth and would turn everything into dessert if I could, so I’m guessing 3 tablespoons is enough for most people, although judge by taste always.

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Peanut Butter Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Written on December 9, 2011 by in Dessert

peanut-butter-buttercream-sandwich-cookies

Like I’ve said before, I’m not a big cookie fan. I’m a frosting person. I was the kid who would break apart an Oreo or maple leaf cookie, lick out the inside, and put the cookie halves back in the box. You can’t imagine how much that thrilled my parents.

I was going to fill these with a soft chocolate ganache, but since the cookies are rather unsweet on their own I thought a sweeter filling would contrast nicely and let all the flavors show. Because of that I went with my favorite kind of frosting: Buttercream. The filling is rich, sweet, and creamy adding a whole new level to the cookies.

peanut-butter-buttercream-sandwich-cookies-filling

I give a suggested recipe for the cookies to use but you can really do this with any cookie recipe. Again, this is really easy to make vegan by simply substituting a dairy-free margarine for the butter.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 9 sandwich cookies):

  • 1 batch peanut butter cookies
  • 3 Tablespoons no-oil added peanut butter
  • 3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

peanut-butter-buttercream-sandwich-cookies-stacking

Method:

  1. Cream together the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until it makes a smooth and thick buttercream.
  2. Scoop 1 tablespoon of buttercream onto the flat side of a cookie and sandwich together with an equally sized cookie. Repeat until all of the cookies and frosting are gone.

peanut-butter-buttercream-sandwich-cookies-pile

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Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Written on December 7, 2011 by in Dessert

egg-free-peanut-butter-cookies

Well I made it 4 days into December before breaking down and making Christmas cookies. I couldn’t hold up to the pressure any longer.

The truth is I’m not the biggest cookie fan. I have my favorites(like peanut butter cookies) but on the whole would rather have something else. One cookie I love is the peanut butter cookie from Wildflour Bakery which is gluten-free and vegan. It’s so sweet and soft and falls apart in your mouth. I thought I might try to make a cookie like theirs; this isn’t nearly the same, but I like it in its own respect which is why I’m posting the recipe. It’s less sweet but much more peanut buttery; it almost tastes like eating a spoonful of peanut butter in cookie form.

This recipe can easily be made vegan by using a dairy-free butter substitute. I would not recommend subbing in coconut oil for the butter in a 1:1 ratio because they do not act the same in baking and I can’t say for how it would turn out.

Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 16-18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies):

  • 1 cup no-oil added peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch(or corn starch)

egg-free-peanut-butter-cookies-stack

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Beat together all of the ingredients. Put the batter in the refrigerator of freezer to harden until you can handle the dough and roll it into balls.
  3. Once the dough has reached that stage, scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking trays.
  4. Bake for 16-20 minutes until the outside is golden. The cookies will still be very soft to the touch when they’re done.
  5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before handling. As they cool, the outside will harden up and make them less fragile.
  6. Store sealed in an airtight container at room temperature when not eating.

egg-free-peanut-butter-cookies (2)

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Peanuts And Pretzels Dark Chocolate Bark

Written on November 21, 2011 by in Dessert

Peanuts-And-Pretzels-Dark-Chocolate-Bark

Over this weekend I went to Philadelphia and ran a marathon. How did I do? I don’t actually know yet; I’m writing this 2 days before the actual marathon. You can probably check my Twitter. I hope to have an actual recap up by tomorrow.

But whether I hit my goal or not isn’t important(OK, it’s kind of important); what matters more is that I had fun with some awesome people. Madeline and her boyfriend were kind enough to let me crash at their place the night before the marathon so it only seemed fair that I shower them in chocolate. 

Peanuts-And-Pretzels-Dark-Chocolate-Bark-broken

Madeline and Boots love gluten-free pretzels and gluten-free chocolate covered pretzels even though neither are gluten-free, which I find hysterical as someone who’s gluten-free and never even bought pretzels before I decided to make these. I don’t know that they like peanut butter, but I’m just going to assume that that’s the case, too. Because—I mean—who doesn’t like peanut butter?

I sneaked a piece before I gave the rest away(because you can’t give something as a present and not taste it first to make sure it’s good, right?) and they were good. I would have added a touch more salt; when I tried the gluten-free pretzels on their own I realized they weren’t as salty as I expected them to be and I think the sweetness is a little overpowering. Otherwise I hope these will be a hit. And if you enjoy things that are sweet and salty I’d highly recommend them, too.

