Chubby Hubby Brownies

Peanut Butter? Check

Caramel? Check

[Cookies and] Cream? Check

Pretzels? Check

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate? Check Check Check

When I described these brownies to Big D, he turned to me and said, completely deadpan:

"Where's the kitchen sink?"

Want a closer look at that topping?

Hmmmm...these were that good.

Chubby Hubby Brownies

1/2 cup butter

• 4 ounces baking chocolate
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup pretzels, chopped
10 oreo cookies- chopped


1 cup powder sugar
2 tablespoons milk


1/2 recipe Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce


In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add chocolate and stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Gently stir in cookies and pretzels ( Reserving some to sprinkle on top.) Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle remaining cookies an pretzels on top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Let cool. Combine powder sugar and milk,and mix until smooth. Drizzle over cake  with Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce. Cut yourself a piece and then give the pan to a caring friend to safeguard *ahem* I mean- enjoy. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I hate to be a bandwagon jumper. Although I was a huge Red Wings fan in '97 and '98 and kind of drifted away since, that doesn't mean anything right? Anyways, back to the bandwagon thing. I read way too many food blogs, and I noticed that there are lots of trends that keep popping up. And I'm not talking about whoopie pies and cupcakes. But recipes and flavors that jump from blog to blog. Its fun, but sometimes I like to be unique, ya know? So here we are with peanut butter and chocolate. The subject of many a blogs nowadays. What can I do? Its basically the best flavor combination ever so how can I not blog about it?I would be depriving you of a matter of great importance. So to be clear. I am not going to wax poetic about the joys of peanut butter and chocolate. I am not jumping on the blogging bandwagon. I am merely providing you with a flavor combination that is essential to your palate. 

Got it? Good.

Oh yeah, and these are also perfect for hungry little grizzlie bears who are waiting for their dinner. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons margarine

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars, salt, peanut butter and margarine. Mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. In a seperate bowl, mix the milk,eggs and vanilla, until smooth. Gently add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix. Add the chocolate chips. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Makes 18 medium muffins. 

Heaven on a spoon

Really there is no name that would do this cheesecake justice. Let me tell you, I love cheesecake. I don't announce it to the world ( although now I am) but I am pretty picky on cheesecakes. I have tasted many homemade cheesecakes. And I always gush over how good they are. But a lot of times they are "eh, ok." But this one really raises the bar quite a bit. Rich, decadent and creamy. I am sure there is some sort of science to the ratio of cheese:eggs:sugar, but the magic in this cake is the combination of flavors. Cheesecake....peanut butter....caramel....brownies. It really is heaven on a spoon. So instead of ranting and raving, allow me share some pics with you, but let me warn you, you may need some tissues...

*drool*

You might want to move away from your keyboard now...

*sigh*

In case you missed the caramel...

What? You want the recipe? Are you sure? Its kinda deadly. In a diet killer kind of way. Oh well, if you insist...

Peanut Butter Caramel Cheesecake

1 *gasp* brownie mix

1 egg

1 tablespoon cold water

2-8 ounce packages cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup dark karo syrup

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Mix brownie mix with egg and water. Pat into a 9 inch springform pan.* Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. ( It will look undercooked.) Let cool. In a small saucepan, combine karo syrup, peanut butter and vanilla sugar. Mix over medium heat until smooth. Pour 3/4 of caramel mixture over brownie crust. Put in the freezer to set for 20 minutes.  Mix cream cheese, sugar ,2 eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of caramel. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, center will be jiggly. Turn the oven off and leave inside to cool for about an hour. Remove and let cool completely in the fridge. Drizzle with remaining caramel, and chocolate glaze. (Recipe to follow.) To get a nice drizzle, pour either glaze into a sandwich size ziploc bag, and snip off a small piece of the corner, drizzle over the top.

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup powder sugar

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons corn syrup

2 tablespoons milk or soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix everything together. It should be slightly thick, similar to a brownie batter. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well, until smooth. If it is too thick, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Note: The glaze recipe is really " a little of this and a little of that " kind of recipe. I tried my best to estimate the measurements that I use, but I almost always end up adding some more milk or powder sugar to get it to the right consistency.

