Sometimes I love NOT baking :)

Every Christmas, I make loads of goodies to share with family and friends. No Bake Cookies always make the list! They take minutes to make, and both sides of the family enjoy them!

In a large bowl, dump 3 cups of oatmeal and 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat 1 stick of butter with  2 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup of milk and 4 TBS of cocoa powder. Boil mixture for one minutes.

Add heated mixture to the oatmeal and peanut butter. Add 1 tsp of vanilla and stir until well incoporated.

I like to let my mixture sit for a couple of minutes to cool before scooping. The cookies hold their shape better this way.

Scoop onto waxed paper and refrigerate until set. Chocolate Peanut Butter deliciousness in minutes!!

I love a fast fix!

Ever decide you need something sweet...and you want it right now?! I've found the perfect recipe for this problem. Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. They make a small batch and only require 3 ingredients!

1 cup of peanut butter, 1 egg, and 1 cup of sugar.

  

Throw everything into a bowl...

Mix...

Roll into balls (They don't spread, so you can put the whole batch on one cookie sheet!)

Cross the tops with a fork and throw in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and enjoy! Could not be more simple....or delicious!

We love ours with Peanut Butter!

With more apples to use from our Apple Orchard visit, I decided to make a huge batch of Apple Muffins to put in the freezer. I got the recipe from the Allen's Apple Orchard. 

Apple Muffins

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter (softened)

1 Egg

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Milk

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Allspice

1 1/2 cups of peeled, chopped Apples

Peel the apples...I doubled the recipe and used 4 apples.

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add in the egg, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and I got to use my fresh Nutmeg!

I used a mixer and alternated adding milk and flour. This batter is pretty thick!

Fold in the apples and scoop into muffin tins. I made 18 regular sized muffins and 20 mini muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The original recipe does call for a topping of 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon...put on before baking. I opted not to use the topping...easier to freeze!

Very nice flavor and great texture. We like them with a little peanut butter spread on top! A tasty breakfast :)

New Easter treats to Love!

As I blogged before, I made my own Easter candy this year! In addition to the eggs and flowers I showed earlier, I also made Peanut Butter Easter Eggs and Jellybean Bark. March was a little crazy at our house, so I didn't get to make my Cadburry Eggs...but I will next year!

First, I combined peanut butter, butter, milk and powdered sugar. I had to add a little extra peanut butter and milk to get the consistency I wanted.


Then I shaped the peanut butter mixture into egg shapes and froze for 1 hour. I then melted my chocolate (I used milk chocolate on some and semi-sweet on others).


I dipped each egg into the chocolate to coat (I like using Fondue forks for this). After all the eggs were dipped, I put them in the freeze to set.


I then melted a few squares of white chocolate and added coloring (pink and yellow). I put the melted chocolate into Ziploc bags.

I snipped the corners and drizzled the eggs with it.

After the chocolate drizzle was dry, the eggs were finished....and DELICIOUS!


Then I melted my white almond bark for the jellybean bark. One full package of almond bark, melted and stirred to remove lumps.


I don't really like white chocolate or white almond bark, but this recipe was too cute to skip, so I added the zest of a fresh lemon to the chocolate...because I love lemon!

I then spread the melted chocolate on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkled with Sassy Sour Jelly Bellys!


Allow the chocolate to set for 1 hour in the fridge, and then break into pieces. It was such a fun treat!

Happy Easter!

For the love of Peanut Butter!

Peanut Butter eggs might be my favorite Easter Candy! As you know, I was inspired to make my own Easter Candy this year, following in the footsteps of MySweetCreations! I will probably do some of the free form eggs using this recipe: Peanut Butter Easter Eggs, but for my first attempt, I made them in my cute egg mold. I'm not going to go through tempering and dyeing of the chocolate. For that information, refer to my Why I love Easter blog.

Here's how I made my eggs:

Tint your white chocolate to desired colors. I choose 2 for this mold.


Using a Wilton candy paint brush, I painted the decorative lines in the mold. I then placed the mold in my freezer for 10 minutes to set.


After the colored chocolate set, I added a small spoonful of semi-sweet chocolate to each mold and brushed up the sides. Again, I put this in the freezer for about 10 minutes to set.


While the mold was setting, I made my peanut butter filling. To achieve a similar texture to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I began with one whole graham cracker in a ziploc bag.


I rolled over it several times with my rolling pin until it was very finely ground.


I then added 1 cup of creamy peanut butter and two tablespoons of powdered sugar. Stir until well combined. You may add additional powdered sugar to make it your desired texture.


Using a 1/2 teaspoon, I added a small amount of filling to each egg and gently pressed into place with my fingers.

I forgot to take a picture of the last step (Drat!), but you spoon additional melted chocolate over the top. Tap the side of the mold to remove all air bubbles and to get a smooth surface. Freeze again for about 20 minutes. If the eggs are set, they will fall right out of the mold and look like this:

My painting skills still leave a lot of the colors still needs a little practice~ but I think they turned out pretty cute, and they are super delicious!


Robyn loves the plain chocolates I have been making for her- can you tell??