Peanut Butter Cups

Reece's kind of has the market cornered on peanut butter cups. Any way they make them equals something wonderful - mini cups, original sized, shaped as Easter eggs, Christmas trees, little bells, bats for Halloween... you name it, they're great! But did you know you can get a similarly wonderful flavor on your own? Its true. These little nuggets taste a lot like those orange wrapped gems but they're solid chocolate - no PB middles - the peanut butter flavor runs through the whole candy so you get that deliciousness in every bite! You know what else it awesome about these? You can have a pan of 40 made in about 10 minutes! That makes them great to throw on a goodie plate for your friends or as a last minute idea to take to a holiday get together!

Here's the ingredient list:


Semi-sweet baking chocolate, white baking chocolate, creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar & vanilla. Also in the picture I've included mini-cup wrappers. Make sure those make it onto your grocery list! They sell them right beside the standard cupcake wrappers.

First step is to melt your chocolate. Melt the semi-sweet & white in separate bowls and then mix them together, just incase they melt at different rates. You don't want scorched chocolate!


You'll notice there are chocolate chips in the bowl, too - that's because a box of baking chocolate (except white) generally has 8 oz - I wanted 9 so instead of buying another whole box of squares I added in 1/3 cup of s-s chips. 1/3 cup of chips = 1oz = 1 square of baking chocolate!

Once your chocolates are melted mix them in a bowl with the peanut butter, powdered sugar & vanilla. Start out mixing by hand - if you get tired feel free to finish with an electric. I just don't recommend starting with one because the powdered sugar will poof a giant cloud into the air! So incorporate it into the wet stuff before you bring out the power tools!


Now that it's all mixed up get your paper cups all laid out. Then grab a zip lock baggie (or pastry bag if you prefer) and load it with all the chocolate goodness! Snip a tiny bit off the corner & get to work!


Fill - fill - fill - FILL!! Don't go all the way to the top - only about half full.


A big AH-HA!! moment I had once I got to this point was "Hmmm.... how am I gonna move these!!?" So I stopped & slid them all onto a cookie sheet.


Then pop the pan into the fridge for a little bit & call yourself done! Once the chocolate has set back up you can just store them out on the counter. No need to refrigerate.

If my camera was better you could see them better, but these even turn out with the fun little ridges around the edges - just like the real ones!

ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Cups:

9-oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
3-oz white baking chocolate
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt the chocolates (separately) in the microwave, according to package directions. Once melted mix together and add in all remaining ingredients until well blended.

Transfer mixture into a large zip-lock baggie. Prep all your paper baking cups. Snip the corner of the baggie & squeeze to fill each cup half full. Put into the fridge to set up for an hour.

These may be stored on the counter in an air-tight container.

Source: http://www.melskitchencafe.com

Wordless Wednesday - Jocelyn's Party

Raspberry Dijon Chicken

I feel like it's been forever since I've posted actual FOOD, not just sweets & snacks. So here we go - how about some chicken! This is one of the easiest ways to add some great flavor to your chicken, and you can cook it indoors or out on the grill - whichever your in the mood for (or, in our case, whichever your weather permits!) Let's just jump right in, shall we?

Your line up:


Chicken breasts, raspberry jam & dijon mustard. That's it. Really!!

If your butcher happens to give you chicken breasts bigger than your own you're gonna want to either slice them in half lengthwise, making 2 breasts, or pound them thin. These started out enormous - way too thick to cook evenly on the stove top. Also, if you prefer seedless jam go for it - it'll be just as delicious!

First things first, mix your jam & mustard.


Now get your grill pan (or outdoor grill) hot & hit it with a spry of PAM (or oil the grill) so this doesn't stick. Put your chicken in the pan & sprinkle it with some salt & pepper. Let it cook for a while on side #1.


Then flip it & baste side #2 with the glaze. Let it cook until the chicken is done. Then flip it one more time just so you can hit the other side with a bit of glaze. Only cook that side up for maybe 2 minutes because you don't want to burn the jam that is sitting against the pan.


Now just put it on your plate & drizzle a little of the glaze on top. Mmmmmm... The sweet/tart of the raspberries goes so well with the vinegar tang of the mustard. And wasn't that just about the easiest way you've seen chicken prepared!?

Good stuff.

If you wanna be extra fancy you could throw a few fresh raspberries on top as a pretty garnish - but I'm SO not fancy. Not even a little.

Raspberry Dijon Chicken

1 cup raspberry jam
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
6 chicken breasts

Mix mustard & jam; set aside.

Season chicken with salt & pepper & cook in a grill pan or on the BBQ over medium heat. Cook about 10 minutes; flip. Baste with glaze & allow to cook until cooked through. Flip one more time & baste again; allow to cook for just a minute or two.

Serve with a little extra glaze over the top.

4-Layer Raspberry White Chocolate Bars

Every December the ladies at church have a special Christmas get-together. Just us - no husbands, no kids. There is usually some sort of program and always a delicious dinner that we didn't have to cook for ourselves - or wash the dishes from! Gotta love that! This year they asked a few of us to bring a dessert to share and I brought this. Holy cow. Saying they were a hit would be an understatement! I didn't think they were going to be anything that stood out from the assortment of treats that we'd all prepared but I completely underestimated the power of a non-chocolate dessert. They were gone in an instant, and then it started:

"Who brought these!!?"

"Wow! These are so good!"

"Did you try this raspberry thing!!?"

