Peanut Butter Bars (Gluten Free)

Peanut Butter Bars are always a hit.  I've been making them since I was in high school, and there's never been a time when they weren't VERY well received.

This time around, I made them gluten-free so that I wouldn't leave out the gluten-free people that they would be shared with.  My recipe usually includes graham cracker crumbs.  I subbed in cashew meal and coconut flour instead.  If you want to make them the regular way, just replace the same amount of graham cracker crumbs back in.

What you need:

Base:
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
scant cup EACH cashew meal (or almond) and coconut flour
2+ cups powdered sugar

Ganache Topping:
8 ounces chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate *see note
4 ounces heavy cream


Mix together peanut butter and butter until smooth.  Stir in the cashew meal and coconut flour.  Add the powdered sugar and stir until the mixture becomes a thick mass.  It WILL be very crumbly at first, but stick with it and it will form a dough-like mass.  Pat this into a deep-sided container (I actually used two smaller Pyrex containers this time, but a 11 x 7 inch pan works perfectly.  I've also done 13 x 9, but you will have thinner bars).

Now, for the ganache topping:  Melt the chocolate and the heavy cream together over a double broiler (place a metal bowl on top of a sauce pan with water in it to make your own double broiler).  Once smoothly mixed, pour over the top of the peanut butter mixture.  Refrigerate for an hour or two before cutting into bars.  Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!



*I usually get Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips- cheaper than the bars of bittersweet, but nicer quality than regular chocolate chips.  I was stuck with Tollhouse this time around, which works fine.

Chocolate Chip (M&M) Blondies

It's already the 19th of December and I had yet to do any holiday baking until today.  Various factors involved there, but one of the big ones is the size of my kitchen here in New York.  And the size of the oven, which does not accommodate the baking sheet I brought with me.  But I bought a smaller one yesterday, and came up with a plan to tackle the rest of the size issue: bar cookies!  I love doing fancier cookies at Christmas, but with a kitchen my size (and the fact that I didn't bring my cookie press or cookie cutters to Brooklyn) making them seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth.  Bar cookies are super easy and a time saver.  Mix it up, spread it out, bake, and done!  No rolling or shaping, or even plopping drops down.  I added Christmas M&Ms and a ganache drizzle to make them a little more festive.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 coconut oil, melted (or just use more butter)
2 cups brown sugar (I used the natural brown sugar that is more granular, but regular would be fine)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 Frangelico( hazelnut liquor) or amaretto (or omit and add a little less flour)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips or mini M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar.  Add the eggs and egg yolk.  Mix well.  Stir in the Frangelico and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until the flour is mixed in.  Add the M&Ms or chocolate chips and stir.  Spread in a nonstick or greased baking sheet with low sides (mine was 10"x15"... you can use a 13"x9" pan or 11"x14" pan... increase the baking time for the 13"x9" pan).  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Cut into bars and serve!  If you want, drizzle ganache on top to spiff it up (recipe below).



Ganache (optional):
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 heavy cream

Melt the chocolate chips and cream together in a double boiler (place a metal or pyrex bowl on top of a pan filled with water... bring water to a boil.  Chocolate chips and cream go in the top bowl).  That's it!

Chocolate Chip PUMPKIN Cookies

It's Fall and everyone is obsessing over pumpkin.  Every time I walk into Trader Joe's, I'm bombarded by the displays of delicious pumpkin everything.  Now that it's mid-October, I'm was being to feel left out of the fun since I had yet to bake/make anything pumpkin.

Luckily, I have a little niece in need of a Halloween care package.   So I'm making these, making a card, and I got some Halloween stickers to send her.  Working on achieving favorite aunt status. ;-)

These cookies have a whole can of pumpkin in them!  So you don't have to worry about using the remainder of the can, which is neat and tidy.  I didn't want them to be super cakey though, which is why I used the egg yolks instead of only whole eggs (Full disclosure: I actually had planned on using ONLY yolks, but forgot and dropped the whole first egg in.  These turned out well, so it works.  Feel free to try with just three yolks though and see how that turns out!)

