Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana & Peanut Butter Bites

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Not Enough Cinnamon.  Born and raised in Paris, Marie now lives in Sydney, Australia.  Her blog is full of unfussy recipes you can actually make, with simple ingredients you probably already have. I love that approach! Many of Marie's recipes also focus on health and using real, unprocessed ingredients.

There were so many yummy sounding recipes to choose from!  Some that caught my eye were:

• Healthy Peach BBQ Pulled Chicken
• Mexican Sweet Potato Gratin with Chicken
• Chicken Rollatini stuffed with Pesto and Philadelphia
• Coconut Berry Popsicles
• Honey Lemon Ginger Glazed Chicken

I'm pretty sure I will be trying several of those recipes!  But the second I saw this recipe for Chocolate Covered Frozen Peanut Butter & Banana Bites, I knew I had to try it.  To be honest, I wondered why I'd never thought of it.  You're wondering the same thing right now, aren't you?  Three perfect flavors together, frozen, in bite-sized pieces. What could be better? 

Frozen Chocolate Covered  Banana & Peanut Butter Bites
from Not Enough Cinnamon

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 10 oz dark chocolate
• coconut oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice bananas and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon mat.
2. Put peanut butter on half of the banana slices and place a second slice on top.  Place in freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour.
   
   
3. Break chocolate into pieces and put 2/3 of it in a double boiler or place a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan filled with simmering water. On low heat, stir chocolate until melted. (Or place chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat at 15 second intervals until the chocolate has melted.) Add the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate and keep stirring until it is fully melted. This is to allow the chocolate to have a glossy texture and to set correctly.
4. Remove bites from the freezer and dip them in melted chocolate. Working quickly, so bites don't begin thawing, dip one bite at a time in melted chocolate and roll it to cover all sides. Use one fork to remove bite from chocolate and a second fork to remove excess chocolate and arrange bite back on baking sheet. You may want to leave most of the bites in the freezer and work with a few at at time so they don't start getting mushy.
   Note: I have not worked with chocolate much, so I had some issues with this.  The frozen bites made my chocolate stiffen up so that I couldn't coat any more of them.  I added about a T of coconut oil, stirring that into the chocolate, over low heat, until it was smooth and shiny again, and then I could coat the rest.  Only use coconut oil as needed.
5. Once all the bites have been coated in chocolate, return them to the freezer and freeze for at least 3 hours.  Slide a butter knife under each of the bites to remove them from the baking sheet without losing any of the chocolate and store in a covered container in the freezer.  Enjoy!

Oh yum!  I pretty much always have frozen bananas in the freezer.  Yes, they're great for making a batch of banana muffins, but they're also the perfect snack on a hot day.  Add some peanut butter and chocolate, and it's even better!  The hardest thing is going to be not eating all these at once.

An InLinkz Link-up

Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Micha's blog Cookin' Mimi.  Micha has loved cooking since she was a teenager and focuses on creating and sharing easy recipes that not only taste good but are pleasing to the family budget.  My philosophy exactly!  I think we're going to get along splendidly.  Her blog has so many recipes to choose from.  Here are just a few I thought looked amazing:

• Smothered Beef Burritos
• Roasted Cabbage
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Southwestern Beef & Black Bean Bake
• Cinnamon Pecan Biscuit Twists

It was the pretzel crust that sold me on this one.  That, and one of my fathers-in-law (Fred) loves peanut butter pie, so I'm always looking for that perfect recipe.  This might be the one!

Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust
from Cookin' Mimi

Ingredients
For the crust:

• 1-1/2 cups pretzel crumbs (about 80 mini twist pretzels)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

For the pie:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unbleached flour
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs yolks, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter

Instructions
For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. In medium saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter, then stir in pretzel crumbs and sugar.  Press into 9" pie plate
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned around the edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack before use.

For the pie:

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter in the saucepan; mix in sugar, flour, and salt, then add milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until bubbles start to form around edges.
2. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl.  Slowly add 1/2 cup or so of the hot milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring the whole time.  Add egg yolk mixture to saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter.
4. Pour into pie crust. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until well chilled.
5. Serve with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

I tried using a zipper bag and rolling pin to make my pretzels into crumbs, but I ended up with salt and crumbs everywhere!  So I used my Ninja Master Prep, and that worked perfectly. (affiliate link)

So many peanut butter pie recipes don't really call for much peanut butter, but this one has a whole cup, and it is full of peanut butter flavor.  It's a really rich and creamy pie, so a small piece is all you really need.  At least it's all I need.  My guys would be happy with bigger pieces, but smaller pieces mean the pie lasts longer, right? 