"whisper, whisper...Michelle Pedersen... whisper, whisper.... recipe!"

People got up for seconds, friends asked friends to go grab them one, people that knew I'd brought it asked for the recipe, I saw a friend picking the crumbs from the empty plate - people were even stalking the dessert table to see who picked up the snowman platter so they could ask for the recipe. People that saw me with the empty platter in hand came up and asked for the recipe. I. Was. Shocked. SHOCKED!! I felt like such a celebrity!! LOL

So - Wanna try 'em? Here's how.



Vanilla wafers, raspberry jam, pecans, butter, milk, powdered sugar, vanilla & white chips.

To be fair, I want to point out that I used a lot of Trader Joe's stuff in this recipe - their Vanilla Wafers, their white chips & their jam. I'm sure it would be just as good with Nabisco Nilla wafers, Smucker's jam & Nestle chips, but the one that got crazy rave reviews had a lot of TJ's stuff in it.


1. Melt some butter & chips in a pan over med heat, until melted & combined.
2. Use your food processor to turn the cookies into fine crumbs.
3. Stir crumbs & melted mixture together and pour into a greased 8x8 pan.

Pat it down & set aside - layer #1 is done!

Layer #2 is the easiest one here - grab your jam & spread it over the crumbs. Done!


Next up is layer #3, of course:


1. I forgot to take a picture - but aren't mustaches fun!? You're gonna throw the rest of the chips back into the pan (after giving it a wipe with a paper towel) and melt them down.
2. Put the softened butter, milk & vanilla into a bowl.
3. Using an electric mixer, mix the melted chips & powdered sugar into the bowl with the butter.
4. Spread this over the jam to create layer #3!

Final step - remember that food processor you used to destroy the cookies? Unless you bought pecan chips you'll use it to dice up your nuts. Then just sprinkle them down over the top of the white chocolate layer.

Now lightly pat it down to sink the pecans into the chocolate just a smidge then pop it into the fridge to set for at least a few hours. Cut them into small squares - about 5x5 in this pan, so it'll yield about 25 little squares. They're pretty rich so you don't need much more than that.

Would you believe I plated them up on the platter & ran out the door to my activity without taking a picture of these all cut up!!?? It's true & I apologize profusely. So I'm gonna have to borrow a picture from the amazing Leigh Anne of YourHomeBasedMom.com, who is the genius mastermind behind these beauties. Thank you for a scrumptious dessert, Leigh Anne!

4-Layer Raspberry White Chocolate Bars:

Layer 1:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup vanilla chips
2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs

Layer 2:
3/4 cup raspberry jam

Layer 3:
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup vanilla chips
1 C powdered sugar

Layer 4:
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with some PAM. In small pan on low heat, melt 1/2 cup butter & 1/4 cup of the chips together, stirring to combine as they melt. Remove from heat.

Using a food processor (or I suppose you could put them in a baggie & abuse them with a rolling pin!) turn your cookies into crumbs. Add crumbs to the melted mixture, stir to combine. Press evenly into the bottom of the greased pan.

Spread jam over crumb mixture.

Wipe your pot out with a paper towel & put it back on the low heat. Melt remaining 3/4 cup of chips, stirring constantly. Once melted, set aside.

In small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. butter, milk and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in melted chips and powdered sugar until smooth. Spread chip mixture over jam.

Sprinkle the top with nuts. Gently press to set the nuts into the chocolate. Refrigerate a couple of hours to firm it all up. Cute into small bars - 5 rows x 5 rows, yielding 25 bars.

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Tree Cutting

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Pssssst...

My Friend Kristi has a food blog, too, and she's got an apron giveaway going on! :o) She even made it herself! Go pay her a visit! She cooks like a mom, too - noting froo-froo & uber fancy. Family friendly food with ingredients you're familiar with! Click below!

*Kristi's Kitchen Kreations*

Chocolate Pie (aka Chocolate Chess Pie)

Do you have a reason to bake a pie soon? Maybe a holiday pot luck? Or company coming for dinner? Or maybe it's just Monday & you want a pie! LOL Give this one a shot. It's really good. It's chocolatey & rich, smooth but thick. The filling reminds me of what you'd find in a pecan pie - minus the nut & + the chocolate.

You need:


Unsweetened cocoa, vanilla, evaporated milk, butter, eggs & white sugar. Nothing too intimidating, right!? Oh - and an unbaked 9-inch pie crust. That *could& be intimidating if you've never made one from scratch before. But they're actually pretty quick & easy! If it scares you too much or you want to save some time just buy the Pillsbury ones. They come 2 in a box, rolled up & ready to go!

Start out by putting your milk, melted butter & vanilla into a mixer. Give it a good blend. Add the eggs & mix again.


Add the sugar & cocoa.


Put your crust into the pan & press it into the bottom. Pour in the pie filling.


Bake in a 375 oven for 45 minutes. You might want to tent the crust with foils, as it has a tendency to brown up a little more than what is pretty! LOL


Nothing pretty when you look at it here. But let it cool - maybe even pop it in the fridge, if you're feeling the urge. Just don't serve it warm. It needs to set & cool down.

I plopped a dollop of whipped topping on it for a pretty picture but then I immediately scrapped it off & ate it bare. Too much sugar if you leave it there!


Enjoy!

Chocolate Pie:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 Tbsp cocoa

In a mixer, mix butter, milk & vanilla. Add eggs & blend well. Add sugar & cocoa, blend again. Pour into an unbaked 9-inch pie crust & bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.