peanut butter – Page 6 – The Pajama Chef

Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars

February 22, 2013February 25, 2013 Sarah

So, I used to post once a month on a blog called Today’s Housewife. Last fall, the group decided together to stop posting due the busyness of life and families and such. Though sad, I enjoyed being part of the group. As of early January, the blog was officially taken down. But I don’t want to lose my recipes, so periodically I will be reposting them on here. Enjoy!

from April 12, 2012… these still get alot of traffic from my blog, even though the link is broken! and I figured it was high time to have the recipe here too!

I love granola bars. Love them for a snack after a workout, love them as a sweet treat in my brown bag [well, pink and black insulated tote] lunch, love them any time… day or night. But you know what I don’t love? I don’t love that my favorite varieties are sold for at least $1 a piece, and that the cheap kinds taste like cardboard and still run $3 for 8-10. $3 for a mediocre processed, packaged snack that contains tons of chemicals and/or preservatives? No thanks, I’ll make my own.

I’ve had a few successes in the homemade granola bar department… Chewy Granola Bars–your classic character with dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips as mix-ins. Or perhaps, Fruit and Nut Granola Bars are more your thing–they’re a little softer with more variety inside. Lastly, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bars–a crispy granola bar with a fall-flavored twist.

These Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars are different. They’re more substantial. Flavorful and filling, but not heavy and dense. Sweet and salty. Pretty much unbelievable, til you try them. And you should, because they’re made up of mostly pantry ingredients, and take virtually no time to whip up. I promise they’ll make your lunchtime and snacktime fabulous!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars [adjusted from How Sweet Eats]

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Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup puffed rice cereal
1 cup crushed salted pretzels
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped dry roasted or honey roasted peanuts
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients: oats, cereal, pretzels, flax/wheat germ, brown sugar, flour, and peanuts. Then, add peanut butter and mix with a spoon or your hands to create a rough “dough.” This should take about 5 minutes.

In a smaller bowl, combine butter, vanilla, and honey. Pour into peanut butter dough and stir to combine completely. Fold in chocolate chips and coconut flakes.

Press dough into prepared pan, then bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. But don’t forget the golden rule of granola–it always hardens as it cools, so don’t overcook it! Let pan cool completely before cutting, refrigerating for an added chill if necessary. I let my granola bars cool overnight before cutting just to be safe.

Time: 40 minutes. [15 minutes active].

Yield: 18 servings.

Linked with: Weekend Potluck.

Appetizers, Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip

February 18, 2013June 5, 2015 Sarah

I’m one of those weird people who loves to eat their veggies. Every Sunday, without fail, I chop up a week’s worth of vegetables, crudites if you will, for lunch and snacking. Anything goes–carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers… just whatever looked good at the grocery store. Except celery. I’m not a big celery snacker–that’s Ben’s territory. 🙂 Mostly, I eat these veggies plain and it really doesn’t bother me. I love the taste of veggies. [See, I’m weird!] Carrots and peppers are my fave! But I know that everyone isn’t as weird as me, and sometimes people need incentive to eat their veggies. Is this incentive enough?

Though I don’t usually need much incentive to eat my veggies, I can polish off even more when I have a bowl full of this awesome dip on hand! It’s super simple to make, and has just the right amount of sweetness and spice to make me happy. The Asian dressing [I used bottled but you can make your own] is gingery and garlicky which pairs perfectly with sweet honey, creamy peanut butter, and just a bit of crushed red pepper for spice. You guys, this is SO good! When I first made it for a church event, I wasn’t sure how it would go over, but it turned out to be insanely popular. I’m kind of sad it took me so long to blog about it, actually. But I guess it’s a good thing… now that I’m reminded of it, I can make it again for this week’s lunches.

This is a dip you could totally eat by the spoonful, but why not pile it up on some veggies and enjoy it that way? It is totally yum-o! I’ll take it with some red peppers, please. What about you? What’s your favorite veggie? Enjoy!

Asian Peanut Veggie Dip

Servings: 8
Time: 5 minutes
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adapted from Kraft

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing [like this version from Kraft or this version from Marzetti–I’ve had both and they taste similar… or make your own here or here]
1/4 cup peanut butter [I’ve used natural and regular… both work, but it’s a little thinner with natural]
1/4 cup honey
crushed red pepper

Directions:

Add dressing, peanut butter, and honey to a small bowl. Whisk well and then add crushed red pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

Bars, Desserts, Recipes

Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies

February 6, 2013September 14, 2015 Sarah

So, if you’ve never checked out Megan’s blog, What Megan’s Making, you’re missing out. I’m not sure how I first found it but I’m glad I did. Everything I’ve made from her blog has been incredibly delicious… and my most recent love are these Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies! They are seriously in hot contention for the best thing I ever ate. An indicator? I rarely make the same recipe twice, but this recipe was first posted in March 2012 and I have made them at least two, if not three times since then. For me, that equals a spot on the bus to Crazytown, USA. No joke.

