thursday things – i’m getting old and some other stuff

sidewalk

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! By “that time” I mean the time of year when I get another year older… Here is a little known fact. My neighborhood was built the same year that I was born. The sidewalk reminds me of this every day.

WHICH MEANS… In a few days I will officially be saying “goodbye” to my 20s and move into the big bad world of adulthood. Like, grown up adulthood.

Scary.

Last year I was indecisive so I made two cakes, this year I went back to Momofuku and have cobbled together a cake recipe from their Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. Recipe will be coming next week (Monday is the big day!) but here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming up!

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reese’s pieces popcorn

reeses pieces 0173

In my ongoing quest to feed my (seemingly) endless desire for sweets without having to turn on an oven or stove, I came back around to popcorn.

Yes, popcorn.

Remember that tasty s’mores popcorn from a few weeks back?  Well, BF has been asking for it over and over again.  Me being the wonderful girlfriend that I am, instead of giving it to him, I made him something else!

Reeses Popcorn 1227

Something I was pretty sure that he would still love.  Filled with one of his favorite candies.  And I made it so that I could eat it too, by adding lots and lots of extra peanut butter.  I know that we’ve recently exchanged words about my sentiment toward Reese’s Pieces, but I do still love peanut butter, and I had another half bag of adorable mini Reese’s Pieces to use up.

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See that? Easy peasy!

Reese’s Pieces Popcorn

Makes about 10 cups popcorn

Printable Recipe

  • 1 3-ounce bag microwave popcorn, popped
  • generous sprinkle of salt, to taste
  • ½ cup white chocolate or vanilla chips
  • ¼ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup mini Reeses Pieces

1.  Spread popped popcorn on a large rimmed baking sheet.

2.  Microwave peanut butter and vanilla chips in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so,  until melted.  Drizzle half of the peanut butter mixture over popcorn and sprinkle with a generous helping of salt.  Toss to coat.

3.  Sprinkle Reese’s Pieces over popcorn, and drizzle remaining peanut butter in a pretty, haphazard pattern.  Allow to cool completely.  This popcorn is best eaten the day it’s made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

 

 

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reeses pieces no-bake peanut butter pie

 

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It’s no secret that I love Reese’s.  If “Reese’s” was a real man, he would need a restraining order against me.

What is a lesser-known thing about me, is that I hate Reese’s pieces.  To me, they are the bastard child of the Reese’s corporation.  It’s weird, I know, because I love peanut butter so much (along with just about every other item that Reese’s makes), but these pieces… they just don’t do it for me.  I think it’s because they lack the flavor contrast provided by the chocolate, nor do they have the saltiness that gives peanut butter such a special place in my heart.

They’re just… bland.  Or something.

I don’t know what it is but I just don’t like them.  (Give me a bag of peanut butter M&Ms, however, and I will eat it until I’m sick to my stomach)

reeses pie 0015

But the BF, he loves Reese’s pieces.  With a passion.  They are pretty much his most favorite thing ever.  Clearly if the person I love could love something so much, it can’t be all bad, right?

So, I tried to make something that would satisfy both his love of Reese’s pieces, and my love of everything else that is peanut butter in the world.

Turns out that he’s onto something, because this pie is pretty awesome.

This pie makes up for everything those poor pieces lack on their own, like chocolate.  The pieces even help the pie out a bit, too, by offering a nice crunch to complement the otherwise creamy texture.  In fact, I think that without the pieces, the pie might even be a little too creamy… if that’s really a thing?

I mean, you don’t want your mouth to get bored when you’re eating dessert.  “Too creamy” will do that.  Bore your mouth.

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A little salty, a little sweet, a little creamy and a little crunch.  Yeah, this pie has pretty much the best of everything… no boredom here.

And, if you’re not too fancy for a store-bought Oreo crust, you don’t even need to turn on the oven!  Which is going to be a popular thing around here this month, since we are battling an excruciating heat wave.

It was 119 over the weekend.

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So yeah… I’m not trying to turn the oven on anytime soon.

In fact, it’s been so hot that I’ve been thinking about testing that whole “baking cookies in your car” thing to see if it really works.  I mean, if it works, what better place to test it?  Put the cookies in my car on my lunch break, let them bake in the sun, get into a car that smells like fresh-baked cookies after work… I don’t see any way that this could possibly go wrong.

