My husband is a HUGE fan of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  And I always think I am too.  Until I pop one in my mouth and remember that more than chocolately or peanut buttery they taste waxy.  Eh.  (Someone please remind me of this when I'm about to waste one by eating it and not loving it as others do.)

But theoretically I should LOVE them.

I love peanut butter and chocolate.  I love dessert.  I love things that combine salty and sweet.

Enter the homemade, non-waxy variety. 

You had me at hello. 

There are lots of homemade versions of PB Cups out there and I probably love them all.  What caught my eye (other than the fantastic photos) was the inclusion of a little honey graham crunch.  And delicious it was.

Chocolate Topped Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe taken from Blue Eyed Bakers

Made 9 for me

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
Sea salt

Line a  muffin tin with papers (you could also use a mini muffin tin if you prefer).

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter & peanut butter together for 45 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Add graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix to combine.  Distribute mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set peanut butter layer.

After the peanut butter has chilled, combine chocolate and milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 25 second intervals until chocolate is just melted.  Stir until smooth.  Distribute chocolate evenly over the top of the peanut butter layer.  Sprinkle with sea salt and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.  Store covered in the fridge.

Cupcake love. 

Cupcakes seem to be quite polarizing.  I come across people often who say, "What's your deal with cupcakes?  There are so many better types of dessert out there."  To which I respond, "How can you not love cupcakes?  They're cake and they're frosting and their portioned just right." 

I agree that there are lots of delicious desserts out there.  But I also fully agree that cupcakes are delicious. 

If they're good.

Because when they are good they are very, very good.  And when they are bad they are atrocious.  Dry.  Tasteless.  Dull.

These cupcakes are none of those things.

These cupcakes are very, very good.  The cake base is solid and a little bit dense but full of chocolate flavor.  I have a favorite chocolate cake recipe but it just doesn't translate to cupcakes.  It falls in the middle and spreads.  This base domes just the right way to hold a tower of frosting.  

And speaking of frosting.  Nutella buttercream?  Are you kidding me?  It is perfection.  Just enough of that nutty flavor, smooth, chocolatey and whipped to perfection.  I should figure out how I can drink it.

Evidence of the goodness of the frosting:  8 cupcakes littered around my back lawn with all of the frosting licked clean off.  Because that's what 3 year olds do.  Eat the frosting and abandon the cupcake.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Recipe taken from Sally's Baking Addiction

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup water 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

Creamy Nutella Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 cups powdered sugar 3/4 cup Nutella 3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract salt to taste

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line 14 muffin cups with liners. Over high heat, bowl the water in a small saucepan. Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder into a medium sized bowl and mix with boiling water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature by placing in the refrigerator as you prepare the other ingredients. 

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, using an electric hand or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat only until just combined. In a steady stream, add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth. 

Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake for 16-19 minutes, keeping an eye on them to avoid even the slightest burning (which will lend dry cupcakes). My cupcakes took 17 minutes and a toothpick inserted in the middle came out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before frosting. 

Make the frosting: Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. You want a very creamy base before adding anything else. See my extensive notes about this in the post above. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and continue to beat on medium speed. The mixture will be fairly thick. Add the Nutella and continue to beat on medium speed. Add 3 Tablespoons of heavy cream and the vanilla extract.

If the frosting is too thick, add more heavy cream (1 Tablespoon measurements at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1/4 cup measurements at a time). Taste the frosting and add salt to cut the sweetness. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to mine. 

Frost cooled cupcakes with frosting and decorate with candies as desired.

Right.  So I missed Valentines by about two months with these.  Certainly they would have been really cute then!  But as far as I know there isn't a rule against eating red hots in April so I just went with it on a day that I had time to commit to multi-step cookies.

I give the oatmeal cookies 3 thumbs up.  They are soft and buttery ... just how I like them.  They did spread more than I anticipated but frankly that's a frequent problem in my kitchen.  (Does anybody know if airbake pans tend to cause more spreading?)

And the buttercream is well, frosting, and frosting is my favorite.  As I was making it I kept feeling like the red hot flavor was being overwhelmed by the buttery, sugaryness and I was a bit disappointed.  But I found that after the flavors had time to meld and it was slathered between the cookies layers it came out in just the right amount!

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Cinnamon Red Hot Buttercream

Recipe taken from Kitchen Treaty

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup whole-wheat flour (can substitute all-purpose flour)
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats (quick-cooking are fine)

½ cup cinnamon red hots candies, divided
¼ cup water
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
Pinch salt (I added way more than a pinch but I like sweet things to be nicely salty)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer affixed with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, about two to three minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Place a sifter over the bowl and sift in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the oats. Mix just until blended.

Place rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto a nonstick, ungreased cookie sheet (or line the cookie sheet with a silpat).

Bake for about 8 minutes, until the cookies are set and the edges begin to brown.

Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for about five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a very small saucepan, add ¼ cup cinnamon red hot candies and ¼ cup water. Stir frequently over low heat until candies are dissolved, about 10 minutes, and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Using a food processor, crush the remaining ¼ cup cinnamon red hot candies until pulverized. Set aside.

In a stand mixer affixed with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about one minute.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until each addition is well-incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat for about a minute, scraping down the sides if necessary, until light and fluffy.

Reduce the heat to low and slowly drizzle in the cinnamon red hot syrup. Add the pulverized candies and the pinch of salt and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until well-combined.

Note: I like to use a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with a frosting tip to make quick work of filling sandwich cookies, but you can use a knife, too.

Turn half of the cookies upside down and add about 2 – 3 tablespoons of frosting to each upside-down cookie by simply squeezing a generous circle of icing from your pastry bag or Ziploc bag, or spread with a knife. Top with the second cookie.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 – 3 days.

You might not guess this was a very toddler-friendly meal, but in our house it was.  Our kids love beans, which is a good thing because what they don't love is meat.  Except bacon.  And hotdogs.  You know, the types of meat that are more "meat" than meat.

But they slurp-gobbled this right up and Canaan ended up with dessert because I was so, so proud that I didn't have to prod him to eat a single bite of his dinner.  And Eden just kept opening her little beak for more.

That.Never.Happens.

It was wonderfully easy to throw together before heading out to school.  And wonderfully teasing to my husband who had to smell it cooking all day while he ate his cold pb&j.  It's got a nice spicy hit and when it's served over brown rice, it's getting pretty high up there in the nutritional points too.  With a few slices of creamy avocado it's a downright delicious bowl to wrap your hands around.

Slow-Cooker Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Adapted from Southern Living Magazine

1 pound dried red beans 7 cups water 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 pound mexican chorizo, crumbled
3 tablespoons Creole seasoning Hot cooked rice Garnish: sliced green onions or avocado

Hot Cocoa Popsicles?  This might only work in Quito.  Where it's 70 degrees outside and the sun is shining, yet a little part of me likes to have something in common with my Northern friends and family who are making their way through a series of snowstorms. 

Enter the winter treat turned South of many borders.  A hot drink turned cold treat.

These aren't the most creamy, chocolatey pops because they are made primarily with cocoa.  But they are easy, they are tasty and you won't have trouble finishing yours.  And they're just kinda purrty.  And your toddler will love helping make these, using his chubby little fingers to drop mmallows and mini chips down in there.  And your little daughter's beak will flap open and closed as she stares up at you, silently begging for just one more mini chocolate chip on her tongue before she toddles away.

Hot Cocoa Popsicles

Taken from A Pastry Affair

Yields 6 popsicles

1 3/4 cups (415 ml) whole or 2% milk 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 3 tablespoons granulated sugar Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips Mini marshmallows

In a large saucepan, whisk together the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and remove as soon as the cocoa becomes smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract and cool the mixture to room temperature.

Sprinkle 5-10 mini chocolate chips into the bottom of the popsicle molds. Fill molds half full with the cooled hot cocoa and place in 5-8 mini marshmallows, making sure that each marshmallow touches the hot cocoa. Place in the sticks and freeze for at least 1 hour. Remove from freezer and add another layer of mini chocolate chips, hot cocoa, and mini marshmallows. Freeze for 4-6 hours, or until completely frozen.

Serve chilled.

Having recently returned from the US and refilling my peanut butter stash I'm feeling pretty generous with it!  Nate's back to eating it on toast and I've made not one but two! sets of cookies with it.  And both have been SO WORTH IT.  I love peanut butter cookies and wish I could indulge in making them all year round!

I flagged these ones thinking of my dad.  His very favorite cookies used to be these chocolate chip cookies that added rice krispies into them.  He loved that little extra pop in your mouth ... as long as you DON'T overbake the cookies.  A real sin in my house growing up!  

This peanut butter version seemed like one we could both love.  And I know I do.  Too bad my dad doesn't live close enough to come over and try one ... or four.  But maybe my mom will indulge him and try them out!  Because they are pretty tasty little buggers.  Just all peanut butter and vanilla taste, chewy, soft dough, and that little crispy crunch.

Peanut Butter Krispie Cookies

Taken from Sweet Treats & More

Roll into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms start to slightly brown. Let cool for several minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

**not chilling dough will result in a flatter cookie.
makes about 2 dozen

Typically once a year I believe the lies and find myself making a muffin batter that promises to taste just like a donut.  In this case it promised to taste just like a krispie kreme.  This became utterly suspect as I was making them and noticed the inclusion of nutmeg and cinnamon in the batter.  Have you ever noticed a hint of spice in a kk donut?  I surely haven't.

