Tag Archives: peanut butter

Peanut butter banana muffins with salted caramel filling

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Peanut butter banana muffins with salted caramel filling

It’s funny how tastes change. When I was younger, I never really considered myself to be a picky eater, but looking back now I can see that actually, I must have been a bit of a pain for my dad to feed!

The list of vegetables I liked was a short one – broccoli was my favourite, I liked peppers, and would eat cabbage with a roast at a push, but that was kind of it. ‘Traditional’ British veg like carrots, peas, green beans and parsnips were despised, and more ‘exotic’ vegetables like squash, aubergine, kale and sweet potatoes never made an appearance in my house.

I hated all beans (probably because everyone seems to think a child’s meal isn’t complete without baked beans sloshed on all over it, and as far as I’m concerned the sauce baked beans comes in is the work of the devil), pulses were never on the menu, and to be honest if I had been a vegetarian then I think I would have been a severely under-nourished one!

Now, near enough any vegetable you put in front of me I will eat, I love using beans in everything from chilli to burgers, and there’s nothing I love more than experimenting with new ingredients.

My feelings when it comes to sweet foods are kind of similar and I’m definitely branching out with flavours I used to hate. I’ve always found caramel too sickly sweet to really enjoy, but the discovery of salted caramel has completely changed my mind – now I can’t get enough of it.

I never used to understand why anyone liked peanut butter, but this could well be because I never had it paired with chocolate or banana and, although I still wouldn’t want it in a sandwich, I love using it in baking.

Anyway, the point of this all is that peanut butter, banana and caramel is most definitely not a combination I would have been keen to try a few years ago, but now I can’t think of three better friends to be baked into a muffin.

I needed to bake something fairly quick and simple using ingredients I had on hand, so I loosely based these on a recipe for peanut butter banana cupcakes but made a simple glaze instead of fancy icing, and made the caramel filling from some Cadbury’s eclairs leftover from a tin of Miniature Heroes.

I actually didn’t get to eat one of the finished muffins, as by the time I returned from a weekend away the pony had devoured them, but I did sample each of the components as I was making them and I’m pretty confident it’s a winning recipe – I’ll just have to make another batch to prove it…

Peanut butter banana muffins with salted caramel filling (loosely adapted from Perfect Cupcakes, Cookies and Muffins)

Makes 6

For the muffins:

  • 90g light brown sugar
  • 70g peanut butter
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 medium banana (90g), mashed
  • 90g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

  • 10 individual Cadbury’s eclairs, or other caramel sweet (about 100g at a guess)
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
  • sea salt flakes to taste

For the glaze:

  • 25g peanut butter
  • 20g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk

Beat the peanut butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add in the egg and mashed banana and beat until well combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in lightly, then dive the mixture between 6 medium muffin cases. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 170 and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the muffins are risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean.

When cool, use an apple corer to cut the tops out of each muffin. Melt the caramels with the milk, stirring until smooth, then add in a pinch of sea salt flakes – taste and add extra if you like. Spoon the caramel into the centres of the muffins, then replace the tops you took out.

Make the glaze by heating the peanut butter and icing sugar in the microwave, then adding the milk slowly until it reaches a pourable consistency. Pour and spread over the tops of the muffins – if it drips down the side I think it looks pretty, so don’t worry about being too neat!

These are especially good served warm as the caramel is extra gooey. Enjoy!

Wheat, dairy and (almost) sugar free chocolate oat bars

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Wheat, dairy and (almost) sugar free chocolate oat bars

When Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog picked ‘sugar free’ as the health-conscious theme for this month’s We Should Cocoa, I had a fairly good idea of what I would make – something similar to the chocolate fudge bites I made last year, but in a bar form that the pony could take to work.

It worked out quite well, as for the past three weeks I haven’t had a working oven, so no-bake treats are about all I’ve been able to make (don’t worry, the oven issue has now been sorted, so no more moaning I promise!)

I adapted this recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga, switching the cinnamon and vanilla for cocoa powder for added chocolatey-ness. I also forgot to add the milk, and wondered why the mixture didn’t seem to be sticking together – oops! But luckily adding extra honey sorted it out, and had the benefit of turning them into a dairy-free treat as well.

Technically speaking, these aren’t 100% sugar free, as the dark chocolate I used wasn’t 100% pure, but they definitely needed the extra chocolate on top in order to be acceptable to the pony, so hopefully Choclette will let me off!

