Peanut Butter Pebbles

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/10/17.shtml

Wow. Where did the time go??? Family needs, husband away on missile work that added to my days, priming and painting walls and ceilings, along with Hurricane Sandy. She left me without power for 17 hours, and some serious cleanup in the basement and 3 weeks is gone before I know it. This recipe is out of order, but I promised the Mr. that he would get the mac and cheese when he came home from somewhere across the International Date Line, and my hurricane husband made landfall at Washington-Dulles International Airport three days ago, so the mac and cheese recipe will happen in the next few days, along with the pork chop recipe. Whew!

This recipe was made the weekend before Sandy showed up. I was able to share it around the neighborhood with several people, and it got rave reviews.

It was really a crazy recipe! I have never made anything like this, with the confectioner's sugar, and the big plastic bag to shake it up, but that big bag is key to incorporate the sugar and break the cereal pieces apart. I was impressed with how it went from the chocolatey, sticky bowl full, to a bag full of individual pieces that were coated with the sugar, and were not messy at all! I had a few clumps of ones that I didn't get broken apart, but they were fine, and delicious. Any time chocolate and peanut butter are mixed together is okay by me.

I would imagine that the Supremes would have loved this, but the other two were at sea on another mission, different from my Mr.'s, so the kids around the neighborhood got to enjoy this treat. I just bagged it up in zip bags, and handed it out. Oh, and it was gone in a day!

Thank you, Mrs. Sundberg. :-)

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/08/22.shtml

I'll say right away that chocolate, caramel and a bit o' salt is a great combination of flavors. I have always enjoyed sweet and salty, but putting chocolate in the mix kicked this into delicious for me. I heard a long time ago, that if you want something sweet, find the very best, and enjoy a reasonable amount of it. I have tried eating a substitution for what I really wanted, and was not sated. So now if I want chocolate, I get exactly what I want...usually dark chocolate, about 60% cacao works. The recipe didn't specify dark or milk, so I used dark because I like it. Plus dark chocolate is good for our heart, brain, contains antioxidants, theobromine—which hardens tooth enamel, has vitamins and minerals, and helps control blood sugar. Like I needed a reason to eat dark chocolate.

This called for two delicious teaspoons of vanilla, and it won't be long before I have to make more. 3 vanilla beans, split, scraped, and everything put into some vodka has given me the best vanilla to add to recipes. I don't think I will ever buy commercial vanilla again. I am on the hunt for unusual vanilla beans to make the next batch.

I used crystalline sea salt because that's what I had, but I did a little looking around online, and even though salt is mostly salt, there crystalline, flaked, sea, rock, himalayan....and it goes on. Sea salt mostly comes from Portugal to Maine and California to the Pacific Rim. Having finished the baking of these, I would say that next time, and there WILL be a next time, I will use a little more salt. I like that little burst that comes mixed in with the sweetness of these, and there wasn't quite enough.

The Mr. is home for a dentist app't. so armed with a cup of coffee, he unwrapped the caramels for me. Ended up being 10.4 oz, but I think one or two for the part that stuck to the bowl was about right.

Dividing the dough, more specifically, spreading the second half on top of the melted caramel took a bit of patience. I am more of a drop and plop sort of cook, and I had to work a little with these to get the caramel covered. As you can see, the middle was a little thin. But the dough raised up over it and they turned out fine.

They sank a little in the middle as they cooled, and are a little soft in the center, but I think they will set up fine. Two pieces later, this recipe is going in the file, and will be made again and again. And yes, ice cream would be good with it, but it is fine just as it is, naked straight out of the pan.

The rest of them are going to a meeting tomorrow where the Supremes and 5 other ballistic missile people will be my unknowing taste testers. The missile stuff may be top secret, but any remarks on this deliciousness is coming straight back to the cook! 

Thank you Mrs. Sundberg. :-)

Buckeye Bars

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/08/06.shtml

That classic peanut butter and chocolate combination is loud and clear with these delicious bars. Of all the times I made what we called Buckeyes when I lived in Ohio, I never thought to make them as a bar instead of rolling them into balls and dipping each one in melted chocolate. Delicious, but time consuming. This recipe was all the goodness with a lot less work. Although, made that way reflected the fact that I lived in the Buckeye State, the Buckeye is the state tree, a football team, and the nut of the tree was called that because it resembled a buck's eye. So who am I to mess with tradition.

I know I said that I wasn't going to change these recipes, but in our house, there's just one peanut butter: CHUNKY. I can take it or leave it, but the Mr. must have it. I liked the addition of it to this recipe. A little texture was nice. I also used my well worn 9 x 9" pan so they were a little thicker, which meant that they were cut smaller...about 1" square. 

This went together quickly. It took about 6 minutes, and they were in the fridge to set up. Cleaning up took longer than mixing up.

They didn't last long either. One of the Supremes is off on a motorcycle adventure to Sturgis, South Dakota, so he missed out. The other two were more than happy to eat his share. The nice thing about these is that the richness makes a small piece satisfying. They had one with coffee early in the day, and another one after lunch. They had two days' worth, and they didn't eat them all at once, but a little goes a long way. Another note: sitting them on the counter for about 20 minutes or so made them easier to cut, and likewise for eating. They didn't melt, but softened up nicely. And tasted GOOD.

 

Thank you, Mrs. Sundberg. :-)