Peanuts And Pretzels Dark Chocolate Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes(allow 20 minutes for cooling)

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate OR 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup crushed pretzels
  • 1/4 cup salted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Peanuts-And-Pretzels-Dark-Chocolate-Bark-layered

Method:

  1. In the microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it’s smooth and liquid.

  2. Spread the chocolate out on a piece of parchment paper in a 1/2-inch thick layer.
  3. Evenly distribute the peanuts, pretzels, and peanut butter chips over the chocolate. Press the ingredients lightly into the chocolate to make sure that they stick.
  4. Refrigerate the chocolate for 20 minutes until it has hardened.
  5. Break the bark into individual-sized pieces. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Peanuts-And-Pretzels-Dark-Chocolate-Bark-square

I hope to have a full marathon/weekend recap up tomorrow morning, but if it’s a little late it’s because I’m going from Philadelphia to Boston to Providence and then back to Massachusetts to cook and photograph and eat Thanksgiving dinner. Basically it’s going to be a bust week and I can’t wait for all of it.

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Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars With Dark Chocolate Ganache

Written on November 11, 2011 by in Dessert

Graham-Cracker-Peanut-Butter-Bars-With-Dark-Chocolate-Ganache

I’m sorry that the name for this recipe is such a mouthful that you’ll probably finish half the batch before you say it. More accurately I’d call these “White Chocolate Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Bars With Dark Chocolate Ganache” but with a name like that you’d have to come up for air at some point.

Graham-Cracker-Peanut-Butter-Bars-With-Dark-Chocolate-Ganache-ingredients

This recipe is made with a few of my favorite things. PB&Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful is one of the best vegan “white chocolate” anything I’ve ever had. It actually tastes like white chocolate without any dairy. For the ganache, I used Scharffen Berger’s 70% baking chocolate, which is delicious and smooth to eat both on its own and in recipes. You can taste the quality in it and—I warn you—it’s addicting stuff.

Normally, when I make peanut butter bars I use this recipe which is naturally gluten-free. However I’ve seen a lot of peanut butter bar recipes that use graham crackers as a binding(most recently this one) and I figured if so many people are doing it there must be something to it, right? So I broke out the ol’ gluten-free graham crackers and got cooking. I didn’t expect to like these as much as I do. The earthy spices in the graham crackers pair really well with the sweet and nutty peanut butter and add a pleasantly crunchy texture.

Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars With Dark Chocolate Ganache

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 18 1-inch squares):

*You can use any peanut butter so long as it’s the no-stir kind. If you want the white chocolate flavor but don’t have White Chocolate Wonderful, use 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter mixed with 3 Tablespoons melted white chocolate.

**This is easy to make at home. Simply pulse 9 sheets of graham crackers in a food processor until it makes a smooth flour.

Graham-Cracker-Peanut-Butter-Bars-With-Dark-Chocolate-Ganache-graham-crackers

Method:

  1. Gently melt the butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter either in the microwave or over the stove until it’s smooth and liquid.
  2. Once the ingredients are melted, sift in the powdered sugar and pour in the graham cracker crumbs and mix it together until emulsified.
  3. Grease a 3×8 loaf pan and press the peanut butter mixture into the pan in an even layer.
  4. In the microwave or over the stove, melt together the remaining 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter and chocolate. Once they’re melted, mix them together.
  5. Pour the ganache over the peanut butter layer and refrigerate until hardened(at least 30 minutes).
  6. 10 minutes before serving, remove these from the refrigerator to soften. Once soft, gently cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife and serve. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Graham-Cracker-Peanut-Butter-Bars-With-Dark-Chocolate-Ganache-beauty-shot

One of my favorite things about recipes like these is that they’re so easily adaptable for different allergens. I made mine gluten-free simply by using gluten-free graham crackers. To make them vegan you can use a dairy-free margarine in place of the butter and make sure to use vegan graham crackers.

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Hot Banana Breakfast Quinoa

Written on October 21, 2011 by in Breakfast

Hot-Banana-Breakfast-Quinoa

Pretty much as soon as I made Banana Breakfast Quinoa I knew I wanted to try a hot, cooked version of it. I really like eggs in the morning so adding them and cooking it in the microwave seemed to be the easiest way to make something tasty. What resulted is a warm, hearty breakfast reminiscent of banana bread that’s both delicious and filling.

Hot-Banana-Breakfast-Quinoa-scoop

This has quickly become my new favorite breakfast, one that I eat most days of the week. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to make start to finish so even on my busy mornings I have time to throw it together. And it’s filling and healthy, too. A bowl with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter clocks in at around 25 grams of protein and no added sugar.

Hot Banana Breakfast Quinoa

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Ingredients(For 1 serving):

  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Nuts, nut butter, dried fruit, or sweetener for toppings

Hot-Banana-Breakfast-Quinoa-garnish

Method:

  1. Combine the mashed banana, quinoa, eggs, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
  2. Transfer the batter to a ramekin or other microwave-safe bowl, leaving a little room at the top to prevent overflow.
  3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes or until the center is cooked through and set.
  4. Top with nuts, dried fruit, and/or sweetener and eat hot.

Hot-Banana-Breakfast-Quinoa-texture

The texture, as you can see, is soft and spongy almost like a baked bread pudding. You could also try baking it in the oven for 12-15 minutes which would result in a similar texture and flavor.

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Butter Toffee Peanut Butter

Written on September 6, 2011 by in Miscellaneous

butter-toffee-peanut-butter

I’ve tried a lot of different peanut butters, but Naturally Nutty’s Butter Toffee Peanut Butter really takes the cake toast, with a sweet, buttery flavor combined with crunchy sugar granules. You can buy this peanut butter from their online store, or in stores if you’re lucky enough to live in Michigan. I, however, am cheap and a New Englander and so decided to make my own. 

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-drippy

I would take the real deal brand name any day over mine, but this homemade version isn’t half bad, or a quarter bad, or bad at all. It’s great, in fact, slightly melted onto toast first thing in the morning or a square of chocolate at night.

Don’t have the time to make your own butter toffee peanuts? Buy your own and blend them up and you can have this in 5 minutes.

Butter Toffee Peanut Butter

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(makes about 24 ounces):

  • 1lb unsalted peanuts, skin-off
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-refrigerated

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a baking tray with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
  2. In a small pot over low heat, melt the butter, sugar, and salt together.
  3. Toss the peanuts in the melted butter and sugar until fully coated and lay them out on the baking tray in an even layer.
  4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the butter and sugar start to bubble and coagulate, but making sure not to burn any of it.
  5. Remove the peanuts from the oven and let them cool completely.
  6. Move the peanuts into a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
  7. Store in sealed containers in a refrigerator for up to a month.

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-Toast

When cold, the consistency is solid yet still creamy and spreadable. You can let it sit out for 5 minutes to get even softer or microwave the jar for about 30 seconds to get it warm and drippy.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Written on August 23, 2011 by in Dessert

The last time I posted was 5 days ago. There’s a reason for my absence. I spent all week in Philadelphia at the Healthy Living Summit living it up with some great friends. I learned and did so many things in Philly that I can’t wait to share. But not yet. I got home late last night and my head(and bedroom floor) are currently a mess.

chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies

One thing I can share is this brownie recipe. Like the almond flour brownie recipe, I baked these and packed them up to bring to Philly and share with bloggers. Most of all I was excited to share these with Cynthia, who also has food allergies(gluten, soy, almond, hazelnut, refined sugar, and dairy). I didn’t have a recipe that avoided all of those allergens, so I made one up and said a little prayer. At first I worried they came out too cakey for my preference, but one taste and I was sold. The only question remaining was how would other people like them.

Capture

The response to these was overwhelming. As soon as I tweeted out, the brownies started selling like hotcakes(but way better because they’re brownies, duh). Cynthia really enjoyed them, as did Meghann, Julie, and too many other bloggers to count. I don’t care how good food tastes; nothing feels as good as sharing it with others. 

