Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies with Whipped Chocolate Ganache - SRC

Most people find a pan of brownies pretty irresistible, right?

How about if you cover the brownies with a layer of peanut butter topping?  Oh, don't stop there, let's add a layer of whipped ganache frosting!!

This pan of decadence got 2 big thumbs up from my crew of eaters. I never saw them eat their soup so fast, knowing this was waiting for dessert.

The recipe came from my Secret Recipe Club assignment for the month, It's Yummi, where Chef Becca uses her culinary expertise to create and share from-scratch, mainly healthy recipes. She has a wealth of amazing recipes, like Key Lime Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust , Slow Cooker BBQ Baked Beans and one that Grant would cheer for  - Double Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Tart. 

(I need to ask for a tart pan for Christmas. Seriously, how have I baked for so long without one?)

All that to say, I thoroughly enjoyed browsing her blog and have found plenty of pin-worthy recipes to add to my list of things to try.

These brownies just sounded too good though. And they did not disappoint. I ended up halving her ganache layer ingredients - I mean, I LOVE ganache, but I figured we could cut the calories a little bit without sacrificing the flavor.

The peanut butter layer, which is just a package of peanut butter chips melted with some butter, hardened up more than I was expecting and I wondered if it would matter - turned out it added a nice texture variation and great flavor. Just don't expect it to be light and fluffy like a peanut butter buttercream frosting would be.

It still cuts fine with a sharp knife at room temperature, but I imagine if you chilled the brownies in the fridge, they would be harder to cut neatly.

These brownies were a huge hit and would be a great gift for that chocolate-peanut butter fan in your life.

Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

from Rebekah's Family, Food, and Fun

Yield: 9"square pan of brownies

Brownie Layer:

5 oz (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp) salted butter, room temperature

3.5 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

3.5 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 oz (2/3 cup) all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Peanut Butter Layer:

10 oz (1 bag) Reese's peanut butter chips

2 oz (1/2 stick) butter

Ganache Frosting:

5 ounces chocolate, finely chopped (I used mostly semi-sweet and some white chocolate)

4 ounces heavy cream

For the Brownies:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line an 8 or 9" square baking pan with foil, extending up the sides by 2 inches. Spray with cooking spray.
3. Melt butter and chocolates in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each one before adding the next.
4. Continue to whisk until mixture is completely smooth and glossy. Add flour and baking powder and stir just until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with wet crumbs - about 20-25 minutes.
6. When the brownies have about 5 minutes left to bake, make the peanut butter filling.

For the Peanut Butter Layer:

1. Place the peanut butter chips and butter into a microwaveable glass bowl. Heat at medium power for 1 minute. Stir and continue to heat on medium power in 30 second intervals until the mixture is melted and glossy in appearance.
2. When the brownies come out of the oven, pour peanut butter mixture over the top of the warm brownies. Spread evenly over the top. Cool brownies completely.

For the Ganache: 

1. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring cream to a simmer (do not boil). Pour cream over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Place in refrigerator until completely chilled, whisking occasionally.
3. After ganache has chilled, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Spread on top of brownies.

Source: adapted slightly from It's Yummi

An InLinkz Link-up

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

You know the old saying, "Better late than never"?  

So totally applies here. Nearly three months has passed since we indulged in this incredible cheesecake.    

This was the dessert I made for Christmas Eve......and I made a second one as a Christmas gift for my brother and his girlfriend.  

However, I think that peppermint is a perfectly acceptable flavor all year round, and I refuse to wait till next Christmas season to share this recipe.  

It certainly takes several steps and requires at least a couple of days to make, since you have to make the peppermint bark a day before making the cheesecake.  (Well, I suppose you could toss the bark in the freezer to firm up faster, so you could rush the process, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. )

But it is definitely worth the wait.  

Here's the breakdown:

Creamy white chocolate cheesecake on an Oreo crust, studded with chunks of white and dark chocolate peppermint bark, topped with a luscious white chocolate mousse, and garnished with those scrumptious little Andes peppermint baking bits (or peppermint candies if you prefer).  

Yep.  Pretty hard to resist.  And a perfectly festive finale to a Christmas Eve dinner, or a Christmas dinner, or a Tuesday night dinner.  Just sayin'.

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake 

(adapted slightly from Baked by Rachel)

Peppermint Bark: 

4 oz milk or dark chocolate

4 oz white chocolate

1 tsp. oil, divided

1/4 tsp peppermint extract, divided

Crushed candy canes or peppermint candies, powder removed

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. 

Prepare candy canes by unwrapping and tossing in a ziplock bag.  Smash with a meat tenderizer, rolling pin, or other heavy object.  Don't pulverize the candy, but don't leave any huge chunks either.  Place in a fine-mesh strainer and shake gently (over the sink or garbage) to remove the dust.  

In a medium sized bowl, place milk or dark chocolate and 1/2 tsp. oil.  Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals at 50% power.  Stir well after each 30 seconds.  When fully melted, add 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract. Stir well.  Spread out evenly on prepared pan.  Sprinkle with crushed candies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate has set.  

Repeat process with white chocolate.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Crust:

2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (or 22 regular Oreos with filling - not double stuffed)

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

4 oz. white chocolate, melted (I used a Ghirradeli bar)

1-1/2 Tbsp. flour

1-1/2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. peppermint extract

3 eggs

Peppermint Bark Recipe, broken into chunks 

Mousse:

1/4 cup heavy cream, chilled

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 oz. white chocolate, melted

1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Peppermint pieces, Andes peppermint baking bits, or shaved chocolate for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a blender or food processor, blend cookies until they're fine crumbs. Stir together with melted butter.  Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Set aside.

Reduce oven temp. to 325°.  

Cut up peppermint bark into small pieces.  Set aside

Melt 4 oz. white chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Stir until smooth.  

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix well.  Scrape bowl well prior to each new addition and as needed.  Add melted chocolate, flour, heavy cream, salt, and peppermint extract.  Mix well.  On medium/low speed, add one egg at a time.  Mix until smooth, but don't overbeat. 

Stir in peppermint bark pieces by hand. 

Pour filling into crust and bake at 325°F. for 1 hour.  Turn off the oven.  Keeping the door shut, leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 45 minutes.  Remove and allow to sit for at least 1 hour before chilling.

Chill 4 hours or overnight before adding the mousse.  

To make the mousse, begin by making whipped cream. Pour the heavy cream in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  

In another medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese, melted white chocolate, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream until fully incorporated. 

Carefully remove the side of springform pan.  Spread mousse mixture evenly over cheesecake. Chill for at least a couple of hours before serving.  

Serve slices with Andes peppermint baking bits or crushed peppermint candies and chocolate shavings if desired.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yesterday was the Saturday before Christmas.  I was hankering for a special breakfast - either something we hadn't had in awhile or something new.  

I remembered that I had seen cinnamon roll pancakes in several places in the past few months and the idea just wouldn't go away.  

I asked Grant if he'd rather me make Gingerbread Pancakes or Cinnamon Roll Pancakes.  

I had a strong feeling I knew what his answer would be.

See, Grant and Corban are h.u.g.e. fans of Gingerbread Pancakes.  I don't even know when I made them last, but it's been months. Plus, what better time to make them than at Christmas time?  Not to mention the fact that Grant isn't always a fan of me trying new recipes - he enjoys the old faithful ones that he's sure he'll like. (of course, all of my recipes were new to him at some point....but I digress.)

So I was surprised and delighted when he replied, "Make Cinnamon Roll Pancakes."  

Alrighty then!  Good thing, because I couldn't find my mom's ginger anyways and she wasn't up yet.  hehehe.

Cooking/baking in a kitchen that isn't your own can be a challenge.  

So I have to say, these are so much easier than you might think.  They only take a few extra minutes to make versus plain pancakes, and they are so amazingly delicious.  

They'll probably make your griddle or frying pan a little messy - I recommend scraping the excess cinnamon mixture off between batches of pancakes.  

The original recipe called for a cream cheese frosting. I decided that was a little over the top - I reserve that sort of decadence for Christmas Day with these, after all - so I just made a simple glaze that is a lot less calories and cheaper, too.  I also reduced the amount of filling the recipe called for and still had some left over.

I was feeding my family of seven (some being small children) plus two extra adults (my parents) with this recipe, and we only had two leftover after everyone had their fill.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half or thirds if you have a small crew.  

But plan for extras - because once you taste these, you won't want to stop at a reasonable portion.  They're just too good,  

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes (adapted from Recipe Snobs)

Cinnamon Filling:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 T. cinnamon

Pancakes: 

3-1/4 cups flour (I used part whole wheat, part unbleached all purpose)

2 T. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 T. brown sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups milk

1/3 cup oil (I used expeller pressed coconut oil)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3 T. milk

To make the filling, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon well.  Spoon into a ziplock bag and snip off one tiny corner.  Set aside in a bowl.

