Tag Archives: sweet treats

Ask Anna – Baker’s Block Breakthrough – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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My good friend Danielle reached out last night. “I want to bake a treat (something sweet) but I have very minimal ingredients.” She was suffering from a bit of Baker’s Block – think Writer’s Block, but with butter and sugar.

I said, “Hit me!”

She had the following on hand:

  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Brown Sugar
  • Baking Soda
  • Baking Powder
  • Vanilla
  • Eggs
  • Peanut Butter
  • Two sticks of Butter
  • Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate
  • Godiva Hot Cocoa Mix
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Crisco

She felt she did not have much, but she had enough ingredients for just about any classic drop cookie (Chocolate Chip, Sugar, Snickerdoodle (assuming she had cinnamon), etc.) She also could do classic Peanut Butter Cookies and even Peanut Butter Blossoms (the yummy ones with Hershey Kisses). One suggestion I had was Peanut Butter Blossoms, but done like thumbprints (melt baker’s chocolate and mix with vanilla, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt) and fill the thumbprint with the chocolate mixture. The other would be to take that same mixture and drizzle over classic peanut butter cookies. I also felt the hot cocoa mix blended into baker’s chocolate would be fun.

Inspired by wanting to use the hot cocoa mix, she settled on a classic peanut butter cookie with hot cocoa mix in the dough. The result was a semi-soft, slightly chewy and slightly sandy cookie – a bit sweet but balanced from the salty peanut butter – a great combo all around!

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Danielle’s delicious pantry creation 🙂

 

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

We can’t take credit for this delightful recipe! Follow this Classic Peanut Butter Cookie recipe from All Recipes, sifting one packet of Hot Cocoa Mix with the dry ingredients, and follow the rest as directed.

 

 

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Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes

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As highlighted in the video, this pantry project is an “oh, darn, I GUESS I’ll use these ingredients up.” Homemade hot fudge is embarrassingly easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients. You can modify the recipe as you’d like – different types of chocolate, flavored liqueurs, salted or unsalted, etc. I only use 5 ingredients – chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, butter, espresso powder, and salt.

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For an indulgent treat –  layer brownie, hot fudge, ice cream, and toppings. My toppings include whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles

 

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 8 ounces chocolate (can use baking chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate bars, etc)
  • 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
  • Pinch of Salt

In a medium nonstick saucepan or nonstick saute pan, melt butter and heat sweetened condensed milk over low to medium heat – do not crank the heat on this recipe – ingredients can all burn easily. Stir in chocolate, espresso powder, and salt. Heat and stir until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated, about five minutes.  Sauce and be served immediately or cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.