Peanut Butter Criss Crosses

You can't go wrong with classic peanut butter cookies!

Every once in a while, I really love a good classic peanut butter cookie. I'm not sure honestly what else can be said about these. They are pure nostalgia!

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

Who hasn't wanted to make a pan full of bars that taste just like Reese's cups?!

Hello hello and happy May. I have this easy 5-ingredient recipe to share today that tastes just like a Reese's cup. And it makes a lot of bars that taste just like a Reese's cup, so it's honestly fantastic. It can be cut into whatever size you'd like, so this would be really fun for a party or get-together.

Giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cookie

When you're craving cookies but just one, but maybe more than one, make a GIANT cookie just for you!

Desserts for one/two are some of my favorites because I've been known to slam some cookies and having fewer in the house is better. Because I will eat way too many cookies. I wish I had thought to post the dough ball next to a banana for size reference but it was heavy and as big as my palm - it was crazy. My husband knew I was making cookies but didn't realize it was just one. His face when he walked in when I had this giant cookie was priceless. We ended up splitting it four ways and it was awesome!

Take 5 Cheesecake

This rich cheesecake has a pretzel crust, a caramel sauce topping (and drizzle), and a chocolate peanut butter ganache topping!

I am so excited to finally get around to sharing this recipe (although I'm a few days late actually getting it up like I was supposed to. Sunday Sarah here backdating to Friday - whoops! This is the cake that I made for my sister-in-law's birthday in February 2020. She asked for a cheesecake and said her favorite candy bars were Take 5s. I had never heard of them or had one before, but I was able to find out that they are chocolate with pretzel, caramel, and peanut butter. I mean what's not to love?! So I adapted a Twix cheesecake recipe and replaced the graham crust for pretzel crust and added peanut butter to the ganache. This is definitely really high up there on favorite cheesecakes of all time list. It was SO good.

Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls

This stir fry bowl has loads of flavor and a spicy peanut sauce to finish it off!

Stir frys are the perfect quick meal. They have so much flavor and you can put so many veggies in them. My oldest in particular probably likes stir frys more than other Asian style cuisine simply because the veggies maintain their crunch and he doesn't like when veggies get soft and mushy. I adore this particular stir fry for it's peanut butter sauce and chopped peanuts topping. I don't know why but I love all of these style recipes with peanut sauces and crunchy peanuts or cashews on them. There is so much savory goodness with those additions!

Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal

Start off the morning with an easy oatmeal recipe with the classic combo of peanut butter and bananas.

I think it's really funny that I can eat sliced bananas with other food but not a whole banana by itself. It's the weirdest thing, but anyways I have been craving peanut butter all the time for the past couple years. I want all the peanut butter treats and snacks. I was excited for this breakfast because I love oatmeal and love the idea of "churching" up plain ol' oats with things you probably have in your pantry. It was quick and fantastic and it makes 4 servings, so if you want, you can store it in the fridge for another couple days worth of breakfast!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

Super soft peanut butter bars with chocolate chips, a chocolate ganache, and peanut butter drizzle

When I was in middle school, there was a little bar treat that was an option for dessert in the cafeteria every day. You got two of them and they were just a regular chocolate chip blondie of some sort. They were super soft and moist. I didn't often get lunch money and if I did, I may not have gotten enough to buy a full lunch. I would buy these chocolate chip blondies and that would be my lunch or I'd split my friend's lunch and we'd each get a bar for dessert. These peanut butter chocolate chip blondies are the closest in texture that I have ever come across in a recipe and it was absolutely unintentional. I had no clue that's what I was getting with this dessert. It was pure nostalgia!

Ultimate Reese's Brownies

These brownies are the ultimate treat for pb lovers with pb chips, pb cups, and Reese's Pieces!

I love brownies, but I will admit that I love a box brownie mix. Homemade brownies have been good, but nothing could beat a box mix...until these guys! OMG. They taste like box mix on steroids - love love the Reese's cups and Reese's Pieces and I really love any recipe that has peanut butter chips.

Butterfinger Cheesecake

This peanut butter cheesecake has an Oreo crust, chocolate ganache, and peanut butter whipped cream - and lots of Butterfingers!

I'm unsure why I don't make more Butterfinger desserts. I think they always end up on my favorites list. I wouldn't even consider Butterfingers my favorite candy bar (not even in my top 5), but Butterfinger desserts are always the best! I made this cheesecake for my brother-in-law's birthday. This particular cheesecake has a chocolate crust and a peanut butter base and is topped with chocolate ganache, peanut butter whipped cream, and tons of Butterfingers.

Triple Peanut Butter Cookie Pie

This pie is like a giant peanut butter cookie with more peanut butter treats inside!

I don't really care for pie, but if it's a pie that's actually a cookie...sign me up! I knew this would be a keeper and I knew I would love this recipe and I was right. The base is a peanut butter cookie and then you stuff in mini Reese's cups and peanut or peanut butter M&Ms inside before baking. It's great on its own and it would be great with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Peanut Butter Lover's Cookies

This is the perfect cookie for the pb-obsessed person in your life!

I love these cookies and I think the reason is the peanut butter chips and the honey roasted peanuts. They really make the cookie! I don't get enough recipes with peanut butter chips and I love them. The crunch of the honey roasted peanuts is the best. Plus you have bits of Reese's cups in there too with a peanut butter cookie base. It's sweet and salty, soft and crunchy. They really are the best cookies for a peanut butter lover!

Buckeye Cheesecake Cake

What's better than chocolate cake? Chocolate cake with peanut butter cheesecake in the middle smothered in peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache, and Buckeye candies!

I love seeing what cakes my kids will choose for their birthday cakes. For Matthew's 12th birthday last year, he chose this Buckeye Cheesecake Cake. I was a little surprised because of the cheesecake part, but that's what he wanted and that's what I made. The chocolate cake was fabulous - one of my favorites I've made. The combination of the lovely chocolate cake with the peanut butter cheesecake and frosting was fantastic. I personally found Buckeye candies at our local Cracker Barrel - you can also make a batch and freeze extras. They are sometimes also called peanut butter balls.

PB&J Overnight Oats #FantasticalFoodFight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, check out this page.

This month's Fantastical Food Fight theme is OVERNIGHT OATS. January is National Oatmeal Month and I thought that overnight oats would be a wonderful theme for the first Food Fight of 2019. Many folks are trying to eat a little healthier or start healthy habits in the new year, so I thought sharing these great breakfast recipes that are make ahead would be perfect for January!

The recipe I decided to go with is one that was on my to-make list for such a long time. I knew that I wanted to do the peanut butter and jelly flavor combination (it was one out of seven or eight recipes, I believe). I've been eating pb&js for snack a lot lately and I wasn't really feeling a bunch of fresh fruit or anything super sweet, like the chocolate chip cookie dough overnight oats I had made years ago. I did substitute out maple syrup for honey because I don't care for maple flavor. These are so incredibly easy to make and the payoff is unbelievable the next day. It tastes like the perfect pb&j sandwich but in oats form. You can choose any fruit jam or preserves you would like. I went with blackberry jam which is my absolute favorite.

Reese's Cookies

Peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips and topped with Reese's Cups for all that peanut butter and chocolate flavor!

What's better than chocolate chip cookies? Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! What's better than peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Those cookies with Reese's Cups! It's all the peanut butter and chocolate goodness in one cookie. There is no wait time where dough has to chill and the cookie itself turns out so soft and chewy - my favorite! The mini Reese's Cups are put on after the cookies come out of the oven and they end up melting slightly. It makes for the perfect ooey gooey chocolate in each bite.

Snickers Cheesecake Pie

A lovely no-bake dessert with loads of chocolate and caramel - sure to please a crowd!

I am not a fan of pie. Really it's not so much that I don't like pie as much as I don't like pie crust. I tolerate pumpkin pie because I'll eat the bottom of the crust and leave the edges alone. But otherwise, pie is just not my thing. I do love a pie like this Snickers Cheesecake Pie because it uses graham crackers for the crust. No hate for graham cracker crust. Graham cracker crust is the bomb. This particular dessert was definitely bound to be a favorite because it has my OG favorite candy bar, Snickers. It's a wonderful no-bake dessert - hope you guys try it out!

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies #FantasticalFoodFight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, check out this page.

This month's Fantastical Food Fight theme is OATMEAL because January is National Oatmeal Month. Even though I host and plan the event, I typically don't pick my recipe until the theme is announced for everyone. I will go to my Pinterest boards and type in the ingredient or theme and see what pops up. This particular month, I was meal planning and happened to be looking for a cookie recipe for the first weekend of January and saw this Butterfinger Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies recipe with oatmeal in it. I immediately moved it to my meal plan board and was so excited to make it.

I have made Butterfinger Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction before, but I really thought these looked quite good. The other ones were just a regular cookie base with candy in it. These, on the other hand, are peanut butter cookies with candy PLUS oatmeal, which is the whole reason for making them for the Food Fight! They are chewy and peanut buttery and the bits of milk chocolate chips and Butterfinger candy are the best - it's like a burst of rich chocolatey goodness!

Buckeye Cheeseball

This treat is especially perfect for Ohio State fans on game day! But you don't have to be a born and bred Buckeye to enjoy this sweet pb and chocolate appetizer!

Every Christmas, I look forward to two treats that my mom-in-law makes: potato candy and buckeyes. My husband's family is from Ohio, which is referred to as "The Buckeye State" because of its buckeye trees. Buckeye seeds are little brown nut-like looking things with a little yellow eye shape on them, so when buckeye candy is made, it's with peanut butter, chocolate, and a little circle "eye" is left bare to resemble the seeds. I was so excited when I saw Erin of The Spiffy Cookie post this recipe and knew I had to make it. I do wish I had more patience to cover the cheeseball with chocolate chips more fully, but I ain't got time for that. Regardless, it was a great snack to have out on the kitchen island with tons of teddy grahams around to dig into the cheeseball.

If you're a Ohio State fan, this would be a great dish for game day! ;)

Peanut Butter S'mores Crunch Bars

What do you get when you cross s'mores with Rice Krispie treats and Reese's? Heaven!!

So this dessert is what happens when you combine s'mores with Rice Krispie Treats and Reese's cups and it is wonderful. There is so much crunch to it and it's also delicious. If you haven't tried a s'mores with a Reese's cup instead of a Hershey's bar, I highly recommend it! It's my favorite way to eat s'mores. All the elements together work so well and it's really such an easy dessert to make. You don't have to be ridiculously skilled at making desserts to make this. You layer most of the ingredients and the other half is just melting a chocolate mixture in the microwave and stirring peanut butter and Rice Krispies into it. So anyone can make this. If you have kids (or have friends with kids or you're an aunt/uncle/cousin etc to kids), this would be a great recipe to make with kids of any age.

Peanut Butter Sweetie Pie

This sweetie pie combines peanut butter and chocolate and tastes like a cookie!

I don't make pie a lot because I'm not a big fan of pie crust. Next time I make this pie, I'm definitely going to use a chocolate graham crust because that sounds like the perfect crust for a pie like this. Not only is there peanut butter in the batter, but you also have peanut butter M&Ms, which are one of my favorites. I go back and forth between peanut butter and plain peanut M&Ms being my favorite. This sweetie pie is like a giant cookie and it's so awesome! :)

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

I could eat the Thai peanut salad dressing with a spoon, but alas I had to save it for this wonderful salad!

You know how there's that thing where if you crave one thing, it means your body needs something else? I wonder what it means when you crave veggies. I have eaten a salad as a snack. I have no shame. Salads are just one of my favorite meals ever. I had a salad yesterday with no meat on it, but I do prefer chicken on my salad. I love the addition of cabbage to the lettuce and all the goodies that are in this particular salad before you even get to the dressing. I'm not kidding when I say I'd eat it with a spoon. The savory factor added by the peanut butter is straight up crazy! It's funny because years ago when I got the cookbook this recipe is from...I probably skipped past this recipe thinking it was crazy to have peanut butter in a savory dish...and even crazier to put it in salad dressing. But now, I am all for it! I wish I had been a fraction more willing to try new things back then.