I know it’s a little redundant but the best way to describe these brownies is to say that they’re uber peanut buttery, chocolatey, and chewy. I don’t use the word “uber” lightly, so when I say all those things, imagine I’m screaming it. And if you know me in real life, you know that me screaming is pretty rare. Sooooo… emphasis should be noted. 🙂

Even though these brownies are rich, I’d be lying if I said you just had to eat a small piece to be satisfied. You won’t. Don’t worry, if you’re anything like me, you won’t have any self control around these insanely addicting brownies. They’re nothing fancy–just a buttery and soft brownie with nutty, caramely peanut butter flavor. And the best parts are the bites with the melted bits o’ fudgy chocolate. Oh wait–that’s each bite. Whoops! They are definitely not for sharing… unless you want to make a second batch tomorrow. Enjoy! 🙂

Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies

Servings: 12
Time: 40 minutes
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from What Megan’s Making

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips [or 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips + 3/4 cup peanut butter chips]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 baking pan with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together peanut butter and butter. Add sugars and vanilla. Then mix until creamy, scraping the sides as needed. Next, add egg. Beat on low until light and fluffy.

Slowly add flour and baking powder and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth out with spatula.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Bars, Breakfast, Recipes

{Healthy} Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Bars

January 22, 2013February 23, 2017 Sarah

Would you like a rich, chocolately, fudgy bar for breakfast? They have a hint of cinnamon and cayenne reminiscent of the fancily flavorful Mexican Hot Chocolate that is so addicting once you get past the fact that you’re drinking something with a little heat. I bet you’ll love them.

But…… I know, I know. Chocolate for breakfast is everyone’s dream. Emphasis on dream, not reality. Especially in near brownie form, complete with chocolate chunks and coconut flakes. Perfecto! Nah, you say. No can do. Welllll, what if I told you they were healthy. What if I told you they were healthy without seeming healthy. What would you say then? I hope you’re in. I hope you’re game. Because these Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Bars are secretly healthy. Made with a base of [gasp] sweet potatoes and black beans, this is one breakfast treat that anyone can get into eating.

I don’t usually calculate nutrition stats for my recipes, but I did for this one and discovered that each bar is 247 calories each, with 6 grams of fat. Thanks to the sweet potato and black beans, each serving has as much protein as an egg [6 grams] and as much potassium as a small banana [300 milligrams]. Add in the 6 grams of fiber and high amounts of vitamin A, this is a breakfast to be proud of. Unfortunately, the sugar content [29 grams] is higher than many breakfasts, but there are a couple ways this could be lowered–by using less honey or unsweetened versus sweetened coconut [or even subbing nuts for coconut altogether]. But that stat aside, I [the non-nutritionist, dietitian, and professional that I am] feel pretty good about eating this for breakfast. A bit indulgent, yes, but homemade, nutrient rich, tasty, and satisfying. Paired with a piece of fruit or some skim milk to round out the meal, these bars are really filling. Seriously… for the girl who usually eats a midmorning snack, a couple days when I ate one of these for breakfast at 8 am after a workout with a piece of fruit I wasn’t hungry until 1 pm. CRAY cray!

But don’t just take my word for it. Nutrition and all that boring info aside, I’m guessing you might be a bit hung up on the sweet potato/black bean base. I have two words: don’t. worry. I promise. Pinky swear, in fact. No one will be able to tell.

Case in point: the whole time I made these, Ben was playing video games in another room. True to routine, after they were baking, I visited him with the batter spoon for a test taste. Mum was the word, and he licked the bowl with a vengeance. They were pulled out of the oven and set on a cooling rack next to an assortment of clean dinner and baking dishes air-drying on a towel. Ben said they looked like brownies, and that he was looking forward to a breakfast treat. He even tried a piece that had cracked off the top and said it was delicious. Still, I said nothing. It was only when we had gotten into bed that I fessed up. What can I say… I can’t go to bed in deceit. Without batting an eye [at least, I think so… it was dark], Ben just laughed. He’s used to my kitchen games by now. And then, the next morning he took one to work for breakfast, along with a few others for his co-workers to try. That night, he came home with rave reviews. If that’s not an awesome testimony, then I don’t know what is.

