Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I am still making and baking my way through Tate's Bakeshop Cookbook.  Now this recipe takes a few steps so be prepared and a little patient.  But it's oh so worth it.

The first step to this pie is to make the crust.  It's very simple.  All you need are Oreos and butter.

I used about 2 1/2 rows of Oreos and 6 tablespoons of butter for the crust.  Crush the Oreos by either smashing them in a large plastic bag or using a food processor.

Melt the butter and pour it in the cookie crumbs.  Stir until all the butter is incorporated.  Press down into a pie shell or cake pan.

The recipe doesn't necessarily call for pushing the cookie crust up on the edges. But do you really know anyone who would argue against extra Oreo crust?  Yeah, me neither.  Bake the crust for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cool completely before adding in the filling.

For the filling, you will need the following:
12 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

Using a mixer, combine your cream cheese, PB, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until light and fluffy.  In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff.  Now take the whipped cream and fold it into the peanut butter mixture.  This will help lighten the peanut butter mixture.

Spoon onto your Oreo crust and try to make as level as possible.  I still need to work on the leveling part.  You will see why when you add the topping. 

Now if you need to catch up on dishes or brush the remaining Oreo crumbs off your chest, then throw the pie in the fridge until you can make your topping.

For the topping, you will need:
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Toss the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and turn on medium heat.

Once the cream comes to a boil, pull the saucepan off the heat.  Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and everything is combined.  Let the saucepan sit and cool for a bit. You want the chocolate to be pourable, but not too runny.  Once it reaches that consistency, carefully pour it on top of the peanut butter filling.  See why I still need to work on the leveling part?

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible.  The book suggests placing chopped peanuts on top. But you can always do more crushed Oreos, Reese Cups, or just leave it plain and simple.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie - Print Recipe

Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are DE-licious.  There is lots of butter, tons of chocolate chips, and they are flat enough that you don't feel guilty eating 4 or 5 in one sitting.  Not that I did that or anything.

What you will need:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of salted butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon of water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Sift together your flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set the bowl aside for now.  With a mixer, cream your butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add the water and vanilla and mix real quick.  The key to these cookies is not to over mix.  If you do, you will incorporate air and it will make them fluffy.  You want flat cookies.

Add the eggs and mix until just combined.  Stir in the flour mixture and again...mix until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Drop the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.    I should have baked mine longer because the recipe calls for brown edges and center.  So it all depends on how soft you like your cookies.  Have fun!

Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies - Print Recipe

Can you guess what I am making?

Here's the first clue.

And here's the second clue.

Really?  Who just said lasagna?  Show your face.  Because this is so NOT lasagna.

So I know most of you do not have an ice cream machine at home, but they are really cool appliances that don't have to cost that much.

I got my Cuisinart 2-quart mixer here for about 60 bucks.

What you will need:
1 1/2 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
6 ounces of of chopped semisweet chocolate, plus an extra 2 ounces chopped to throw in as a topping at the end
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup fo chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of mini marshmallows

In a large saucepan, combine the whole milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream together.  Turn on medium heat and cook until small bubbles form around the edge.  Pour the hot milk over the chopped 6 ounces of chocolate and let sit for about 3 minutes to melt.  Whisk together until you have a smooth mix.

In a separate bowl, combine your egg yolks, remaining cream, sugar, and salt.

Now comes the tempering of the egg mixture.  Pour a little bit of the hot chocolate mix into your egg mix and stir.  Slowly add a little more.  You are trying to raise the temperature of the egg mixture slowly.  You don't want to cook the eggs.

Pour the warm egg mixture back into the large saucepan.  Now add the remaining hot chocolate mix stirring constantly.

Turn the heat back onto medium.  You do not want this mix to boil so you have to pay attention.  You are going to let the mix heat back up and start to get thick.  This may take a few minutes so be patient.  You know the mix is thickened to the right consistency when you can cover the back of the spoon and run your finger down and it leaves a clean line.

Once the mix has thickened, you are going to have to strain it through fine mesh.  This makes sure all the little bits and pieces come out so you have a nice smooth ice cream base.

Add in your vanilla at this point and stir.  Place the bowl in an ice bath to help the mix cool down faster.

Once the mix has cooled down to room temperature, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream base.  This will help it from forming a skin or crust.

Throw the mix in the fridge anywhere from 3 to 24 hours.  I was impatient so my mix was only in the fridge for about 4 hours.  Add the mix to your ice cream machine according to the instructions and let the magic begin.

Throw the marshmallows, chopped nuts, and other what-nots into the mix about 5 minutes before the mixing is done.  Throw it in the freezer (in an airtight container of course) if you like it a thicker consistency.


Rocky Road Ice Cream - Print Recipe

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

I went to the library this weekend and I found this great little cookbook called Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.  I have heard of Tate's before.  Apparently, she rubs elbows with the Barefoot Contessa.  If you have EVER watched the Food Network, then you know who THAT is.

