Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

The original recipe came from a booklet I got in the mail from Smith’s grocery store (part of the Kroger chain). At first I wasn’t sold on these until they sat in the refrigerator over night– I didn’t like the flavor from the confectioner’s sugar and the graham crackers. But when we ate them the next day, it was like eating candy bar; not too sweet and a nice texture. I also used dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s because I’m not a fan of the regular chocolate chips the recipe called for. Finally, I used a smaller pan to make the bars higher rather than flatter. These definitely have made it onto the list of future desserts, especially for a party.

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups graham crackers crumbs (I whirl them up in the food processor using the pulse button)

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 cup plus 4 Tablespoons peanut butter, divided

1 ½ cups chocolate

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioner’s sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased square pan.

Microwave the chocolate with the 4 Tablespoons peanut butter on high for 1 minute. Stir. Continue microwaving or stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares and serving. Store bars in airtight container in refrigerator. 

A Minty Chocolate Cookie

These aren't about Girl Scout cookies. Instead, they are about the Frango Mint cookies. If you've ever had a Frango Mint cookie (a staple of Marshall Field's now sold at Macys during the holidays– unless you live in the Chicago area and you can find them at Macys any time), you know what I mean. The Girl Scout cookies don't hold a candle to the Frango cookies. 

Because I was recently cleared to eat chocolate again after suffering years of allergic reactions to it, I've been sampling different types of cookies and such. I found the thin mints are awful. And Oreos aren't any better. Ah, but those Frangos.

While the recipe below doesn't include any Frango chocolate, it's as close as I can get. For now. And Greg will agree, it's pretty good.

Minty Chocolate Cookies

(The wafer cookie recipe is from the Cooking Channel– Homemade Chocolate Wafer Cookies by Zoe Francois)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, well packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Sift the dry ingredients before adding to the creamed butter if there are any lumps.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture and mix just to combine, adding the milk and again mixing just to combine.

Form the dough into two 1 1/2-inch-thick logs, wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least an hour. 

Prepare two baking sheets with parchment or other non-stick surface. Slice the log of cookie dough into 1/8-inch-thick coins.

Arrange on the baking sheets with about 1 1/2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 8 minutes and rotate the trays back to front and switch from top and bottom racks (I used the top two racks). Bake for 2 more minutes or until they are dry looking and firm. But don't let them stay in the oven too long because they will burn and you won't be able to tell.

Let cookies cool on a rack and prepare mint dip, this from Martha Stewart.

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe dish and microwave until melted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the peppermint extract and stir until the mixture is smooth. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment (I used the sheets I had baked the cookies on) and place each cookie into the melted chocolate and turn to coat. With a fork, lift the cookie from the bowl, let the excess drip off, and transfer to prepared sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes.

Makes several dozen cookies.

The Dome

At my bridal shower, when I opened the Martha Stewart cake plate and dome that I had registered for and received as a gift (from my sister), someone said, "I didn't know they still made those."

That's far from my world. I love my dome. While part of the reason the dome is out all the time is because I don't have a good place to store it, I also decided it was a good way of keeping it full. While it was empty for several months leading up to the wedding and then after while we were away (I previously wrote about how Greg banned me from making anything to put in the dome in the weeks leading up to the wedding),

By having it on the counter, I am constantly thinking of what I can make to put in it. Of course the recent zucchini muffin disaster doesn't help (I somehow managed to grab the rice flour instead of the gluten-free flour). We try to eat well and it's a game for me to figure out different ways I can make desserts more healthy and not so laden with flour and butter.

Or in the case of the fudgy vs. cakey brownies you have to pick between more butter or more flour– I wanted more butter but Greg wanted more flour. He then reminded me of how I swindled him out of his coffee milkshake in Taos when I didn't like the maple one I got (this scene is replayed in my new book, The Green Dress). So I went with more flour and gave Greg the cakey brownies he wanted.

The dome has become a joke with some of our friends, too. One weekend I found the leftover hot dog and hamburger buns from our lunch by the pool in the dome.

"The dome needed something," my friend Debi said.

It's not that hard to keep the dome full. After our wedding, we had the leftovers from brunch and I put the desserts in it, trying to tempt everyone to eat them before we left for our honeymoon. 

The dome has brought us not just a conversation piece but laughter and as we all know, it's not just about eating food, but often we like to talk about it, too.

Find the cakey brownie recipe from Martha Stewart that I used here.

The S'mores Bars

Since I was cleared of my chocolate allergy in December, I've been venturing into chocolate recipes rather than altering them for carob (which isn't always possible because carob melts differently). However, I've also noticed how much my tastes have changed.

We don't eat a lot of sugar and when we do eat it, we've come to realize how much we don't enjoy it like we used to. I also now realize that I don't particularly enjoy chocolate without peanut butter.

I thought this would be the most brilliant recipe and divine to eat but honestly I'm not that impressed. I did like the meringue– and it was very much like marshmallows!– but if I did this over again, I'd swirl peanut butter into the chocolate to add more depth to the flavor. I also wasn't that impressed with the directions. All the times were off from what what it took for me to follow steps like melt the chocolate and butter (it said 5 minutes and it took me more like 2). 

For the chocolate lover though it's worth a try. And for one who wants to make a S'more without the campfire. 

Find the recipe here.