I wanted to make these as "real"/natural as possible but didn't really care about skimping on fat and sugar.  You can definitely sub in regular sugar and all-purpose flour.  If you don't have coconut oil, I think some sort of shortening would be best, texture wise, but you can also just use another 1/2 butter.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla (or amaretto or whatever sweet liquor you have hanging around... that's what I do when I don't have vanilla or just want to mix up the flavor.  Today was triple sec because I had no other options in the apartment

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin 

3 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cream the butter, coconut oil, and sugar together in a mixing bowl.  Add the egg, egg yolks, vanilla, and pumpkin.  Mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix and then add the chocolate chips.  Drop by large tablespoons on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  The very middle of the top should still be slightly wet looking.  It'll dry out as it cools.  Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Torte with Mousse Filling and Ganache

Rich, walnut-studded layers of chocolate cake filled with fluffy chocolate mousse, topped with fresh whipped cream and decadent ganache.  Mmmm....

It was Rob's birthday and I wanted to make him a cake, but didn't want a huge thing that would a) make us fat, or b) sit uneaten in the fridge in avoidance of making us fat.  So I made this little cake instead.  Super rich, yes, but small enough that it wasn't overwhelming.  

As you can see, my decorating skills leave something to be desired, but I'm sure this could be a very presentable dessert if appropriate patience and effort were applied.  I'm just gonna blame the wine this time.

Start by making the chocolate cake- I did this two days ahead of time and kept the cakes in their pans in the freezer.  Even if you do it the day of, I recommend allowing for a couple hours of freezing time so that they are easier to handle.

What you need:

7 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

Heavy cream (if needed)

3 tablespoons Kahlua

2 eggs, separated

1-2 teaspoons powdered sugar

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Melt the chocolate and the butter over a double boiler (or a Pyrex bowl set into a small saucepan), stirring frequently.  Add the sugar and stir until smooth (if this is too think and starting to seize up, add a splash of heavy cream to smooth it out).  Add the Kahlua and let cool a bit.  While it cools, beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar until firm peaks form.  Go back to your chocolate mixture.  Add a tablespoon of this to the egg yolks and stir it in.  Add the salt to this and then add the egg yolk mixture to the chocolate mixture.  Fold in the egg whites.  Pour the batter into three greased 4 x6 pans (I bought those aluminum ones that can be thrown away).  Bake for 30 minutes.  The cake will still look a little wet in the middle, but shouldn't be jiggly.  Let cool and then freeze for at least a couple hours.

NOW, on to the rest of the cake:

You need:

Half of a batch of chocolate mousse, chilled (see recipe here.)

3 layers of flour-less chocolate cake, chilled, see recipe below.

Whipped cream

Chocolate ganache (heat half a cup of cream until just boiling, then add 2/3 cup bittersweet baking chocolate or dark chocolate chips, stir until smooth)

Chocolate garnishes (chocolate curls, mini chocolate chips)

Spoon a 3/4-1 inch thick layer of mousse on top of one of the cake layers (still in pan).  Carefully remove one of the other layers from its pan and place on top of mousse layer.  Repeat with more mousse and the other cake layer.  Spoon a bit more mousse on top and freeze the cake for an hour or two.  When ready to eat, remove from pan, placing it upside down on a serving plate.  Top with a layer of whipped cream and Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the cake and the plate.  Garnish with additional chocolate-y things or whatever you like.  Slice and serve.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse

A super rich and decadent dessert that is quick and easy to put together.  Pairs deliciously with red wine, by the way.

What you need:

4-5 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (the better the quality, the better the mousse, but I've used plain chocolate chips before and it has turned out fine.  This time I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate, because on Saba, that was my best option.  If you have those nice bittersweet baking bars available, that's what I recommend)

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup whipping cream

3 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons Kahlua or Amaretto or some other sort of sweet liquor that you have

2 teaspoons white sugar

Start by whipping the cream until stiff.  Place in the refrigerator to keep it cold.  Next, melt the chocolate with the butter over a double broiler, stirring until smooth.  Turn heat off and set away from stove to allow it to cool a bit.  

Separate the eggs.  The yolks should go into a large mixing bowl, and the whites should go into a glass or metal 4-8 cup bowl.  Take a large spoonful of the somewhat cooled melted chocolate and stir it into the egg yolks.  Now stir in the rest of the chocolate and also add the Kahlua (or whatever you are choosing to use).  Place bowl in the fridge.  

Start beating the egg whites and sprinkle in the sugar.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  

Remove the whipped cream and the chocolate mixture from the fridge.  Gently fold first the whipped cream, and then the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  At this point, you can either spoon it into individual serving dishes or keep it in the big bowl.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  Enjoy!