I mean, I FINALLY tricked my husband into eating [and loving] something secretly healthy. I mean, I did here, so it’s been done before. But I failed here, and also have failed with a smattering of other dishes over the years. Believe me, Ben eats plenty of healthy foods, but when it comes down to it, he would choose a rich, chocolately brownie over a bowl of sweet potatoes. Who wouldn’t? But why should you have to choose? If no one can tell, then I say game on and serve a secretly healthy Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Bar in the morning. You won’t regret it…. especially if you heat ’em up for about 20 seconds before enjoying. Melty chocolate in the morning is the bestttt!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Bars

Servings: 12
Time: 1 hour
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heavily adapted from Eliza’s Edibles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed [a 15 ounce can or cooked my way]
1 cup honey
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed, peeled, and cooked [about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups]
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of cayenne pepper [optional]
1/4 cup chocolate chunks + more for sprinkling on top
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes + more for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease and “flour” [using cooca powder] a 9×9 pan.

Add black beans and honey to a food processor and process until smooth, taking care to scrape the sides periodically to eliminate unsightly black bean chunks. Then chop sweet potato into small chunks and add to food processor along with the buttermilk, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Process again until everything is fully combined and very smooth. Mixture will be thick but not heavy.

In a small bowl, stir together cocoa powder, flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.

Transfer black bean mixture from food processor into a large bowl, then fold dry ingredients in. Stir until well combined, then add chocolate chunks and coconut flakes.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, then top with extra chocolate chunks and coconut flakes. Bake for 40-45 minutes, covering with foil for the last 10 minutes or so to ensure coconut on top toasts, not burns. Test with a toothpick to ensure bars are done, then cool completely before cutting. Keep refrigerated.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Apple Peanut Butter Muffins

October 15, 2012October 15, 2012 Sarah

A few weeks ago on a lovely Sunday afternoon, Ben and I took a trip to Anderson Orchard with some friends from church. We had a great time picking apples [Ben climbed the trees to get the best ones!], eating yummy apple cobbler from the concession stand, and just spending time with friends, of course.

Our apples were a mixture of Jonathan, Jonagold, Red Delicious [totally different off the tree than the boring, overly waxed hotel lobby variety], and possibly some others. We just wandered the row We just love apples… you can never have too many!

Except honeycrisp. I’m the weirdo who doesn’t like honeycrisp.

But back to the apple orchard… Aside from the peck of apples we picked [about 10 pounds], we also bought a half peck in the farm store that was pre-picked. So we came home with close to 15 pounds of apples… only some are shown below… this was when our bag wasn’t full yet.

Soon after getting home from the orchard, we made a big batch of crock pot chunky applesauce. I had big plans to bake and bake and bake lots of apple deliciousness. Then I got busy with my thesis, then I got a cold. Excuses, excuses. So I just ate tons of sliced apples with gobs of creamy natural peanut butter. Yum, yum. Then comes Friday night.

Being the exciting couple that we are, Ben and I went running after he came home from work then made some stellar black bean quesadillas for dinner. We cleaned the apartment, did laundry, carted a bunch of Goodwill donations to the car, and watched some Parenthood, Netflix style [I’m a season behind–no spoilers please!]. Then at 10:30 pm, I decided I needed to bake. NEEDED TO BAKE. It was like, a necessity. I wasn’t sure what to make, but it was too late to wait for butter to soften so muffins it was!

Ben retreated into his video game room [aka the guest bedroom] while I made a mess in the kitchen, eventually emerging with these amazing treats of joy. Yes, that’s their actual name. Well, it should be.

Apple Peanut Butter Muffins are a great spiced muffin–the perfect combination of warm fall spices [cinnamon! apple cider!] as well as a nod to the quintessential healthy snack combination [apples and peanut butter]. I cannot even begin to express my feelings about these muffins. I just cannot stop eating them and savoring each chunk of apple that dots the light and fluffy muffin.

Wait–light and fluffy, you say? To keep something peanut butter flavored light and fluffy, I had to reach deep into the pantry for a solution. In the past, I have found that adding straight-up peanut butter to muffin batter usually renders them a bit dense. So, I decided to use peanut butter chips instead. And let me just be so bold as to say that this was a fabulous decision! To mimic the peanut butter burst enjoyed when dipping an apple slice in peanut butter, I clustered the peanut butter chips in the center of the muffin. However, if you want to share the love, feel free to mix the chips into the batter. I’m sure that would be great too!

I thought the best way to enjoy these muffins was with a fresh dab of natural peanut butter on top, but Ben would completely disagree. He’s just weird though. 🙂 I say more is better. Enjoy!

Apple Peanut Butter Muffins [heavily adapted from an Apple Muffin recipe I wrote down from a friend/roommate/someone a long time ago and didn’t credit…sorry!]

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Ingredients: