Peanut Butter Cake

My partner is a peanut butter fiend and requested a peanut butter cake for his birthday. I chose this one primarily because it had a frosting rather than an icing, it looked fairly simple, and it was different from other ones I'd made him in the past.

Notes:

• I halved the recipe and baked it in two nonstick loaf pans greased with butter to make a small rectangular layer cake, and baked them for about 25 minutes.
• I added vanilla extract to both the cake and the frosting because I love the combination of vanilla and peanut butter and I thought it would be weird without it.
• I used heavy cream instead of milk in the frosting, and I needed probably 3-4 times as much as it called for to get the right consistency.
• I decorated it with chopped mini peanut butter cups on the top. I feel like it would also be pretty with chocolate shavings. My partner bought Reese's Pieces for decoration too, but I didn't use them because I think their texture would be too hard for my liking unless they were chopped kind of small.

Verdict: I only had a small taste of it and thought it turned out well enough, though it was a little oily (especially the frosting) but lots of peanut butter desserts are and I'm not sure how much you can get away from that and still have a strong peanut butter taste. The frosting texture was a little strange and I might add butter or use a different frosting in the future, maybe the other one on this blog because I have loved it every time I've had it. But most importantly, my partner loved it so I would absolutely make it for him again.

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RECIPE: Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (Mary Beth Manville, The Southern Plate) 

Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

It's that time of year again to make my husband a homemade birthday treat! He normally wants dirt cake but this time he requested something with peanut butter, and suggested maybe a peanut butter dirt cake. I had not made one before but I was sure other people had had this idea before, so I went looking for recipes to try and decided on this one because it sounded pretty straightforward and made a reasonable amount.

Notes:

• Used a combination of Oreos and Nutter Butter cookie crumbs rather than just Oreos.
• Added some extra peanut butter (3-4 tbsp) to the fluff mixture because my husband wanted to taste more peanut butter and less cream cheese.
  
• Made a sugar free version for myself by using powdered Swerve (finely ground erythritol granules that are used as a powdered sugar substitute) and natural style peanut butter without any added sugar in equal amounts as the original recipe.
• I had planned to try this recipe from Sugar Free Londoner to make sugar free chocolate cookie crumbs but didn't actually get that far because I was too busy devouring the peanut butter fluff part lol.
  

Verdict: I only had a small bite of the regular one but many who tried it really loved it, including my husband who requested it for his birthday so I'd definitely make it again. I LOVED the sugar free version -- most of the ingredients are keto friendly to begin with so it seemed like it would convert well, and I'm glad it did. I immediately made more once it was gone because I still wanted more and all the ingredients were there.

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RECIPE: Peanut Butter Dirt Pudding (Cooking with Carlee)

Natural Peanut Butter Cookies

I arrived at this recipe after finding myself with a surplus of natural peanut butter (the kind that's just ground peanuts and sometimes salt) and finding that it does not cookie all that well. I have substituted it for regular peanut butter in other recipes and the cookies came out kind of dry and crumbly so I wanted to make sure I used a recipe that specifically called for it.

Notes:

• I didn't have a fancy cookie stamp so I flattened my cookies with a potato masher.
• I rolled the cookies in turbinado sugar before flattening for some extra crunch and sparkle.
  

Verdict: I thought they were really nice! I might make them smaller next time, but sometimes big cookies are fun.

EDIT 10/13/2021: I made a couple of variations on this cookie for my partner's birthday with peanut butter candies. I made thumbprint type cookies with a mini peanut butter cup in the middle, and another kind where I mixed in Reese's pieces (peanut butter filled hard-shelled chocolate candies). Both worked pretty well and tasted great. I think I liked the Reese's pieces ones the best.

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RECIPE: Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies (Lovely Little Kitchen)

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cookie Crumbles

I dreamed up this cake for my partner's birthday. He is a peanut butter fiend and I have made peanut butter cakes for him in the past, but this time I wanted to pair it with chocolate. I packaged up a bunch of the slices and delivered them to all of the band members and their partners so they could celebrate with us in some way.

