Baking: Peanut Butter Chips Brownie Cups

Peanut Butter Chips Brownie Cups
This blog started out as a baking blog but lately, the ratio of food review posts to baking posts have shrunk to 10:1 (??). *Sigh* Where has my unstoppable drive for baking gone?

Anyway, to finish up the container of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder and a packet of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (both items bought from HK) before I have to throw them out from the pantry, I came across this recipe that uses both items. And much to my delight, it happens to be a really easy recipe too.
And I was not disappointed with the end result either. Best served warm, the slightly moist dark chocolate center with the slightly crusty top paired so well with the yummy peanut butter chips!

So, so delicious.....

If only both Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder and Reese's Peanut Butter Chips are available locally. (If you happen to know where I can get them locally, please, please let me know. TQ)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins (Martha Stewart's Recipe)

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins
Seems like I am experiencing a major "baker's block". It's not that I don't like baking anymore but rather, I couldn't seem to find the time and motivation to bake. But I still bake, occassionally. And for simpler recipes like this Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins, adapted from Martha Stewart's The Baking Handbook. Rather good, I would say. And anything with tons of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips are bound to be yummy too!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's The Baking Handbook - "Cranberry Zucchini Muffins"
1+3/4c plain flour (recipe does not require flour to be sifted but I sifted it nonetheless)
1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/4t salt
2 Large eggs
1c sugar
1/2c vegetable oil
1/2t pure vanilla extract
1c of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips combined
Method:
1. Line muffin pan with muffin/cupcake liners.
2. Preheat oven to 375f .
3. Whisk together together the first 4 (dry) ingredients in a bowl.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the next 4 (wet) ingredients.
5. Add the flour mixture to (4) . Stir to combine but DO NOT OVERMIX*. (*which will result in dry and lumpy muffins)
6. Gently fold in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.
7. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. It should come up to 80-90% full of each cup.
8. Bake for about 25-30 mins or until the top is golden brown and the skewer comes out dry when inserted into the center of the muffins. For even baking, rotate the pan halfway through.
9. Transfer to the wire rack to cool for about 5-10 mins before turning them out from the pan to cool completely on the rack.

Baking Cookies: Ebony & Ivory

Ebony: Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

The school holidays are here again. As a treat to the little ones at home, I baked some cookies to keep their sweet tooth satiated. Nothing works better than classic chocolate chip cookies. I baked 2 types using new recipes and nick-named them Ebony (Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies) & Ivory (Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies). The former was soft and chewy, and the Peanut Butter chips very, very addictive. The latter was one of the more successful crispy-type CC cookies recipe that I have tried, mainly due to the amount of shortening used (I think). However, you should note the shortening is basically flavourless so that the end results are less fragrant than one that uses all butter. I would suggest increasing the butter:shortening ratio (through test & trial) or increasing the amount of vanilla essence (or use premium quality vanilla paste) to give the cookies more fragrance and flavour.

Recipe for Ebony (Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies) based on Cookie Madness recipe.
1/2c butter softened
3/4c sugar
1 large egg
1t vanilla
2c plain flour
1/3c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 + 1/8t baking soda
1/4t salt
1 generous cup (or more) of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (optional: mix with chocolate chips)

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture. Add in in peanut butter chips. Chill for about 30 minutes and drop by tablespoonfuls onto silpat or baking sheet lined with non-stick paper. Bake at 175 celsius degrees (pre-heated) for 8-10 minutes. Cool on sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to wire rack to cool completely. Store in air-tight container.


Ivory (Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies) based on recipe from The Canadian Baker
1/4 c softened butter + 1/4c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 /2 T vanilla
1c plain flour
1/2t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
(optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans)

1) Cream butter with shortening and slowly add in sugars. Cream until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2) Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add into (1). Mix till just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
3) Chill for about 30 minutes and drop by tablespoonfuls onto silpat or baking sheet lined with non-stick paper. Leave some space in between cookie doughs (it will spread) and lightly flatten with fork.
4) Bake at 190 celsius degrees (pre-heated) for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden but center still looks slightly underbaked.
5) Cool on sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to wire rack to cool completely. Store in air-tight container.

Another Cookie, Another Rave (PB Filled Chocolate Cookie & Orange Choc Chip Madeleine)

I seems to be having luck when trying new cookies recipes recently. Almost all were really good! And I am not saying it just because I baked them... (ahem...)

Anyway, here's the latest recipe that I tried,
Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter center. ~ (FAVOURITE RECIPE)
Chocolate? - Checked!
Peanut Butter? - Checked!
Cookie Ecstasy? - Checked!!!

Based on this recipe. (Sugar reduced . Also, used Van Houten Cocoa Powder. Anyone knows where to get 'Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder' in KL?)

In addition, the kids have been requesting me to bake some madeleines. They like the previous batch that I baked for them. To try a new flavour, I substituted vanilla with orange oil and added chocolate chips. Funnily, these were less popular than the plain vanilla ones. I guess they are less of a fan of orange than vanilla. Oh well, at least I don't have to fight with the kids for these madeleines. *grin*


By the way, in the interest of 'good photography', the first picture was taken outdoor to catch the last of natural sunlight before dusk sets in. When my mom saw me, she said alarmingly, "What are you doing crouching on the lawn?" And typical of her, she added, "The neighbours would think that I raised a mad daughter..." Maybe a little mad, but also talented - yes?

3 of My Best! (Flourless Peanut Butter, Choc Chunk Cookies & Donna Hay's Cupcakes)

Recently discovered 2 really good cookie recipes. In fact, these recipes are 2 of the best batches of cookies I have baked so far.

Top of the list is the Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. Recipe is from Baking Sheet (see side bar for link to this blog). No flour was used here, this is a ‘pure-bred’ Peanut Butter cookie (hehe) . The cookie was simply held together by the egg(s) used. Crumbly but yet, melts in your mouth.


Next, we have the Chewy Chocolate Chunk cookies (FAVOURITE RECIPE) made famous by ‘the baker’. This is easily my favourite chocolate chip/chunk cookie recipe. Those who were lucky enough to taste them (namely my nephews and niece, Amos the eldest in particular) exclaimed,
“These cookies are even better than Famous Amos!”
I preened with pride….. ;-p


Not forgetting this cupcake recipe by Donna Hay. It has somewhat relegated to a ‘cult’ status among food bloggers. After baking this for the first time previously, I could see what the hype was all about. Here, I baked the original version – Peanut Butter Self-frosting Cupcakes. (FAVOURITE RECIPE)

Re-creating a Favourite (Peanut Butter Layered Sponge Cake)

Two of my favourite cakes can be found at Bon Bon Cafe in Damansara Jaya. One is the infamous and seasonal Durian Cream Cake (ooh.....) and the other is the Peanut Butter Coffee Cream Cake. Truly delicious, I tell you.

So today, I tried to re-create the latter. Not that I didn't want to try to re-create the former but so far, any plans to make durian desserts had always failed; reason being the durians were all gone (aka in my stomach) before I could manage to use them for desserts...haha.

Anyway, what I did was to bake a coffee-flavoured sponge cake, sliced them into 2 and sandwiched them with some Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe found on the net). Now the Peanut Butter Frosting recipe that I used was one of those icing sugar frosting type. In others, it could be sickeningly sweet. So what I did was to reduce the amount of icing used and upped the quantity of peanut butter.

So was the result anywhere near the BB's version? Unfortunately, nope. The frosting was still far too sweet but it can be quite addictive for a sweet-toothed person. But next time I should probably use a buttercream type frosting. The sponge cake was ok but could use a little bit more coffee flavour.

Oh well, first try down and 2nd try to come about soon!