A dollop of whipped cream - ours came from a can - and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, because peanut butter needs some chocolate, and this pie is amazing.  I also took some of the crumbs left in the pie plate and sprinkled them on top, because they just looked pretty.

An InLinkz Link-up

No Bake Cereal Cookies

I got this recipe from a family friend years ago, and I had almost forgotten about it.  So, when I found it again this week, I just had to make some.  They're a sweet and gooey treat and perfect for when you don't want to heat up your kitchen by turning on the oven.

The original recipe uses corn flakes, but I didn't have any so I decided to use Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds.  I think they turned out great!  These would probably be good with any kind of flake or mixed cereal that you like.

 

No Bake Cereal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 cups cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats or corn flakes)
• 1 cup old fashioned oats

Directions:

1. Measure cereal and oats into large bowl.
2. Combine sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter in saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Pour syrup over the corn flakes and oatmeal; Stir to combine.
5. Drop by spoon onto greased cookie sheets (or silicon mat) to cool. Do not use waxed paper. The cookies will stick. 

Makes about 2 dozen

Of course, on a hot day you will be tempted to store these in the refrigerator.  That's fine, but you will want to bring them to room temperature before attempting to eat them.  They will be a bit hard!  Trust me, they're better when they're all ooey gooey and chewy.

Enjoy!

Reese's Bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
(Photo credit: nettsu)

This is for my daughter Beth. If you like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you'll like these. A lady I used to work with brought these to a potluck at work one time, and we all had to have the recipe!

Reese's Bars

• 1 package graham crackers (crushed)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 sticks melted butter
• 1-1/3 cups peanut butter

1. Mix ingredients well and press firmly into greased 13x9" pan.
2. Melt 12-oz bag of chocolate chips and spread on top.
3. Chill until chocolate is set, then cut and put back into refrigerator.  Be sure to cut around the edges, too.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a pan of these soon.

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• Do It Yourself Healthier Reese's Peanut Butter Bites

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I hadn't made these in ages, but I recently saw them on someone's blog, and decided it was time. Then I went looking for recipes.  I could not believe how many recipes for Peanut Butter Blossoms are out there!  I ended up choosing the one from the Hershey's website - since they're Hershey's Kisses on top, after all.  Also, I liked that the recipe used more peanut butter and less sugar than some of the other ones.  I ended up sort of combining the recipe with the one in my cookbook - by using a little more flour to make the cookies easier to roll out and baking at a slightly lower temperature.  Oh, and I used Dark Chocolate Hershey's Kisses, because that's what I had.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening (margarine)
• 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar
• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES (or so)

Directions:

1. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are lightly browned. While cookies are baking, remove wrappers from chocolates.  
4. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie as soon as you pull them from the oven; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

I got about 55 cookies.  The original recipe has you unwrap all the Kisses at the beginning, but I unwrapped them as I put the cookies in the oven, so I had the right number of Kisses for the cookies I had.  And I only ate one or two...

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Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I found this recipe in the coupon section of the Sunday paper. It really looks good! And then today, I'm cutting out coupons only to turn the page and find that I cut right through the recipe. Why do they have to put recipes on the back of coupons? (or is that coupons on the back of recipes?)

I thought maybe I could visit the website and find the recipe, but no such luck - so I had to piece it back together and type it up myself. These sound so good I'm sure it was worth it, though.

Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Crust:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, and corn starch in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into a greased 13x9-inch pan.
2. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.
3. Beat eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in coconut and chocolate chips. Pour over crust. Return to oven.
4. Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture is golden. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

Makes 24 bars

Here's the list of dessert and baked goods recipes I did find on the website. Some of them look pretty good, too.

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Trailside Oatmeal Treats

Trailside Oatmeal Treats
Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup chunk-style peanut butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla 2-1/2 cups uncooked oats 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
Stir together flour, soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then oats, chocolate chips and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350º oven about 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

Makes 42

All the goodness of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chip cookies in one! I don't usually add the raisins because no one in my family likes raisins - except me. Coconut is good in these, too.

I can't remember where this recipe originally came from, but these are the cookies I make most often.

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