I have made two of the components of this cake before, but I really liked the look of this cake from Sweetest Menu and decided to riff on that.

Notes:

• I added a pinch of salt to the cookie crumble mixture before baking it.

Verdict: The layers kind of came apart as it was cut (because the cookie crumbles were dry and I didn't use a lot of frosting because I think I might have needed more), and I'd like to make the cake part a bit less dry next time. It could have been the peanut butter I used. But it was very peanut buttery, and not too sweet. And this frosting is still A+ incredible.

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RECIPES:
Cake: Peanut Butter Cake (from Sally's Baking Addiction, doubled)
Frosting: Peanut Butter Frosting (from Eat, Live, Run)
Cookie crumbles: Chocolate Cookie Crumbs (Sweetest Menu)

Scotcheroos

This is one thing I always loved but my family didn't make. I think I first had one at my dad's company picnic. I was in love with the sweet-salty, crispy bottom and chocolate frosting with some delicious extra flavor I couldn't identify. They popped up occasionally throughout my childhood but they were always at large events with lots of people where I didn't know who brought them so I couldn't ask about what they were.

Fast forward to college after I'd met my husband. I went over to his house once and he had come back from visiting his grandma with a big plate of these. I got really excited. Finally, I could ask someone! Scotcheroos, they were called. I looked up a recipe. They're like Rice Krispies treats but with peanut butter mixed in and a butterscotch-chocolate frosted top. The mystery flavor was butterscotch. I had watched my mom make Rice Krispies treats so I knew they'd be easy to make for myself. Oddly it took me quite some time after that before I ended up making them myself, maybe because he started bringing me to his family reunions shortly thereafter and I knew I'd get my fill of these at least once a year.

The family reunions have stopped now that Grandma C is no longer with us, but thanks to her I can make my own now.

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RECIPE:

Scotcheroos
from Rice Krispies
Makes 1 9x13 inch pan; serves 24

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies or other unsweetened puffed rice cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Place corn syrup and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved and mixture has come to a boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter until well mixed. Stir in cereal until well coated, then turn out the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch rectangular pan. Working quickly, press into an even layer. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, place the semisweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a medium microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring well after each heat time, until melted. Spread evenly over the cereal mixture in the pan and let stand until set. Cut into bars when completely cooled. Store covered at room temperature.

No Bake Cookies

These were one of my favorite cookies as a kid, and easy for me to make too since they did not require the use of an oven so it was one of the first things I learned to make when I started cooking. This recipe comes from one of my mom's church cookbooks. They have chocolate, peanut butter, and oats in them.

Notes:

• Be sure to use old fashioned oats; if you use the instant kind they may dry out the mixture too much.

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RECIPE:

No Bake Cookies
Makes about 48

½ cup (4 oz) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups old fashioned oats

Place first four ingredients in a saucepan, and heat on medium heat until they melt and begin to boil. Boil the mixture for one minute, then remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter until well blended, and mix in oats last. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or press into a 9x13” pan, and let cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Puppy Chow

A friend of my mom's introduced my family to this treat when I was about 6 or 7 years old by having us help her make it. It gets its name from looking sort of like dog kibble. You may know it by another name, such as People Chow or Muddy Buddies. This is another thing that you only ever used to be able to get by making it yourself, but I have seen it fully prepared and for sale in some grocery stores. I have very recently found friends who also know what this is from their childhood and absolutely love it. If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and you also like sweets, you'll probably love it too.

If you want to be extra (gross), you can put it in a bowl, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal, like I did very occasionally when I was a kid. Yikes! Seriously, it tastes better all by itself.

Notes:

• Instead of shaking it in a bag to coat it with powdered sugar, my mom used to leave the cereal in the bowl, sift the powdered sugar over the chocolate coated cereal, and mix until it was coated. This way tends to coat the pieces less evenly but might potentially be less messy and involve fewer containers.

