(Sweet and Salty) Peanut Butterscotch Krispie Bars

An oldie but goodie.

Old as in I first found this recipe when I was in middle school (circa 1999/"...Baby One More Time"/"Mambo No. 5" era).  Good as in...well...they're really, really good. 

I have absolutely loved to bake for as long as I can remember (and I have a serious sweet tooth to boot!).  When I was first starting to dabble in the world of  chocolate and cookies, my Grandma Min gave me a little recipe box in the shape of an oven and made of cross-stitched plastic canvas (along the lines of this!) and I've kept that little box ever since, using it to hold the recipes I tore out of my mom's monthly Bon Appetit and Southern Living catalogs and cut off the sides of various cereal boxes during my teen years.  

So on a recent afternoon I came across this Kellogg's notecard as I was thumbing through the cabinet that holds my cookbooks and that crafty little oven.  It didn't call for the sweet and salty snack mix, of course, but we had a bag in the pantry so I threw some in.  It was a smart addition too, adding various bits of crunch from mini cookies and chopped peanuts and occasional pieces of candy-coated chocolate.  Feel free to leave the mix out though, or you can opt to toss in one of Kellogg's '99 suggested add-ins*. 

*These were available in stores in '99 and are still available today.  Kellogg's suggests to add one of the following with the cereal: 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, 1 cup peanuts, 1 cup raisins, or 1 cup coconut.

I suggest you do it up Ricky Martin style by livin' la vida loca and toss in a bit of each.  

(Sweet and Salty) Peanut Butterscotch Krispie Bars

Makes one 8x8-inch pan

1 cup butterscotch morsels

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups rice krispies

2/3 cup M&M Sweet and Salty Snack mix (optional)

In 3-quart saucepan, combine butterscotch morsels and peanut butter.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly (you must stir constantly otherwise it will burn!), until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in rice krispies, mixing until well combined.  Fold in snack mix, if using.

Press mixture into a lightly greased 8x8-inch pan.  Let sit for an hour or until firm before cutting into squares.

Bits and Bites and Peanut Butter

You know the drill: I ramble and post fun links; you browse and pick and choose and click as you wish.  Here we go:

1.  Did I ever tell you Nathan makes his own peanut butter?  Yup, little chef he is.  Simply add peanuts, a splash of olive oil and a dash of salt to the food processor and blend until smooth.  Then he totes it to work, eats it for breakfast, and brags to his coworkers that he knows what a food processor is.
ps don't use the mini processor.  it's a wee bit hard on the motor.

2.  This blog fascinates me as of late.  i'm liking the cereal milk ice cream.  yummmm

3.  Beautiful kitchen redo.  mine??...someday....

4.  Awesome beauty blog I came across recently.  super cute hair ideas girls!

5. Gorgeous cake for easter.  This girl's got talent.  I'm jealous of every cake she's made.  not fair.

6.  How to clean your engagement ring at home.  I do the baking soda/water method and get lots of compliments on my shiny sparkler.  It also helps that Nathan picked out a very lovely ring.  he done good.

7.   Peeps Cake Batter Candy.  We're big peeps-eaters in this house so this wouldn't last a day.

8.  Gooey Chocolate Skillet Cake Ice Cream Sundae.  Can't get enough of the skillet!!

9.  Awesome drive-thru prank.  You need to watch this video. Hilarious!

10.  Went to Pei Wei for lunch today (again) and had some good food and good fortunes.  Mine: "Your love of life can carry you through any circumstance".  Nathan's: "This is a night for love and affection."  Oh boy...

11.  And to cap BB off, an awesome quote from the book I'm reading, Gone Girl (by Gillian Flynn- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!):  "Stay away from boys.  They'll either throw rocks or look up your skirt".  Amen.

Chunky Peanut Butter White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

TGIF.

It has been one H-E-double-hockey-stick-acious week for me.  

Extra early mornings and extra late nights so the weekend is verrrrry welcome.  (But it also makes me appreciate my usual schedule!)  I was wise and prepared in advance though: I made a batch of these cookies last weekend and they have been my late night indulgence all week long.

This cookie is my own creation- from the dough (I make a couple thousand cookies every week so I'm beginning to figure out what makes an awesome cookie) to the choice of chip (white chocolate chips this time, no crazy salt and vinegar), to the cinnamon sugar coating.  Just a little something I dreamed up and it turned out fabulous; soft and chewy with the perfect ratio of pb to white chocolate to cinnamon.   Yay me!  And yay weekend!

Chunky Peanut Butter White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Makes 28 cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup extra chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in the egg and mix until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.  Fold in white chocolate chips.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Scoop dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. 

Chelsea Original!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

It's that time of year again- Girl Scout cookie time!  And each year we can rely on three things:  (1) little girls will be stationed outside grocery store doors everywhere, (2) the price of a box will go up, and (3) the number of cookies per box will go down.

While Do-si-dos never were a favorite of mine (I'm a sucker for the Tagalongs and Samoas), this at home version takes the cake.  They are soft and chewy and delicious.  Really.  They just melt-in-your-mouth and are full of peanut butter goodness.  And I was able to use up some peanut butter!  The recipe said I would get 18 sandwich cookies, and that's exactly what I got- a rarity in baking. 

So step in the kitchen, wear braided pigtails (yes I did this), and make a cookie that takes you back to your childhood.  While saving a little money, too :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Makes 18 sandwich cookies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats


For the Filling:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Finally, add the oats and mix until just combined.

Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a cookie ball. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden and the edges are set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the filling. Combine the butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. Add the heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy. Using a knife, spread peanut butter filling onto the flat side of a cookie. Find a cookie the same size and sandwich the cookies together, pressing the filling to the edges.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod.