No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I grew up in Virginia, but my family came down to Florida every year, in February, to visit my grandparents. Some years it was chilly, but usually it was hot and my grandparents refused to turn on the air conditioning because, "it's only February!" Even when it was 92. We used to poke fun of them for suffering through the heat, but then my husband, girls, and I moved to Florida. And now I flat out refuse to turn on the air conditioning until May. :) This past Saturday it was 88 outside, 86 in our house, but we all agreed it was still too early in the year for the air conditioning. (We ended up going to the beach to cool off, so I can't really complain.) Anyway, the season of heat is upon us and the very last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. But baking is what I do! It's my stress reliever! Luckily, there are many, many yummy desserts that can be made without using the oven at all. This No Bake Chocolate PB Bars recipe is one of my favorites. I'll be posting lots of slow cooker and stove top recipes for the next few months.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter (2 Smart Balance sticks)
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*



*One note on the chocolate--you definitely want to use the semi-sweet or dark and not milk. The bars are very sweet and milk chocolate would be overkill.

I make my own graham cracker crumbs, but you can buy them already smashed up in the baking section of any supermarket. I put two packages in a plastic bag, seal it up, and then use a rolling pin to crush the crackers. If you do it this way you'll have about a half cup of crumbs leftover, so 3 cups total from two packages of crackers.





Stir together the cracker crumbs, PB, and butter.



Add the sifted powdered sugar and combine thoroughly.





Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan, no need to grease it.



Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. I just use a metal bowl on top of a small saucepan with one inch of water in the bottom. Turn the burner onto low heat and stir often.




After they have melted stir them a few times--the more you stir the shinier the chocolate will become. Then spread over the top of your PB crust.



Chill for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets. Then cut the bars into squares, any size you please. Don't let the chocolate get hard or it will crack when you try to cut it. 10-15 minutes tops.





Sooooo good. Sweet, chocolaty, and they don't heat up the house. They don't last long! Great to take to bake sales and pot lucks, too.



You can store these in the fridge, but let them sit out for a few minutes before eating.

Enjoy!!

This week we are having Mandarin Chicken Salad and Margarita Chicken on the grill.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was making the kids' lunches yesterday morning I realized it had been a couple of weeks since they wanted PB&J. (Their current kick is ham and mustard.) That got me thinking about the new jar of Smart Balance PB I had just purchased and the fun ways I could use it up. My first thought was peanut butter cookies, of course, but I also tossed around the idea of peanut butter pie or cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I never got around to making anything because of an appt. When Bubba got home from work he said (and I swear I didn't mention anything about wanting to make PB cookies) that he had been thinking about PB cookies all day and would I please make some. It's officially happened...we have been married long enough that we are reading each other's minds. :) :) So PB cookies it is!!

You will need:

3/4 cup Smart Balance sticks (or butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups white whole wheat flour
***********
2T sugar for topping



Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Beat the sugars and butter in an electric mixer for two minutes (until fluffy) and then beat in the peanut butter. I use Smart Balance natural PB. It has a very low sugar content, contains Omega 3, has and no hydrogenated oil (trans fat). Check your labels. If you have more than 3g of sugar per serving decrease the amount of sugar you use in this recipe. Some of the big name peanut butters are almost pure sugar. Natural peanut butter is the best!



Add the egg and the vanilla and mix together.



Add the salt and baking soda to the flour and add to the peanut butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing after each cup.



Roll the batter into 1-inch balls (you may have to refrigerate for a half hour if you batter is too sticky). Place the cookies on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.




Dip a fork into the 2T sugar and press into the cookie twice, making a crisscross pattern.





Bake for 15 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.



You don't notice that these cookies are whole wheat. They are light and soft on the inside while the edges are crisp. Perfect. You can dress them up a bit by adding a 1/2 cup of peanuts or chocolate chips if you like, but I like them just they way they are.



Store them in a plastic bag for a week or freeze them for up to a month. If these cookies last until tomorrow morning in this house I will be surprised. If cookies go fast in your house, too, hide a couple and have them with your morning coffee. With the whole wheat and natural peanut butter they are no different than having a muffin in the morning and maybe even better for you (dependent on the sugar content of your muffins).



Enjoy!!

my recipe card:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies were a huge hit in our house. They seem to have the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Peanut butter cookies are dense and do not cook evenly, which is the original reason for pressing the tines of a fork into each one. With the addition of the chocolate chips, it is not necessary to do so.




1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter (2 Smart Balance sticks)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips



Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, beating after each addition.



Add vanilla and peanut butter...



and beat just until combined.



Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and add just half of that to the cookie mixture. Mix for 30 seconds on a medium low speed, then add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated.



At this point you can refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, a few hours, or even overnight, but it is not absolutely necessary. Refrigerating cookie dough gives you a chewier cookie texture, but these cookies are great either way.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them. I use a rounded scoop of a soup spoon for cookies and am not at all concerned with uniform shape. Use a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop if you like every cookie to look alike. It's important to use basically the same amount so that they will cook evenly, but I like the uneven shape of homemade cookies.



Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.



Let them set on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool...if you can leave them alone that long! They are amazing while still warm from the oven. I stored the very few leftover cookies in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight. I don't know what happened to them after that...they had mysteriously disappeared by the time I got up the next morning.