Tag Archives: peanut butter

Peanut-Butter Banana Bread

Is February, and winter for that matter, over yet? Since it snowed all day on Saturday, I had no motivation to do anything but watch a Parks and Recreation marathon and bake. I’ve been on a random peanut butter kick lately and realized that I have four – yes, four – different kinds of nut butters in my cabinet. And that isn’t even counting the powdered peanut butter I put in my protein smoothies everyday. Since there were a couple of bananas hanging out on my counter and today is National Banana Bread Day, I pulled out one of those jars of peanut butter and decided since it was cold and snowy outside that I needed to bake this Peanut-Butter Banana Bread.

Peanut butter is not just mixed into the batter but it is also mixed into the sweet drizzle that coats the soft, warm banana bread. I mean, bananas and peanut butter isn’t just for Elvis. This banana bread was insane. And I say was because I may or may not have eaten the entire loaf over the coarse of the weekend. Good thing I’m hitting the gym today. But seriously, since most people have peanut butter hanging around, next time you make banana bread, give this a try. And just try to eat only one piece. Elvis knew what he was doing.

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Preheat oven to 350°F.To prepare bread, combine peanut butter, yogurt, bananas, butter and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.

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Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt and spices in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts.

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Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.

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To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread.

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Additions: None

Omissions:

  • Flaxseed

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Gooey Pretzel Caramel Bars

I’ve already given away dozens of the cookies and treats I’ve featured this week but I still have so many left in my house. It’s killing me. I’m trying sooooooo hard not to eat them and for the most part, I’m doing pretty good. Or at least I was. But these Gooey Pretzel Caramel Bars are evil little magic waves of sweetness and they are torturing me. They appear in my dreams, whisper my name when I’m standing strong, and wrap their sweet scent around me everywhere I go. My knees are getting weak.

Inspired by traditional Hello Dollys, I changed things up by using pretzel crumbs in place of graham crackers, caramel topping instead of butterscotch, peanut butter filled morsels in place of plain chocolate, and almonds instead of pecans. The result is basically…well…crack. I was doing so good on watching my sugar and this week it’s all down hill. I know that’s what happens during the holidays but I thought I could keep it under control. This is the problem with working from home. I no longer have an office to take all these leftover cookies to so instead they sit in my kitchen. They taunt me. Make fun of me. Call me names. This weekend may turn into a real battle. Me against them. I have a feeling these layer bars will be the victor.

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Gooey Pretzel Caramel Bars (adapted from Hello Dollys)

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 ground pretzels
  • 1 9-oz package Nestlé Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels with Peanut Butter Filled DelightFulls™ (or 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips and 3/4 cup peanut butter chips)
  • 1 12.25-oz jar caramel topping
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place butter in 13 x 9 inch pan and melt in oven. Swirl to coat bottom and sides with butter. Spread pretzel crumbs evenly over bottom of pan. Layer morsels over pretzels crumbs followed by caramel topping and almonds. 

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Pour condensed milk over almonds. Sprinkle coconut over condensed milk.

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Bake 25 minutes until edges are golden brown and bubbly.

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Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

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Spiked Nutter Butter Fluffernutter Milkshakes

Happy Halloween! I’m way too old to go trick-or-treating and I have no kids so I’m not letting myself indulge in the bite-size candy bars that line the aisles for Halloween. I don’t even get trick-or-treaters at my door, probably because no one knows me, and I hope that I’m not known in the neighborhood as the scary lady. While I usually buy candy to have on hand just in case, I decided not to do it this year because no one will come knocking and I will be left with a bag of candy that will torture me day in and day out until I finally cave in and eat each and every bite. I won’t have it! Instead, I’m indulging in some grown-up decadence with this Spiked Nutter Butter Fluffernutter Milkshake. I’m expecting it to act as a comforting blanky tonight while I’m watching scary movies.

Peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and Nutter Butter cookies are mixed with vanilla ice cream and milk (low-fat or full-fat, who cares?) making a sweet fluffernutter milkshake. But THEN, to make it even better, marshmallow vodka is added which makes this milkshake all grown-up and all decadent. This is a sugar bomb for sure but for one night, on Halloween, why not? Peanut butter and vanilla ice cream is my go-to favorite but with marshmallow, vodka, and whipped cream added, it’s even better. Even if you have kids you are taking from house to house, make this ahead, put it in a travel smoothie cup and drink up as you walk around the neighborhood. No one needs to know.

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Spiked Nutter Butter Fluffernutter Milkshakes

  • 2 cups low-fat vanilla ice cream
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons marshmallow cream
  • 4 Nutter Butter peanut butter sandwich cookies, broken into pieces
  • 2 ounces marshmallow or whipped cream vodka (like Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow)
  • whipped cream

Combine ice cream, milk, peanut butter, marshmallow cream, vodka, and cookies in a blender and blend until smooth.

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Top with whipped cream and crushed cookies.

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For extra indulgence, melt 1 tablespoon peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and drizzle over whipped cream.

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