* Ok, so I admit it, I have no idea how to use a springform pan. I actually didn't use one for this recipe, although you are supposed to use a springform pan when making a cheesecake. So, if you know how to use one, by all means please do. But if you are ignorant in these matters like me, you can use a 9 inch pan. To get a pretty slice, use a disposable pan, and slice the side of the pan open when you slice the first slice so you can slide it out of the pan backwards.

Whoopie pies....joining the bandwagon.

Those of you who follow food blogs will know that there are lots of trends in the food blogging community, not unlike clothing fashion. While yesterdays raging trend was cupcakes in all colors and flavors, the new trend is now whoopie pies. Wow. You have to try them to believe me.We called them devil dogs when I was little, but these whoopie pies are on a whole new level. It seems to me that the difference with whoopie pies is you can mix and match any flavors. There is a new book out called "Whoopie Pies" and in it there are fifty recipes for the cake part and fifty recipes for the filling. Double wow. I have a copy on hold at the library and I can't wait to get my hands on it to try out all the cool combinations that are inside. In the meantime, Bakerella posted peanut butter whoopie pies. They are delicious, and I dare you to stop after one. Without any further ado, I present to you..... 

Whoopie Pies!

Whoopie Pie Cakes

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2  cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl cream shortening , sugar and egg.
In a separate bowl sift together  flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add to other mixture alternately with milk, beating well. Add vanilla at the end.
Drop by large spoonful on greased pan. For even sized cookies, use a melon scoop. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Peanut Butter Filling

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or crunchy)
3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat peanut butter and butter on low until creamy using a mixer.
Add sugar and salt and beat on low to incorporate. Increase speed to medium and beat for about four minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.
Spread filling on flat side on one cooled cake. Top it with a second cake and press gently. Store whoopie pies in an airtight container.

So it doesn't look like the picture....still tastes amazing!

I have a long list in my brain of  "to-try recipes." Of course it would make a lot of sense to actually write down this "list" or at least save them in my favorites, but nope, my life generally doesn't make sense, and who's checking anyways, right? Anyways, the things on my "list" usually get made when I look at the picture, start drooling and my brain starts thinking...."you know, its my neighbor's cousins birthday... I probably should make these cupcakes." Ok maybe not that drastic, but something along those lines. This post from BrownEyedBaker went up a few weeks ago, and I am pretty sure that everyone agrees that they look delicious, so I decided I simply must make them. I followed the recipe exactly- except I substituted Rich's Whip for the heavy cream, and here are the results.

Look the same? Not at all!I think the Rich's Whip was the culprit for "ruining" the frosting. I say this in quotes, since the frosting was delicious. Not light and fluffy like the picture, but it tasted literally like Reese's Pieces. Seriously. And for a Cholov Yisroel convert, this is a huge deal.  Once I saw the frosting was so thick, and adding milk wasn't helping, I realized I had to come up with a Plan B. Her recipe does not call for filling the cupcakes, but since my frosting came out so thick, I figured it would make a good filling - sort of like a Reeses.

Once they were filled, naturally chocolate on top follows, and the peanut butter flower was just for kicks.Result: Delicious. I still wonder what her frosting would have tasted like...next time I will try with authentic heavy cream to see if that was the problem. If you do decide to make these, I want to point out that I was not at all happy with her chocolate cupcake recipe. I love my chocolate cake recipe, and I use it for everything. I found that this recipe just didn't measure up. If I would make these again, I would use my own chocolate cake recipe, and look for a different peanut butter frosting recipe that doesn't call for heavy cream. End of the day, these were delicious, and I was happy that I did not waste a day in the kitchen!

Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce 

1/2 cup dark karo syrup

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

In a small saucepan, combine karo syrup, peanut butter and vanilla sugar. Mix over medium heat until smooth. You can freeze the sauce until you are ready to use it, and defrost when needed.