Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
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Did I mention I got a job? I did! The company I was freelancing for hired me on permanently, so I am officially no longer funemployed. And not only do I have a regular paycheck again, I have guinea pigs again!
Which brings me to these bars. I wanted to make something that wouldn’t take a long time and didn’t involve scooping or frosting. One of my coworkers has hinted toward peanut butter and chocolate all week, so I Googled “peanut butter cookie bars” and came across these. The recipe met my requirements and was super easy to make. In fact, you could even make them with just a bowl and a wooden spoon. The bars are thin and moist, and while they’re not my favorite bar cookie ever, they’re great for those days you want to make something quick and easy.
Photos of the process here.
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. quick oats
chocolate chips to sprinkle on top
Stir together melted butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to combine. Stir in oats. Press mixture into a 9×13 pan (lightly greased). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Return to oven until golden brown and baked through, about 8-10 more minutes.
Adapted from One Ordinary Day.
Guinness Brownies
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My cousin‘s amazing band is touring the west coast right now (you should check them out!), and I wanted to make the guys some treats to have while on the road.
In addition to everyone’s favorite cookies, I wanted to to try something different, and figured this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Guinness brownie recipe everyone is always raving about around St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m happy to report the brownies with a hit with the band! They’re fudgy, rich, and full of chips, and while the Guinness gives them a distinct flavor, if I hadn’t known it was an ingredient I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. One strange part of the recipe calls for melting not only bittersweet chocolate with the butter, but white chocolate as well, something I’ve never seen before. I’m wondering what the white chocolate does to the brownies that milk or semi-sweet wouldn’t do.
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate (chopped or measured chips)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups Guinness Extra Stout beer, room temperature, no foam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease 9×13 pan.
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In double boiler over low heat, melt butter, bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate chips. Stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add spoonful of egg mixture to chocolate mixture to cool it off (you don’t want to cook your eggs.) Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat well.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until just combined. Whisk in beer. Pour in chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes (checking for doneness starting at 25 minutes). Brownies are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let brownies cool to room temperature before cutting.
Recipe from Confabulation in the Kitchen.
Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
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While down in San Diego at my parents’ house for Mother’s Day weekend, I happily discovered the last few Rice Krispies Treats my sister had made sitting on the kitchen counter. Knowing they weren’t going to last long, and in the mood to make something easy yet delicious, I thought it was the perfect opportunity try this adult twist on Rice Krispies Treats.
While these may look like your typical Rice Krispies Treats, they’re definitely not. Sure, they’re sweet and chewy just like the original, but when you’re least expecting it, the salt makes a very welcome appearance. And while I didn’t really notice any difference from browning the butter, I’m not complaining. These treats are yummy!
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Preparation
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan.
Let cool and cut into squares.
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