We_Should_Cocoa_V3

I’m really looking forward to seeing the round up and all the ingenious ways WSC-ers manage to go sugar free – although I do kind of hope I’m not the only person to cheat a bit…

Wheat, dairy and (almost) sugar free chocolate oat bars (adapted from Love Veggies and Yoga)

  • 300g rolled oats
  • 200g smooth peanut butter (I used a 25% less fat version)
  • 120g pitted dates
  • 20g cocoa powder
  • between 100-200g clear honey
  • 120g dark chocolate, melted
  • 40g dark chocolate, chopped

Add the oats, dates, peanut butter, cocoa powder and 100g honey to a food processor and blitz until everything is finely chopped and the mixture starts to come together. It needs to stick together if you press it into clumps with your fingers, so if it’s not doing that keep adding more honey until it gets to the right consistency. Press very firmly into the base of an 8×8″ square cake tin and leave to set in the fridge.

Melt the 120g dark chocolate and spread in a layer over the oat bars. Sprinkle the 40g chopped chocolate on top white the melted chocolate is still runny so the bits stick, then leave to set before slicing into squares.

Chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies

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With all the things I’ve baked recently that haven’t worked out as well as I would have liked, these cookies really stood out as being every bit as good as the recipe promised!

I’m on a bit of a peanut butter kick at the minute, and cookies are one of my favourite indulgences (there really isn’t any way of making them healthy!) so when I saw these on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe I knew I would have to give them a try.

The first batch I overcooked a little as I didn’t allow for that extra bit of cooking they do on the baking tray once you’ve taken the tray out of the oven, but luckily even halving the quantity of dough as I did it makes 20 cookies so I had plenty more opportunities to get it right.

Properly baked, they end up deliciously chewy with a nice bite from the oats, and the peanut butter and chocolate works perfectly.

I strongly suggest that if you like peanut butter and you like cookies, you should make these – dead simple to throw together and keep well either in the fridge or freezer so you can bake up a few whenever cookie cravings hit!

Chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies (recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe)

  • 115g butter
  • 135g peanut butter
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 120g plain flour
  • 50g oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150g dark chocolate chips

Cream together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well mixed. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, then add the oats and chocolate chips and fold in, until there are no more white flour spots.

Roll into 20 equally sized balls (I weighed them at 40g each but you don’t have to be that obsessive!) and place spaced out on a baking tray. Bake at 180 degrees, for about 10 minutes, or until just starting to brown around the edges and but still soft in the middle. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and/or your mouth.

Chocolate chip banana cake with peanut butter icing

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Bit of a mouthful of a title, apologies! But it does what it says on the tin – this is a moist, delicious banana cake, studded with dark chocolate chips, and topped with a peanut butter buttercream that required all of my strength not to eat straight from the bowl.

I know banana and peanut butter is a popular combination, but it’s one I hadn’t tried up until now – mostly because I spent 23 years of my life thinking peanut butter was disgusting. If only I’d realised all it needed was sugar to become amazing!

It’s a combination I’ll definitely be using again, and throwing chocolate chips into the mix can only ever make things better…

On another note, I found out today that I’ve been included in Woman and Home Magazine’s top 100 food blogs – I literally have no idea how this has happened or why they chose me, but I am pretty excited! Thanks Woman and Home, and congrats to all the other fab blogs that have made the list.

Chocolate chip banana cake with peanut butter icing (cake adapted from Levi Roots Food for Friends, icing my own)

  • 115g butter
  • 140g light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 medium bananas
  • 4 tbsp greek yoghurt
  • 225g plain flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 100g chocolate chips

For the icing:

  • 35g butter
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 80g icing sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
  • Cocoa powder to dust

Start by roasting the bananas, in their skins, for 10-15 minutes – this will make them really soft and easy to mash. Peel and mash in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the cinnamon, bananas and yoghurt, then fold in the flour, baking powder and chocolate chips. Pour into an 8″ round greased and lined cake tin, then bake at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

To make the icing, beat together the butter an peanut butter until no lumps remain, then gradually add in the icing sugar. If the mixture gets too thick, add a tablespoon of milk – use your judgement to get it to the right consistency. This doesn’t make a huge amount of icing – I thought it was enough, but doubling it would be no bad thing I’m sure!

EDIT – If you’re wondering what’s on top of the cake, it’s a dusting of cocoa powder which I forgot to mention when first writing this! Not really necessary, but I thought it looked rather nice :)

Snickers flapjacks (GF)

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I’ve been at it again – buying reduced price chocolate that’s going out of date, with the vague idea that I’ll bake it into something…

Following the success of minstrel cookies and a mars bar loaf cake, this time around it’s snickers flapjacks – and dare I say it, I think it’s my best chocolate bar creation to date!

