Ok. I finally started my Christmas baking today. I must be the world's messiest baker. When I start mixing and folding and all that jazz, ingredients go everywhere. When I finished, the kitchen needed to be hosed down, and it wouldn't have been a bad idea for Jorge to take me outside and turn the garden hose on me. Somehow, I had chocolate syrup on my elbow. Now, I'm not above licking my fingers (when I'm through!), but even I draw the line at trying to lick my elbow. People look at you funny if you do. Don't ask how I know; just trust me. Anyhoo, today's project was something new, using my two favorite foods: chocolate and peanut butter. Yummy, yum, yum! Now, as always, they didn't turn out artistically pretty, but they taste good, and that's really all that matters to us. I know some people get all tied up in knots over the looks of their baked goods, but when it's for home or close friends, I say life is too short to worry about it. Just sit down, put your feet up, and eat the chocolate. It tastes the same whether it's pretty or not.
PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE BROWNIES
1 box brownie mix
1/4 c water
2/3 c vegetable oil
3 eggs
Baker's Joy Non-Stick Cooking Spray with Flour
2 c creamy peanut butter
3c powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 c semi-sweet chocolate morsels
4 Tbsp Crisco
OPTIONAL: red and green sprinkles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with Baker's Joy Non-Stick Cooking Spray with Flour. Mix peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Combine ingredients for brownie mix following package instructions for cake-like brownies. Fill each muffin cup with 1 Tbsp of batter. Bake 8-10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let brownies cool, then turn out onto cookie sheet. Melt Crisco in a saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate morsels and stir until melted. Let mixture cool. Top each brownie with 1 Tbsp peanut butter mixture. Try (key word: TRY) to smooth peanut butter over the top of the brownie. Pour 1 Tbsp chocolate over peanut butter mixture. Sprinkle red and green candy sprinkles over brownies, if desired. Set in refrigerator for chocolate to set before serving.
Makes 24 brownies.
Now, as you can see, mine did not turn out all nice and smooth and perfect. So, if your peanut butter topping is a little lumpy, don't get your halo in a knot. It tastes the same, anyway. That's my philosophy....
Until next time, Happy Cooking! : )
Daisy Cooks!: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World by Daisy Martinez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a food blogger and long-time hard-core foodie, I have a collection of cookbooks that encompass many types of cuisines. I read cookbooks like normal people read novels. Cover-to-cover, stopping to enjoy the pictures along the way. Only after I've done that do I start trying the recipes. I first encountered Daisy on her PBS show, "Daisy Cooks!" and was excited to find a Puerto Rican cooking show. However, Daisy does not confine herself to her native Puerto Rican/Nuyorican recipes, but includes foods and recipes from all of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I have used it several times, and have always been happy with the results. She always explains the background of the recipe (origin, history, etc.) and the recipe is broken down into simple steps that even a novice cook can follow. The tone of the book is fun and chatty, as though you're swapping recipes with a friend.
Daisy Cooks!: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World by Daisy MartinezMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a food blogger and long-time hard-core foodie, I have a collection of cookbooks that encompass many types of cuisines. I read cookbooks like normal people read novels. Cover-to-cover, stopping to enjoy the pictures along the way. Only after I've done that do I start trying the recipes. I first encountered Daisy on her PBS show, "Daisy Cooks!" and was excited to find a Puerto Rican cooking show. However, Daisy does not confine herself to her native Puerto Rican/Nuyorican recipes, but includes foods and recipes from all of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I have used it several times, and have always been happy with the results. She always explains the background of the recipe (origin, history, etc.) and the recipe is broken down into simple steps that even a novice cook can follow. The tone of the book is fun and chatty, as though you're swapping recipes with a friend.
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published June 1st 2006 by Hyperion
Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles. - -Unknown
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TAGS: PEANUT BUTTER, FUDGE, BROWNIES
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