Anyways, there are quite a few recipes I want to try out of this small book.  The first one I did was these double chocolate mint cookies.  Forgive me, I was playing around with my new favorite app on my phone.  Instagram rules!

What you will need:
1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (it calls for dark, but I only had light...they were still wonderful!)
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 large eggs
1 box of Andes Mints
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

First step is to unwrap all of your Andes Mints and break them in half.

Melt the 1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Once the chocolate is stirred smooth, set it aside so it cools a little.

Now take the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine it in a small bowl.

Now to the mixing.  Cream your butter, sugars, and vanilla together in a bowl until creamy.  Add the eggs and scrape down the bowl.  Now add your cooled melted chocolate to the egg butter mixture and combine until light and fluffy.  Throw in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Now stir your mints and remaining chocolate chips in by hand.

Drop the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet or use a portion scoop so they come out all nice and neat. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  I did a small test batch at 10 minutes like the recipe suggests.  The cookies were good, but seemed a little over-baked.  I dropped the time to 8 minutes and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes when they came out of the oven.  I transferred them to a rack a few minutes later.  There was a HUGE difference in the cookies that were cooked the smaller amount of time.  They were soft and gooey in the middle and the perfect compliment to my glass of milk last night.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies - Print Recipe

Tropical Cereal Bars

Here is another recipe from my Paula Deen magazine I get in the mail.  Think Rice Krispie treats meets the Bahamas....and cholesterol.  Because you can't have a Paula Deen recipe without butter.

I couldn't help myself.  Yes, these bars have a little bit of butter in them.  Don't worry, I think the Cheerios and pineapple help cancel it out.

What you will need:
4 cups of miniature marshmallows
1/4 butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 1/2 cups of toasted oat cereal
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
1/4 cup of sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

First step is to chop up your pineapple.  I bought mine at the grocery store near the produce section.

Next toast up some coconut.  As the magazine suggests, you can always go for unsweetened coconut flakes. But sometimes they are a little harder to find.

Throw your marshmallows and butter in a saucepan and turn on low heat.

Once the butter starts to melt, start stirring so the marshmallows are coated with the butter.  This will help them melt a little faster.  Once the marshmallows are melted and stirred smooth, take the saucepan off the heat.  Add in your vanilla.

Pour in your cereal and pineapple and stir.  Sorry.  No pictures.  It's a little hard to stir and click at the same time.  Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and press the mix down.

Sprinkle your toasted coconut on top.  Let the bars cool and then cut into shapes.


And now for something new...

Tropical Cereal Bars - Print Recipe


Slowly, but surely, I am going to have this option on my recipes I blog about.  Just check at the bottom of the post and you get a super easy-to-read version of the recipe to print out if you would like to try some of the desserts at home!

Cinnamon Butter Cookies

As he was shoving two of these cookies in his mouth, I think I heard my husband say that they would be good with ice cream.  I personally can picture them with hot chocolate.  But since it's 10 billion degrees in Florida right now, I would be insane to try out this hypothesis.  Maybe I should go the ice cream route.

What you will need:
1 1/2 cups of pastry flour ( or cake flour )
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Topping
1/8 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

The main star of the cookie

and its supporting cast

Start off by mixing your topping.  Set the bowl aside for use later.

Measure out your flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and throw them in a bowl together.  Stir them up and set the bowl aside.

Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy.  Add in the egg.  Once the egg is mixed in, add in the vanilla and salt.  Slowly add in the flour mixture.  The dough will be super thick.

Once the dough is mixed, drop onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Flatten the dough with the bottom of a small glass.  You may have to cover the glass with a little powdered sugar first so the dough doesn't stick too much.  Don't worry...the sugar will disappear.

Once the cookies are flattened, sprinkle on the topping you mixed earlier.

Bake in an oven set at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  And as summer is coming into full swing, take my husband's mumbled suggestion and try them with some ice cream.

Cinnamon Butter Cookies - Print Recipe

Frozen Lemonade Pie

This is another recipe courtesy of Shine.  Super yummy, super tart, super easy....

What you will need:
1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk
1 small package of lemon instant pudding mix
1 Tablespoon of lemon zest
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened (really really softened)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 (12 oz) can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 9 inch ready-made graham cracker crust

Whisk together the evaporated milk, lemon pudding mix, and lemon zest for about 2 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese and vanilla together in a bowl until it is light and fluffy.  Make sure the cream cheese is super soft like I mentioned in the ingredient list.  If the cream cheese is too cold, then it will separate when you mix in the liquid ingredients.

I didn't include the picture here because my cream cheese was too cold.  Not that the final product tasted bad, it just looked a little funny.  Again...it didn't slow me down when it came time to eat the pie.

Add the lemonade concentrate to the cream cheese and mix until smooth.  Add in the milk mixture and mix until blended.  It will be really soupy.

Pour into the prepared pie crust and freeze until firm.

Top off slices of the pie with cool whip when serving.  It will help cut down on the tartness of all the lemony goodness.

Frozen Lemonade Pie - Print Recipe