Peanut butter flapjack with chunks of snickers mixed in, topped with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate on top… what’s not to like!

I’ve been experimenting with quite a few flapjack recipes recently, and I think if you take away all the bells and whistles the basic flapjack bit of this is actually a pretty good go-to recipe, that could be changed up with whatever add-ins or toppings you like, and you could easily swap the peanut butter for more regular butter if you’re not a fan.

If you’re watching your weight then click away now, but otherwise keep reading and make these as soon as you can – they were a big hit with everyone who tried them and I’ll definitely be making them again.

Snickers flapjacks (basic recipe adapted from the Guardian)

  • 300g rolled oats
  • 100g butter
  • 100g peanut butter
  • 50g light brown sugar
  • 90g golden syrup
  • 1 medium snickers bar, chopped
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 90ml water
  • 60g butter
  • 60ml double cream
  • 200g milk chocolate

Heat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan until everything has melted and mixed together. Put the oats in a large mixing bowl and pour the liquid over them, stirring until all the oats are coated. Add in the chopped snickers then spread into an 8×8″ square tin, lined with foil, and bake at 160 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

To make the caramel, heat the caster sugar and water in a large pan, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil, not stirring at all, but brushing the sides of the pan with water if any sugar crystals form. Wait until the caramel turns a deep amber colour, then remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter and cream (ignoring the angry spitting) until you have a lovely smooth caramel.

Leave the caramel to cool until thicker but still pourable, then pour on top of the flapjacks and spread to cover evenly. Leave to chill in the fridge while you melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water, then once the caramel has set spread the chocolate on top. The chocolate should set quite quickly on top of the cold caramel without going back in the fridge so just leave until hard enough to lift out of the tin and cut into bars or squares.

They can be pretty tricky to cut if the chocolate has set too hard, so I cheated a bit and put the tin under the grill for a few seconds, just long enough to soften the chocolate – if you try this be careful not to leave it too long in case you end up with a big melty mess!

Flourless peanut butter white chocolate chip cookies (GF)

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I’ve seen several variations of this peanut butter cookie on different blogs, and although curious I never got around to trying it, until last weekend.

The cookie recipe is basically just peanut butter, sugar and eggs – how it holds up with no flour is an absolute mystery to me, but it really does work!

As well as being tasty and having the perfect level of chewiness, they were by far the easiest cookie I’ve made – add to that the fact they’re naturally gluten free and you’re on to a definite winner!

You could try loads of add-ins and different variations to the basic batter, as I had a bar of white chocolate I used that, but I think dark chocolate could be even better.

You can have a plate of these in front of you in under 20 minutes – so what are you waiting for, go make some!

Flourless peanut butter white chocolate chip cookies (recipe from Joy the Baker)

Makes 16 cookies

  • 250g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, but I went for crunchy)
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 50g white chocolate

Beat the peanut butter and both sugars together for a couple of minutes until well combined, then add in the egg and baking powder and beat again. Divide into 16 equally sized small balls and flatten onto a baking sheet, spaced a couple of inches apart from each other. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and press into the cookies, then bake at 180 degrees for 8-12 minutes – keep a close eye on them because overcooked is not a good thing when it comes to cookies! Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Or, as Joy suggests, your mouth.

 

Peanut butter Nutella swirl cookies (GF)

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Pinterest is dangerous.

Ever since I joined, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of delicious looking baked goods that appear every time I log in.

Sometimes I pin or repin things and then forget about them, but some I just can’t get out of my head.

These peanut butter Nutella swirl cookies were one of the latter – as soon as I saw them I knew they would be baked soon, and they were.

As well as being pretty tasty, they’re also versatile – I made half the batch using wheat and gluten free flour and you couldn’t tell the difference between those and the ones made with normal flour, perfect if you know anyone with allergies or intolerances that normally would have to miss out.

(PS – If you too are a Pinterest love, you can follow me at www.pinterest.com/natblachford)

Peanut butter Nutella swirl cookies (recipe pinned from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine)

Makes 35 cookies

  • 125g butter
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 55g light brown sugar
  • 200g peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 210g plain flour (GF or normal)
  • 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 100g Nutella
Beat together the butter, both sugars and peanut butter until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again, until well combined. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and fold in until the mixture is just coming together, then gently fold in the nutella (the more you mix it, the less pronounced the swirls will be.)
Use a tablespoon measure to scoop rounded balls out of the mixture, and place spaced out on a baking sheet. Flatten each down with a fork, to create a criss-cross pattern on top. Bake at 180 degrees for about 9 minutes, or until just turning golden. Leave to cook on the sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter blondies

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In theory, I should love blondies.