In case you were wondering, these AREN'T krispie kreme donuts.  They aren't remotely like one.  But they are like a spiced, glazed muffin.  And that's a pretty okay thing.   As long as you're hoping for a muffin and not a way to feed your donut obsession without the hefty (Ecuador) $1.25 price tag.

Definitely best eaten the same day.

Glazed Donut Muffins

Taken from B for bel

For the Batter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste (I used ¾)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

Add the eggs, beating to combine.

Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.

When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice.

Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

Recipe adapted from: King Arthur Flour

A week ago I thought, "Soon the rain will come, right?"  Well the rain came.  In bucket-fulls.  In 24-hour long rains.  In puddles in my laundry area.  It came.

It's a good thing we think soup is delicious on a rainy night.

Now let me tell you a short story.  One time my parents flew to Suriname for 10 days.  Meanwhile, I got malaria back at home.  Imagine my older sister scared, caring for me, having to pick me up off the floor where I fainted to take me to the bathroom.  Bundling me with layers and layers of blankets and my whole body contorted with shivers.  Doctor's orders included making me drink 8 glasses of pop a day and two bowls of chicken noodle soup.  My poor sister had to force feed me because I wanted NONE of it.  (I remember having hallucinations about french market doughnuts and sour cream and onion Pringles but nobody was force feeding those to me!)  I missed over a month of school and my boyfriend broke up with me about a day after I returned (6th grade boys need a little more attention than I was able to give I guess!)

To this day I DON'T do chicken noodle soup.  You can understand why, right?

So you can also understand why it's important that I tried this soup and liked it, right?  Because it's delicious and tastes nothing like chicken noodle soup.  It's acidic and bright tasting and you can hit it with as much or as little spice as you like.  And it reminds me not a bit of being sick.

Lemony Chicken Noodle Soup with Ginger, Chili, and Cilantro

Taken from Fine Cooking

Serves 4 (7 cups total)

1 lemon 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, halved, and seeded 6 cups homemade or canned low-salt chicken broth 4 oz. fresh Chinese egg noodles (look in the produce section of your supermarket) (I used alphabet noodles simple because long noodles are hard for little kids to eat!)
2 Tbs. fish sauce (preferably Thai Kitchen brand); more to taste 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (this is easier if the chicken is partially frozen)

So I introduced you to my take on shortbread but followed with a somewhat lackluster rendition of it.  But that's because I knew that there was better to come and so a shortbread mention was warranted.  Because about three weeks after I tried that shortbread, I made this shortbread.

And this was my kind of shortbread.  Lots of peanut butter, lots of butter, careful cooking time followed by a big dunk in chocolate and a zingy little pop of flaky sea salt.  Oh yes. 

Yes, I could have kicked myself for not doubling the recipe.  Yes, it was worth the splurge into my US Peanut Butter stash.  Yes, Nate still referred to it as sawdust.

And THEN.  Perplexingly.  Proceeded to eat the LAST TWO in two bites.  I mean, really???  Save them for someone who appreciates them fully.  Like, say, me!

Peanut Butter Shortbread with Salted Chocolate

Taken from What Megan's Making

Directions:

Shortbread.  You either love it or you hate it. 

It's no chocolate chip cookie, which is pretty much universally loved.  The debate will always rage on about the ultimate chocolate chip, but the point is that we're all eating them.  Not so with shortbread.  To my husband shortbread has a very "sawdust" quality.  Pretty sure that's not a good thing.  But me?  I sometimes enjoy a break from all the wonderful chewy cookies out there and look for something with a whole lot of better and a bit more crumble.

If you're going to make shortbread, though, it should be fantastic.  You know, in the hopes of winning over some of those non-shortbread people with a particularly spectacular one.  To be honest, this wasn't it.  If you like shortbread it was good, the texture was right and the cinnamon was a nice hit.  But the brown butter didn't sing.  And more importantly I decided to use white chocolate to top these when the original recipe used dark chocolate.  That was probably my most fatal error and if you decide to try them, I'd definitely recommend the dark.  The white chocolate just blended in and didn't give much contrast.

Brown Butter-Cinnamon Shortbread with White Chocolate Drizzle

Adapted from Tutti Dolci

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz white chocolate, chopped
Silver glitter crystals

Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass bowl or measuring cup and chill in the freezer until solid, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 300°F and line a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat solidified brown butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla, then reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; mix just to combine (dough will be crumbly).

Scrape dough into prepared baking dish; use a piece of parchment to press dough into an even layer. Chill pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 35 to 36 minutes, until firm and golden. Immediately score (make shallow cuts in dough) into 30 rectangles. Cool completely in dish on a rack, then carefully lift shortbread out of dish and place on a cutting board; slice with a sharp knife.

Place chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until glossy and smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a pastry bag or squeeze bottle; pipe chocolate onto shortbread* and top with sprinkles. Let set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

*alternately just drizzle with a spoon as I did for a less uniform but still totally yummy look