Peanut Butter Pie

I'm a teeny bit obsessed with peanut butter pie at the moment. It started when we grabbed some for dessert at one of our favorite restaurants a couple weeks ago. Since then I have been scouring the interwebs for recipes, below you will find my fave which is a mish mash of a couple recipes I have found and enjoyed!

For Crust:
8 ounces chocolate cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted

For Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat cream cheese, because the heavy whipping cream makes me feel guilty)
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice


First, add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs (I used dark chocolate Fudge Stripe cookies-yum!). Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. I decided I wanted to make 3 smaller dishes of this pie, so I distributed my crust evenly between 3 ramekins about 5 inches in diameter. I still had plenty of filling for all three!

Next, pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. I put my bowl in the refrigerator as I find this helps speed up the process a little bit. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

4) Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared pie pan. Top with a drizzle of melted chocolate on top (or if you are like me put more cookie crumbs or pieces of these cupcakes leftover from Husband's birthday on top), and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Friday Food Craft: Granola Bars

I'm a little obsessed with these granola bars. They are really yummy and packed with flavor. I came across the original recipe from Dinners, Dishes and Desserts and had to dabble with it to get my own favorites involved.

To make my version of these tasty granola bars you will need:

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup natural almond butter
1/3 cup honey (I used blackberry honey)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds
1/2 cup coconut, toasted
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, not quick oats

To start, melt your oil, almond butter and honey together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add in the dark chocolate chips and stir until melted.

Remove from heat and add in your remaining ingredients. Stir until everything is evenly coated and well combined.

Pour into a small baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper (my dish was 9"x7"). I tried some of these in a dish that had just been greased, and while they do come out, it is much harder to get them out of the pan looking nice. I'd definitely go for the parchment paper.

Place in refrigerator to set and store them there. They get a little gooey at room temperature, delicious but messy.

Enjoy! I have plans to try some with marshmallows and graham crackers as mix ins for S'mores granola bars soon!

Friday Food Craft: "Sugar Shock" Bars

It is Friday once again, and time for another food craft. This week's craft is easy, delicious and no baking is required!! It's also pretty rich, when we were kids my sister and I referred to these as "Sugar Shock" bars, though I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be called Reese's bars or chocolate peanut butter bars. They take very few ingredients, and including refrigeration, are done in about an hour. I will warn, you probably want to cut these into pretty small squares as a little goes a long way! Also, if you want to make these into peanut butter cups, I would recommend doubling the chocolate topping and using a mini muffin tin, with hand rolled peanut butter centers. Now on to the recipe!

To make your own delicious Sugar Shock Bars you will need:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (you can use crunchy if you prefer)
1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 heaping cup brown sugar, packed
4 Tablespoons melted butter


For chocolate topping:
1 cup chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate bar of your liking)
4 tablespoons butter

Mix together your peanut butter, melted butter, and both sugars until well incorporated. Pat mixture into an even layer in an 8"x8" pan. No greasing is required as the peanut butter and butter in this "dough" will keep it from sticking. I generally use a glass baking dish.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate chips and the other 4 Tablespoons of butter at 30 second intervals. For me, it generally only needs to be microwaved for 1 minute, I find that extra stirring after this much time will melt the chocolate without lumps, but if necessary place back in microwave at 10 second intervals after 1 minute of time has elapsed. Nothing is worse than scorched chocolate. :(

Spread your chocolate layer evenly over the peanut butter layer and refrigerate for one hour. I like sweet and salty desserts, so I sprinkled a pinch of flake salt over the top of half of my bars. This is totally optional. Store in refrigerator.


I have also seen recipes similar to this where a layer of shortbread (baked of course) is used on the bottom with the peanut butter and chocolate layers then on top, but It is August and I really try to avoid baking as much as possible. It just makes the apartment too HOT. Should you try it though, let me know how that works out :)

Friday Food Craft: Individual No Bake Cheesecakes!

I told you the mason jars would be making an appearance! This is a great way to make individualized desserts to take to a picnic, pot luck, or pack in a lunch. Even more no fuss: a no bake dessert! The glass jars certainly may go in an oven to bake (and I've seen many clever recipes online for pies, etc.) but I decided a no bake dessert was the way to go this time.



You will need:

1 sleeve graham crackers (about 5 ounces)
4 Tablespoons butter (melted)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream
16 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar (depending how sweet you like your desserts)
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

To make the crust you will need to smash up your graham crackers (other crackers or cookies may be substituted if you have something else on hand). I used my trusty old rolling pin and placed my crackers in a sealed bag and smacked/rolled them to smithereens. If you prefer, you may use a food processor. Once I have my crumbs, I mix in 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar to evenly distribute it. Then, mix in your melted butter with a fork (or pulse it in with your food processor).

Once you have your crust, spoon it into your containers. While I used tiny mason jars (4oz. jars) you could also use a pie plate or any other container you like for your cheesecake. Gently pat your crust into the bottom of your container.

To make the filling, start by whipping 1 cup of heavy cream into whipped cream (like you would top a sundae with). You could try substituting an already whipped topping, but I like the results better with real whipped cream. Once you have your whipped cream, add in your cream cheese and sugar. Last, but certainly not least, add in the zest and juice of one lemon. I found an exceptionally large lemon, so I used all of the zest but only about 3/4 of the juice. Again, you may add this to suit your taste. If you prefer, lime juice would also be lovely in this.

Spoon your filling over your crust and smooth out with a spoon or spatula. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight (the jars come in handy here as each one has it's own built in, air tight, cover). Serve as is, or with your favorite fruit topping (okay, okay or chocolate/caramel, etc.). Enjoy!