If you’re baking for someone with a peanut or tree nut allergy, sunflower seed butter makes a great substitute for peanut butter.

chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies-top

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients(makes 16 brownies):

  • 4.5oz unsweetened baking chocolate(I used Scharffen Berger because it’s soy-free)
  • 1 3/4 cups maple syrup, divided
  • 1 cup unsweetened peanut butter, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour(I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup water

chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies-stack

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt the chocolate and whisk in 1 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together the baking powder, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Whisk in 2 eggs and 1/3 cup of water.
  4. Mix the chocolate-peanut butter mixture into flour and eggs until completely combines. Pour this into a greased 8×8 baking pan. If the batter is too thick to pour, add extra water until it’s runny but still thick.
  5. Make the peanut butter part by whisking together the remaining maple syrup, peanut butter, and egg.
  6. Pour the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownies and lightly swirl the two batters together a couple times, making sure not to over mix them.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Cool completely before cutting.

chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies-slice

Make sure to share these after making them. That way they’ll taste all the better.

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Raw Pad Thai

Written on August 16, 2011 by in Entree

raw-pad-thai

When I shared A Day In The Life Of A Restaurant Intern, a reader wanted to know more about the raw pad Thai bowl I had for lunch. This is something I’ve been making all Summer long and honestly I never blogged about it because I didn’t think it was that exciting. Healthy? Yes. Delicious? No doubt. An excuse to eat peanut butter for every meal? Totally. But not really exciting.

rw-pad-thai-miso

I never really make this the same way, sometimes adding sesame oil, sometimes using chickpeas instead of tempeh—you get the idea. One ingredient I highly recommend investing in is miso paste. I never really knew much about it before a few months ago and certainly never would buy it at the store. Now I wouldn’t keep a refrigerator without it. The salty/savory flavor is truly unique and adds a special depth of flavor that’s crosses cultures. I’ve used this in place of garlic, onions and salt in greens and beans and it tastes just as good. It’s definitely worth the investment.

Raw Pad Thai

Ingredients(For one serving):

  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 1/2 block tempeh
  • peanuts to garnish

For the sauce:

  • 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/2 Tablespoon white miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon siracha sauce(optional)

raw-pad-thai-ingredients

Method:

  1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini and carrots into long, thin “noodles” using as much of the vegetables as possible.
  2. Make the sauce by mixing together the peanut butter, maple syrup, vinegar, miso, and siracha if using until smooth. If necessary add a few teaspoons of water until the sauce is runny yet thick.
  3. Toss the sauce with the vegetable “noodles” and bean sprouts in a large bowl reserving about a tablespoon of sauce.
  4. Plate the noodles in a bowl.
  5. Slice the tempeh on a bias and plate it on top of the sauced noodles.
  6. Spread the reserved sauce on top of the tempeh. Garnish with peanuts if desired.

raw-pad-thai-tempeh

Like I said, you can play around with the ingredients to suit what’s in your pantry. I could eat tempeh and peanut butter all day long so this is how I like it best. 

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Peanut Butter Magic Shell

Written on August 1, 2011 by in Dessert

Peanut-Butter-Magic-Shell

One of my favorite treats in the Summer when I was growing up was a Dairy Queen ice cream cone, specifically one dipped into cherry sauce that hardened up as soon as it hit the ice cream into a shell coating.

I have no idea how to make that.

But what I do know how to make is peanut butter magic shell, and that’s almost as good, especially with chocolate ice cream(or chocolate banana soft serve in this case).

Peanut-Butter-Magic-Shell-Bowl

Really, if you look up the ingredients in that cherry magic shell it’s about 20 things you can’t find in supermarkets and shouldn’t be putting into your body. This recipe has only 3 ingredients, all natural and easy to shop for. Let’s see Dairy Queen beat that.

Peanut Butter Magic Shell

Ingredients(For one bowl):

  • 1 Tablespoon 100% peanut butter
  • 1 Tablespoon liquid sweetener(maple syrup, agave, corn syrup, etc.)
  • 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil(preferably refined), melted or softened

Peanut-Butter-Magic-Shell-scoop

Method:

  1. Mix together the peanut butter, sweetener, and oil into a thick, even sauce
  2. Pour the peanut butter sauce over plated ice cream. Wait a few moments for the sauce to harden before digging in.

This works best with ice cream straight from the freezer; if using softened ice cream or banana “soft serve”, the shell might not form immediately. Simply pour the sauce over the ice cream and refrigerate or freeze it for a few minutes until the shell has hardened

Peanut-Butter-Magic-Shell-Bite

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more eating to do.

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