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RECIPE:

Puppy Chow
Makes about 8 cups, serves 8-12 as a snack

6 cups Crispix cereal (about 1 12 oz box)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup (4 oz, 1 stick) butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Place cereal in large mixing bowl and set aside. Melt together chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on stove or in the microwave on high power in 30 second increments, and mix until fully combined. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and stir gently until coated. Place 1 cup powdered sugar in a large, clean paper or plastic bag; add half of the cereal, close the bag and shake until coated. Repeat with second cup of powdered sugar and other half of cereal mixture. Store in an airtight container.

Fluffernutter Cake

I never had the nostalgia for fluffernutters (peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches) that many people who post fluffernutter related recipes seem to have. I never had one as a child because to my mom, a sandwich with marshmallow fluff on it was dessert, not lunch. My mom enforced a sort of unspoken ban on most all non-dessert items that were really sugary. Our sandwiches were always on brown bread. She would only buy things like Lucky Charms, Pop-Tarts, or toaster strudels (lol remember when those were a thing?) once in a great while. I remember one of my siblings learned to make cinnamon-sugar toast at school once, and she got mad when we tried to make it for breakfast. I don't feel deprived -- we still got other breakfast cereal whenever we wanted (which she did let us put some sugar on), there were plenty of other sugary treats in our lives, and as an adult now I am thankful she fought our impulses to raise us on food with some semblance of nutrition, as I think a mother should.

But I did not try peanut butter and marshmallow together until I was an adult and I wondered where it had been all my life. I think I came across it while reading recipes and cooking blogs, trying to figure out what kind of cake to make my husband for his birthday. I thought a fluffernutter cake sounded good so I suggested it to him, and his eyes lit up and he got excited. Deal. I remember not being particularly happy with the cake part of what I made for him that year but the frosting made quite an impression on me. I dreamed about it for long after it was gone. For years after that the only thing he wanted for his birthday was dirt cake (a favorite of both our families, as it turns out) but I wanted a redo, another chance to make a fluffernutter cake I was satisfied with.

This year I got the chance, and I enjoyed this one much more. It's dense, with a texture like a peanut butter cookie but more fluffy. The peanut butter frosting from my previous attempt was used for filling and decoration because I wanted something thick enough to firmly stick the layers of cake together and something that would hold up to piping. It worked for its intended purpose, and I am happy to report it is still every bit as delicious as it was the first time I made it. For the outside, I wanted a lighter textured frosting to contrast with the dense cake and strong flavor of peanut butter, so I made a seven-minute marshmallow icing for the outside. I forgot one of the egg whites somehow so the icing ended up a bit grainy and soft, but it was still edible. The peanuts sprinkled on top were a last minute decision and I rather liked the bit of texture and crunch they brought to the party. I have made better looking cakes, but this tasted good and he liked it. Happy birthday to my love.

RECIPES:
Cake: Peanut Butter Cake (from Sally's Baking Addiction, baked in two 6-inch springform pans)
Filling and decoration: Peanut Butter Frosting (from Eat, Live, Run; I halved the recipe)
Icing: Grandmama's Failproof 7 Minute Frosting (from Southern Plate; this made more than I needed but half the recipe probably wouldn't be enough)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark

I made Two Peas and Their Pod's Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark to bring along on a road trip with friends. I first made this for Bakeathon 2017 and liked it so much I made it again! I sprinkled fleur de sel on top of a bit of extra saltiness and it was lovely.

RECIPE: Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark

Holiday Bakeathon 2017

This year was a bit different from usual, marked most heavily by the absence of Sarah, one of our main Bakeathon participants. But it is for the best reason: she is cooking and helping out at her friend's bed and breakfast in Auros, France for 3 months. I invited my friend Paula to join this year in her place, and we scaled back the recipe list a little bit so that we wouldn't be working for quite so long.