Basically the same as brownies (which I love), but with the melted chocolate swapped out for brown sugar or white chocolate. I even thought I might prefer blondies, as I prefer plain cookies with chocolate chips to the double chocolate variety.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at blondies was not a success. They were far, far too sweet, and the brown butter in them that everyone raves about actually just seemed to make them greasy.

Although my first experience was a bad one, I was willing to accept that it could have just been a bad recipe, or maybe down to my dodgy oven, so I decided to give them another go.

I chose this recipe from Rachel Allen because the pony had requested something with peanut butter. Not being a fan of peanut butter normally, I was fully expecting not to love these, but no – they were amazing!

They were literally so addictive, I couldn’t stop eating them. To the point that I put on two pounds in the past week and fully attribute it to these blondies.

If, unlike me, you can actually exercise portion control and self restraint, you should definitely make these – I am now a 100% blondie convert.

Peanut butter blondies (adapted from Rachel Allen’s recipe)

  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 200g butter
  • 300g crunchy peanut butter
  • 350g light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 150g white chocolate, chopped

Cream together the butter and peanut butter until well mixed, the add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then sift in the flour and baking powder and fold to combine. Stir in the chocolate, then pour into a 9×13 ” tin, lined with baking paper. Bake at 170 degrees for 25 minutes, then leave to cool before cutting into squares.

No-bake chocolate oat bars

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I don’t know if it shows from reading this blog, but a lot of things I make involve  ’bars’, chocolate and/or oats.

The reason for this is the friendly pony’s need for sustenance at work, in the form of something sweet, easy to eat, and that won’t get destroyed by being carried around in a bag all day.

These bars are absolutely perfect for that, as in addition to having everything mentioned above, they are also unbelievably simple to make!

Essentially, they are flapjacks that don’t need baking, with a nutty chocolate mixture spread on top – laden with calories, just what the greedy friendly pony likes.

No bake chocolate oat bars (adapted from Gingerbread Bagels):

  • 1/2 cup packed muscovado sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 75g dark chocolate
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup Nutella

Line an 8×8″ square tin with baking paper, no need to grease. Heat the butter and sugar together over a low heat until the butter has melted. Stir in the oats and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Spread the mixture into the tin and flatten down with a wooden spoon or bottom of a measuring cup.

Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl with the peanut butter and Nutella (the original recipe uses just peanut butter, but I didn’t have enough which is why I went for half and half – peanut butter on it’s own or Nutella on it’s own would both work fine!) Microwave in 15 second bursts, stirring in between, until the chocolate has just melted – be careful not to let it burn! Pour onto the oaty base, then chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before slicing into bars.

Peanut butter chocolate chip crumble oat bars

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‘Peanut butter chocolate chip crumble oat bars’ is a bit of a mouthful to say, and these bars were definitely a bit of a mouthful to eat.

I made this as an alternative to the friendly pony’s usual flapjacks as a high calorie, sugar rush, energy boost.

The base is a cross between flapjack and shortbread, with a layer of fudgy peanut butter on top and finished with a chocolate chip crumble.

They are super rich, and you need a really sweet tooth to eat a whole one, but the pony loved them, and I enjoyed the odd nibble here and there. They’re a bit more time consuming and need more ingredients than flapjacks (not to mention the sky high calorie count) so I’m not sure I’ll make them that regularly, but they definitely make an awesome occasional treat.


Peanut butter chocolate chip crumble oat bars (adapted from 1001 cupcakes, cookies and other tempting treats):

  • 225g butter
  • 350g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 350g light brown sugar
  • 175g oats
  • 70g chopped peanuts
  • 1 egg
  • 200g milk chocolate chunks
  • 100g dark chocolate chunks
  • 400g tin condensed milk
  • 70g crunchy peanut butter

Rub together the flour, baking powder and butter with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar, peanuts and oats. Transfer a quarter of the mix into a separate bowl, add in the chocolate chunks and set aside. Add the beaten egg to the remaining 3/4 of the mix then press into a 12×8″ tin. Bake at 180 for 15 minutes.

While the base is baking, mix together the condensed milk and peanut butter. When the base comes out the oven, spread the peanut butter mix over the top, then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes, the leave to cool before cutting into bars. This made 10 friendly pony sized bars, but would make 20 very reasonable sized squares easily.