Outa this world Peanut Butter Caramel Swirled Brownies

(photo courtesy of food network)

Ok, so since it's been a while-AGAIN- I decided to treat you guys to a yummy recipe:) A SUPER yummy recipe! For a while now I have been wanting to try Bobby Flay's peanut butter caramel swirl brownies he made for a throw down against Vermont's brownie company. The Vermont Brownie Company won with their dark chocolate chevre brownies (how good does that sound?!) However, after finally trying Bobby's recipe I am wondering if there should be a re match cause this recipe is a winner!

I have never been a fan of dark chocoate, but over the past year I have started to like it more and more. These brownies definitely have a rich, dark chocolately flavor. However, instead of using bittersweet chocolate I did use semisweet. I just thought the bittersweet would have been too dark for me. The peanut butter caramel is outa this world. My only complaint with this recipe is I wish there was more of the caramel. Next time I make them I am going to double the caramel and use about 3/4 of it for the brownies. I also would suggest not over doing it on the swirling-it's best when you have bigger globs of the caramel:)

One last note-the recipe says to bake the brownies at 325, but I did read one reviews of the recipe and they said you should bump the heat up to 350. Well I just baked them according to the recipe at 325, and after 22 minutes they were no where near to being done, so I kept them in the oven bumpepd it up to 350 and they were perfect in about 6 minutes. So maybe try baking them at 350, but don't over bake! They are supposed to be a very fudgey brownie! Enjoy!

o-and one other thing, I sprinkled a little bit of fleur de sel over the top of the brownies-to die for!!

Peanut Butter Caramel Swirled Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• Pinch sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 6 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus 4 ounces
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown muscavado sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

Bring the cream to a simmer over low heat in a small saucepan. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, without stirring until amber brown. Slowly whisk in the warm cream until smooth and let cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, corn syrup, sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool until thickened at room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the narrow ends. Spray the foil and pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the butter, unsweetened chocolate, 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and espresso powder in a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let the chocolate melt over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, both sugars, vanilla and salt until smooth. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour in 2 additions (the batter will be thick). Stir in the remaining 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Using a tablespoon, drop dollops of half of the peanut butter caramel every 2 inches over the top of the batter. Carefully add the remaining batter and smooth over the caramel. Smooth the top and dollop the remaining caramel over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl through the batter to get a marbleized effect.

Bake until the top is set but still soft and the edges are puffed and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 23 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out still gooey (be brave!--underbaking the brownies is one of the secrets to their fudgy texture). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the neatest cuts, refrigerate the pan for about 20 minutes before cutting the brownies. Using the foil, lift the brownie slab out of the pan. Carefully peel off the foil and put the brownie on a large cutting board. With a large sharp knife, cut the brownies into 48 squares. (The brownies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days; they can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.)

What a wonderful day:) and peanut butter bar recipe

Last Saturday my cousin in law and a few girls from my ward threw me the most amazing baby shower ever. I can not thank them enough for all of their hard work. They made it such a fun and memorable day for me. Thanks to all of you who came and made it such a fun day for me:)

Tanya, my cousin in law went all out with the cutest decorations! And talk about the most amazing spread of food! My mom helped out also with the food, thanks mom!! Here are some pictures from the fun day, but I don't even think the pictures due justice as to how cute it was! Over the next few days I will give you all the recipes of the yummy food that we had there. Today I will give you the recipe for my yummy peanut butter bars that I made for the shower:) I might be one of the only people who would want to make food for her own shower, but it's so fun for me:) I have been making these peanut butter bars for a few years now, I got the recipe from a girl in my old ward, they are absolutely delicious! If you are a fan of peanut butter, you will love these.

Tanya getting the delicious punch ready, isn't she gorgeous!

I also made cupcake pops:) No baby shower is complete
without cupcake pops

Ina's delicious lime curd, this is one of my favorite things.
And for the peanut butter bars, these are always a crowd pleaser

Peanut Butter Bars

Cream together:
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter (I always use smooth)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

After creaming add:
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp soda
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. oatmeal

Stir and put into a 10x15 cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Sometimes a bubble will rise in the middle-don't worry it will go down

Spread 1 c. whipped peanut butter on top of slightly cooled bar. Cool about ten minutes, then spread on frosting

Frosting:
1/2 stick butter
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. cocoa (I add a bit more, like 3-4 T)
1 tsp vanilla
milk to consistency

Ina's Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

For a long time I have wanted to make Ina Garten's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes . The recipe looked so amazing, so finally a few weeks ago I did. And they were delicious! Probably my favorite chocolate cupcake I have made so far. Definitely the best texture of ANY cupcake I have EVER made! It was perfect-moist, not too dense not too fluffy, just perfect. And they rose beautifully. It's been a struggle I have found to find a cupcake recipe completely from scratch that will rise perfectly. I hate when they just rise to the rim of the cupcake liner. These formed the most perfect domed top. Can't wait to make them again. I am going to see if I can try to make these into vanilla cupcakes. One thing I didn't do to the cupcakes was add the coffee, and they were still delicious.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup good cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
• Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

nocoupons

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Easy as 1, 2, 3....

A little while ago I was flipping through my sisters in laws gluten free cook book. I came a crossed a peanut butter cookie recipe that was so easy consisting only of 3 ingredients: peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. I just had to try it! It was so nice making something without a lot of clean up, but they just seemed too good to be true. I thought there was no way something so easy could be good. But I was very very wrong! They were very yummy, in fact, they tasted just like any other peanut butter cookie I had ever had. If I tried them at a party there was no way I would think that they only had 3 ingredients. I don't think I will ever use a different peanut butter cookie recipe again because they were so easy, delicious, and moist. Now, if anyone has a peanut butter cookie recipe that is just to die for I would love to hear it! But until I find one that is worth all the effort, I will stick to these easy as 1, 2,3 peanut butter cookies. And, for an added plus for our Celiac friends, they are gluten free!

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup crunchy peanut butter or smooth

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine ingredients and mix well. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased an cookie pan. Press with back of a fork. Press again in the opposite direction to make criss-cross marks.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400°F. That's it!

Candy corn kisses?

Yep, thats right! My main fall candy obsession has now been made into a Hershey's kiss. They don't taste exactly like candy corn but close enough and they are good! Thanks to cast sugar I got the idea to make these darling cookies with the kisses. However, I had to go to two different grocery stores before finding them. Harmons didn't have them but Albertsons did. I was so sad that my favorite grocery store let me down! I am still on the search for the pumkin spice kisses, neither grocery stores had those. So if anyone know where I can find them please let me know!

These cookies were so much fun to make and to give to people because the candy corn kisses shocked everyone! The recipe came from the back of the bag and its pretty good so give it a shot!

Hershey's Candy Corn Cookies
Ingredients:

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. quick-cooking oats, divided
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
66 Hershey candy corn kisses (pretty much the whole bag)

Heat oven to 350°F Beat peanut butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together 1/2 cup oats, flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining oats; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with tines of fork to form a crisscross pattern.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Remove wrappers from candies. Place 18 candies in heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; knead bag and candies. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, kneading after each heating, until candies are melted and color is uniform. Cool slightly. Cut off corner of bag about 1/8 inch from point. Lightly drizzle cookies. Before drizzle sets, place candy piece in center of each cookie.