Preheat your griddle or frying pan while you're making the pancakes.  

To make the pancakes, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and oil.  Pour into the dry mixture and stir to combine.  Don't over stir; a few lumps are just fine.  

Drop the batter on the griddle using a 1/4 cup  measuring scoop.

When the pancakes begin to form bubble, add the filling.  Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl, just like you see in a regular cinnamon roll.  Be careful to not get the filling too close to the sides.  It will bleed over. Cook the pancakes until the bubbles begin popping on top and they're golden brown on the bottom..  Flip over and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until golden.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a drizzling consistency.  Stir until smooth and drizzle over warm pancakes.  

Linked to SnoWhite's Countdown to 2013 - Best Breakfast Recipes and Crazy Sweet Tuesday

Happy Mother's Day!

A little tribute to my mom, a truly great example of what motherhood should be. 

She has spent her entire adult life dedicated to raising, schooling, training, and loving 

her five children and has been blessed with twelve grandchildren so far (number 13 in my womb), whom she also strives to help train in the way they should go. 

Her children and grandchildren do rise up and call her blessed....

we appreciate all the sacrifices she has made in our upbringing and her devotion to 

God and our dad in providing a stable, loving home environment for us.   

I love you, Mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

Five siblings all together again for the first time in about 3 years.  

Front row:  Anna, Sarah, Mom, me

Back row: Jeremy, Dad, Joseph

Front row: Me, Mom, Sarah, Anna

Back row: Joseph, Jeremy, Dad

Mom and Dad with all of their grandchildren.

What a fun time we all had together!

Turkey in 2.5 hours

If you can believe it, this is the first full-sized turkey I've ever made on my own.  We're usually with family for holidays and either my mom or mother-in-law has turkey duty.  But since we were home last Christmas with no family visiting, it was my opportunity to give it a shot solo.  

I decided to go with this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, because it sounded easy and delicious, not to mention quick!  

It is a little unconventional in the cooking method; after cooking the turkey at a high temperature (500°!!) for a little while, you pull it out and put a grease tent over it.  You can use a regular brown paper grocery bag, or if you're concerned about the health hazards that have been reported, you can do as I did (following the suggestion of one of the commenter's from Mel's recipe) and staple two cut lunch bags together.  Basically you cut off the bottom of the bag(s), butter both sides of the paper and create a tent over the turkey that is open on both ends.  Like so. 

Then you lower the oven temp to 400° and cook for 2 hours.  My turkey was just under 15 lbs and I think I could have taken it out about 15 minutes earlier, but it ended up just fine.  Delicious, actually.  

I loved the flavor, the juiciness, the smells, everything about it.  Just wonderful!  

My only issue was not being able to make gravy from the drippings because they were a burnt mess on the bottom of my pan....but that happens every time we use this pan for a turkey, so I think it must be an issue with my pan.  Any ideas, veteran turkey makers? 

I can hardly wait for an occasion to make this one again.  

Recipe: (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Printable Version

1 14-22 pound turkey
carrots, celery (cut into large chunks), onion (peeled and cut into large chunks), garlic cloves (peeled and smashed)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
butter
brown paper bag or 2 lunch bags cut and stapled together

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and let it heat for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck and wash the turkey. Fill the cavity of the turkey with carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. With your hands, rub the entire turkey with the lemon juice mixture.

Place the turkey breast down (this is opposite of how a turkey is normally cooked - so just flip the turkey upside down) in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the hot oven for as many minutes as the turkey weighs (ie. 19 lb. turkey = 19 minutes). Bake for the allotted time.

Meanwhile, grease a large brown paper bag with butter on both sides. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully (because the turkey and roasting pan are HOT) make a tent out of the paper bag and drape it over the turkey, taking care to tuck the sides of the bag into the roasting pan (otherwise, the butter will drip off the bag, leap onto the oven burner and possibly create a large fire.) Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the turkey for two hours.

Remove the roasting pan and turkey from the oven and let turkey sit for 20 minutes. Remove turkey from the roasting pan and pour the drippings into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Make a slurry from flour and water (to the consistency of thick, heavy cream) and add to the drippings until desired consistency is reached.