However, Sarah was in our minds and hearts; we regularly sent photos to Sarah throughout the day, listened to Beyonce while we worked, and talked smack about white chocolate in her stead (even me, even though I like it). Sarah doesn't like white chocolate, so any recipe I suggest with white chocolate is usually met with some resistance. This year I included one because she wasn't around to nix it, and the white chocolate made the recipe difficult. She tried to warn me.

We've created a tradition of making some sort of a house or structure or diorama type scene with things from the leftover gingerbread dough that is too tough/saturated with flour from rolling (though I usually end up eating it anyway). This year was a tiny house, 2016 was a campfire and tent to which we added some of the ninja bread men.

RECIPES

• Spicy Gingerbread Cookies (Smitten Kitchen)
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cinnamon-Sugar Rugelach
• Matcha Green Tea Spritz (Good Housekeeping) -- the white chocolate in this recipe completely hosed the shaping. It solidified in chunks when we mixed it in because the rest of the ingredients were cold, and the chunks clogged the piping tip and made me sad. I’d make it again but leave out the white chocolate. Save it for dipping or drizzling over the finished cookies instead :)
• Almond Spritz (Taste of Home)
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark (Two Peas and Their Pod)
• Salted Caramel Nuts (The Barefoot Contessa) -- We added a couple of teaspoons of bourbon whiskey at the same time as the vanilla, and loved the result. Once the nuts were mixed in, it solidified way too fast to get the nuts spread out. They’re definitely more salted caramel nut clusters rather than individual nuts. That said, they were quite good. I don't know whether or not this clumping is because we put bourbon in it.

BAKEATHONS PAST

• 2016
• 2015
• 2014

Holiday Bakeathon 2016

Holiday baking day #3 and hitting our stride, though we were still at it for nearly 12 hours. We made a lot of truffles this go around and the white chocolate horchata ones I tried to design were an abject failure. White chocolate is so finicky! Someday I will figure it out. Again, we had a mix of old favorites and new ideas to try.

RECIPES

• Spicy Gingerbread Cookies (Smitten Kitchen)
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chocolate Caramel Crunch Almonds (Smitten Kitchen) -- these didn't turn out quite right (sandy textured instead of glassy coating, the sugar did not end up melting again despite instruction that it would) but they were still tasty.
• Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti (Joy of Baking) -- colorful and tasty! We dipped the ends of some in melted white chocolate, the sweetness of which pairs really nicely with the sour cranberry.
• Cinnamon-Sugar Rugelach -- a repeat from last year because we love them.
• Decadent Hot Chocolate Mix (Smitten Kitchen) -- a repeat from years past because it's really good.
• Toasted Coconut Marshmallows (Ina Garten) -- Sarah has made these before and they were just as tasty this time. I kept accidentally burning the coconut because I would get distracted with other baking tasks and forget! I finally got it on the third try, haha. I might crumble the toasted coconut into smaller pieces next time because it didn't stick very well to the marshmallows as large shreds.
• Peanut Butter Balls / Buckeyes (Irvin Lin via Simply Recipes) -- This was my first time ever making them. I had always wanted to try making them ever since seeing my grandma's recipe for them in my mom's collection as a child, but her recipe called for paraffin wax (yikes!) so we did not use it. I think these ended up a little soft, but we used coconut oil instead of dairy butter so they would be vegan, and that might have messed with the texture. I'd absolutely try again though. Make them smaller than you think you would like them, because they're quite rich.
• Dark Chocolate Coconut Truffles (Melanie Stephens, via Feed Your Awesome Machine) -- a repeat from 2014, still love them. Next time I want to roll them in toasted coconut.
• Irish Cream and Coffee Truffles (The Crumby Cupcake) -- delicious. I'd definitely consider making them again. I decided I don't like them coated in bright blue sprinkles though.

BAKEATHONS PAST

• 2015
• 2014