Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread

I just came across this picture today and realized I never posted this recipe.  This is a fun twist on regular banana bread or even chocolate banana bread... add peanut butter into the mix!  If you can't tell, I'm a sucker for sweet breads.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread

2 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 TB baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c mashed ripe banana (approx 2 med)
1/3 c milk
1/3 c peanut butter
3 TB oil
1 egg
1 c milk chocolate morsels, divided (Or use 3/4 c. morsels inside and 1/4 c. minis for on top)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray bottom only of loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add bananas, milk, peanut butter, oil and egg; stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in ¾ cup of the milk chocolate morsels. Spoon batter into pan. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of milk chocolate morsels evenly over batter.

Bake 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Watch and check the last ten minutes because oven temperatures vary and you do not want to overcook it! Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove loaf to non stick cooling rack and cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf.

Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies

 

I made these the other night for a get-together with some friends and they were gobbled up!  I think this may have been the first time I've ever made brownies from scratch!  I usually just use a box mix and add things to it.  I love the combination of peanut butter and cream cheese in the marble part of this mix.  This recipe comes from The Sisters Cafe. 

Peanut Butter Marbled Brownies

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tb milk

1 cup butter, melted *for lower fat version read note

2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, beat together the first 5 ingredients until smooth.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, 2 cups sugar, and vanilla.  Mix in eggs, one at a time.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Mix into the batter.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Spread batter into prepared pan. Drop the peanut butter filling on top by large spoonfuls.  Using a butter knife, gently swirl peanut butter filling through the chocolate batter to create a marbled effect.  Once you are done swirling, you may need to tap the pan on a towel covered counter to make the batter settle.  Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted one inch from the edge comes out clean.  Cool completely, then cut into small squares.

*To cut calories you can substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce for 1/4 cup of butter.  In fact, with most recipes you can substitute up to 1/3 of the fat with applesauce without compromising the taste.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candies

These are a tasty, if fattening, treat. They're pretty much homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. This time we gave most of them away. That was a good thing because I could have eaten the whole pan myself.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 lb package powdered sugar
1-12 oz. package chocolate chips
1-2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter

Melt butter. Add graham cracker crumbs (I crush mine in a blender), peanut butter and powdered sugar. Using a mixer, blend well. Pat into a 9X13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and 1-2 teaspoons of peanut butter (makes the chocolate spread easier) and spread evenly over top. Refrigerate 10-20 minutes. Cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

So this was my first ever trifle. I found an inexpensive trifle dish at WalMart a month or so ago and had been waiting for company to come into town so I could make this dessert and have people to help me eat it! This dessert is really rich and filling! The recipe has you add peanut butter to the pudding but I bet it would be great (and less peanut-buttery) to just use plain vanilla pudding. But either way - it is good!

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

9x13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces
5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (buy in a 10-pack. Not the bite-sized)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.

Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip.

Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. Chill until serving.

KISSES Peanut Butter Blossoms

I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate! Mmmm! Always a crowd pleaser, these cookies are easy to make and they stay nice and soft. I tore this recipe out of a Martha Stewart magazine but I'm pretty sure this is the original Hershey's recipe.

KISSES Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 Hershey's Kisses Chocolates
1/2 c. shortening (can use butter)
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375. Remove foil from Kisses chocolates.

2. 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.

3. Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. (I bake exactly 8 minutes and they come out perfect.) Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and allow to cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

If you like the combination of chocolate and peanut butter you are going to love these cookies! And to think the recipe came off the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips package! Even my husband who rarely eats sweets really liked these cookies.

2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. butter, softened (I only used 1 c. and I used vegetable oil spread because I'm out of butter - came out great and cookies didn't flatten!)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 10 oz. package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Heat oven to 350. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside. In another bowl combine butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Beat well and then gradually add flour mixture. Stir in Reese's chips and drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake about 8-9 minutes.