Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Valentines Day gets a lot of hate, you know?  I get the arguments.... "It's a product of Hallmark", "More like single awareness day!", and the one that probably rings the most truth: "Why show your love on only one day of the year?"  While Valentine's day can sometimes get us down, let's just take it for what it is.  A little overdone cheesy love stuff for everyone to celebrate.  Let me tell you, I had my fill this year when I had to frost one heart shaped cake after another at work and am now probably getting carpal tunnel from holding my offset spatula.  Even so, cheesy heart shaped things are cute.  There's no getting around it.  I'm bringing you an easy way of showing your love more than one day a year!  Homemade peanut butter cups!  I made them for my valentine, hence the heart shape.  But you can make these in any shape you want.  Show your loved ones you care on a day other than February 14!  Impress the pants off of them!  They don't know these are super easy!

Step 1: Figure out what you are putting them in.  You can use cupcake tins and liners, or the mini versions.  I lucked out and already had this heart shaped silicone ice tray from IKEA.  The silicone helps because you can move it around to unmold your chocolates.  I think IKEA still has them.  Super cheap!

Step 2:  Melt your chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time so the chocolate doesn't seize.  I used a mixture of milk and semi-sweet chocolate.  Use what you prefer in peanut butter cups.  The whole time I was making these I was only thinking about the Milk Chocolate PB Cups from Trader Joes.  If you haven't had them, get up, leave, and go buy some.  Seriously I don't even love chocolate and peanut butter together, but those get me every time.

Step 3:  Brush your chocolate on the bottom and sides of your molds.  Make sure it covers the whole bottom and there are no holes.  Freeze until the chocolate hardens.

Step 4:  Mix peanut butter with powdered sugar.  Add some honey or vanilla if you so choose. 

Step 5:  Take out your chocolate molds.  Pipe peanut butter mixture or use a small spoon to fill molds with peanut butter a little less than all the way full. 

Step 6: Cover peanut butter filled molds with chocolate. 

Step 7:  Scrape off excess.  Touch up any areas where you can still see peanut butter.  Freeze again until hard.

Step 8:  Unmold your peanut butter cups!  Enjoy!  Share with your loved ones!

Forgive Me

I've done a bad/awesome thing.  I've made ice cream.  But not just any ice cream....

 
This ice cream doesn't mess around.  It's not trying to be something it's not.  It is straight up baller and knows it.  It doesn't even need to be turned into a milkshake to bring the boys to the yard.  Lil Wayne would rap about this ice cream.

Ok enough.  I'm ridiculous.  BUT. GET. THIS.

Cookie Dough flavored ice cream (no dough involved) + NUTELLA + Crunchy Cocoa Cinnamon Granola! 

Please re-read.  If you aren't on the same page as me on this, no need to read beyond this point. 

Here's what happens.  You make granola, and coat it in cocoa, cinnamon, and all the good things in the world, i.e. butter, maple syrup, and honey.  After you cook it, you let it cool.  Then you toss in some chocolate chips.

You make a custard base with brown butter and brown sugar for flavor.  You chill it.  Then you throw it in the ice cream maker.   When it's almost frozen, you sprinkle it with your granola and drizzle it with (large) scoopfuls of nutella. 

You eat it immediately and you do a dance with your hands because it is so good.  You are almost mad that you haven't made this before and almost mad that you will have this in your recipe book from here on out.  Forgive me on not letting you live before this date.  Forgive me for the massive amount of ice cream in your future.

Snickerdoodles for Santa

"SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM!"
Merry Christmas to everyone!  I hope Santa brought you and yours everything you wished for!!  I also hope you left Santa some warm cinnamony Snickerdoodles to keep him full throughout his night!

Santa Sized Snickerdoodles
Recipe from Carol Cotner Thompson

Yield:38-40 big cookies

4 1/2 C. flour
4 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
½ lb. butter
1 C. veg. shortening
3 C. sugar
4 eggs,room temp.
1 T. vanilla


1 c. sugar

2 T. cinnamon

Combine and sift dry ingredients
Cream butter, shortening & sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
Gently add flour mixture.
Roll golf ball size dough balls in sugar cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350 for 14 minutes.
*dough can be refrigerated up to 48 hours before baking.

Holiday Treats

This year, some friends of mine had the annual "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party.  Ugly Christmas Sweaters... when did you become a thing?  Although enjoyable, I think these sweaters are best when they have tangible decorations on them like extra fuzzy mittens, actual beads as garlands on the christmas tree, or little bells on the reindeer's antlers.  oooo! Our group this year only had a few good sweaters, but I personally think we played enough embarassing charade like games to make up for the lack of embarassment in our clothing. 

Anyway, Christmas party!  I took it as a perfect excuse to make a massive amount of paper snowflakes and an unhealthy amount of holiday treats!  Those that made the list this year?  A revisit to Oreo Truffles, Chocolate Fudge, and get this... Maple Bacon Kettle Corn!!!!! 

For the Oreo Truffles, I made them the same as before, but for half the batch I used Mint Oreos and added a little Peppermint extract to both the oreo mixture and the melted chocolate.  The regular ones I sprinkled with some rainbow sprinkes, and the mint ones with crushed candy canes. 

 

I love a good fudge.  Who doesn't?  It really doesn't come around often enough.  I used a Max Brenner recipe for Sweet Dreams Chocolate Fudge Candy.  I poured some of it in heart shaped Ice Trays and got heart shaped fudge!

And the star... Maple Bacon Kettle Corn.

First of all, Kettle Corn is a beautiful thing.  Get me a bag from the farmers market and I'll probably eat the giant size in one sitting.  I'd do as my mother taught me:  put some in a cup so I don't eat too much.  But with Kettle Corn, I just keep filling that dang cup up, no questions asked, and definitely no shame... at least until I realize it's all gone.  This story is all too familiar...
BUT cook the kettle corn in bacon fat?  Add some crispy bacon drizzled in maple syrup?  Bacon + Kettle Corn? ....I die. 

 

The pictures don't do it justice.  But believe me, this kettle corn is definitely holiday party worthy.  Turns out popcorn plus bacon is a winning combination.  I found this recipe on Joy the Baker who I've started to fall completely in love with.

Happy Holidays!

A Late Halloween Post

Halloween is probably that one holiday that is only about fun.  There isn't any stress to create some huge meal for your 30+ people family or to buy and wrap a dozen presents.  The only real traditions are carving a giant squash and eating a crazy amount of candy and not feeling bad about it..... both of which I did.  I discovered this year that I'm obsessed with candy corn. I bought three 1 lb bags on November 1 just to get me through the fall.

Although it's been a while since Halloween, I thought I'd share all the festive and delicious items of my holiday.
Mine was complete with baked brie, mummy cupcakes, hot cider, and a lovely care package! Also, jello shots were included, but let's not discuss those.

 

The baked brie was made with homemade puff pastry and a layer of raspberry preserves.  Look at those flakes and that oozing cheese!  Is there anything more delicious than baked brie?

 

 

 

Cute right?  These little living dead treats are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  We decorated them using a pastry bag with the flat line tip to make the mummy wrap.

 

 Fire burn and cauldron bubble! My friend made a Spiced Rum Apple Cider (in my wok, not my cauldron).  Gargantuan cinnamon sticks are completely necessary.

 

My mom sent me a Halloween care package!  It's her tradition.  This year I lucked out with decorative paper plates and napkins, a couple Halloween dish towels, a basting brush (I've been needing one of these!), See's candy (score!), and CANDY CORN!

Hope your Halloween was happy too!