I’ve made this dessert in another way, once upon a time ago.  I’m pretty sure all the pictures were taken with my old-school cell phone a million years ago.  But this, this is a faster, easier version.  If you want to make it the hard way, feel free to make every ounce of it from scratch following the directions here.

But since it’s summer, and it’s hot, and this is all about takin’ it easy, I recommend you follow this one below:

Reese’s Pieces No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Printable Recipe

Makes 1 9-inch pie

  • 1 9-inch Oreo pie crust (homemade or store bought)

  • 1 cup chopped Reese’s Pieces, I chopped mine, but I’m sure that’s not really necessary

  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed (freshly-whipped cream works, but ya know, we’re being lazy)

  • ½ cup powdered sugar

  • 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp

  • 1 cup peanut butter (I always use Jif Creamy)

  • 2 Tbsp whole milk (I used 2% and the world did not collapse)

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • 4 oz bittersweet (I used leftover semisweet mini chips) chocolate, chopped

1.  Toss chopped Reese’s Pieces, mini chocolate chips, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2.  In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese with powdered sugar. Start slow, once incorporated mix at medium speed until cream cheese is smooth. Beat in peanut butter, milk, and ¼ cup of the “crunch”.

3. Stir in ¼ of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture.  Once incorporated, stir in the rest of the “crunch” mixture (I left some aside to sprinkle on top). Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream, being sure to scrape the bottom.

4. Pour peanut butter mixture into the crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cover with plastic wrap once the mousse firms.

5. To finish, heat heavy cream in the microwave until almost boiling (about 2 – 3 minutes).  Add the chopped chocolate (I used leftover mini chocolate chips) and stir vigorously with a fork until it’s smooth and shiny. Pour the “ganache” over the pie, and smooth (or tilt the pie) to cover the top. Sprinkle with reserved crunch (if you saved some) and place the pie back in the refrigerator to set for at least 20 minutes.

reeses cup bundt cake

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By the time you read this, I should be on my way to California… on VACATIONNNNN!!!

So, since this will be the last post for awhile, and the last March (cake) Madness post, it is only fitting that I would combine two of my favorite things: chocolate and peanut butter.  And Reese’s cups, to make it more redundant.  And more delicious.

This cake was arguably the first “recipe” I ever made.  Once upon a time ago, when I was a little girl baking with my momma, we needed to make a dessert for our neighborhood block party (remember those?).  Mom asked what we should bring and of course my brain immediately went to my then (and still) favorite candy, Reese’s Cups.  In cake form.

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Of course back then it was just a box cake mix and a bajillion chopped up Reese’s cups.  Mixed into the cake, adorning the top, dumped into the hole in the middle… I even halved them and made a little Reese’s border along the outside of the cake.

I didn’t have enough mini Reese’s to do that this time.

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I didn’t really miss them.  (Ok, maybe I missed them a little bit)

This cake was so good, as soon as I took a bite I was immediately upset, because I knew that it was suddenly a choice between cake and dinner… No one should ever need to make that choice.

Especially when ganache and Reese’s are involved.

It was even better the next day, in case yours lasts that long.

 

Reese’s Cup Bundt Cake

Makes 1 bundt cake

Printable Recipe

For the cake:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter

  • ⅓ cup dutch processed cocoa powder

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt (unless your peanut butter is really salty)

  • ⅓  cup creamy peanut butter (I always use Jif)

  • 1 cup water

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

  • 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

  • 2 large room temperature eggs, lightly beaten

  • ½ cup sour cream; room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 10 reeses cups, roughly chopped (usually easier to chop if they’re chilled)

  • Mini reeses, for decorating (optional)

For the chocolate glaze:

  • ½ cup chocolate chips (or 4 ounces chopped chocolate)

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

1.  Heat butter, peanut butter, and water over medium heat in a small saucepan until butter and peanut butter are just melted.  Stir in cocoa powder and set aside to cool to room temperature.  To ensure my impatience didn’t get in my way, I decided to wait to preheat the oven until this point and didn’t let myself mix anything until the oven beeped.

2.  Preheat oven to 350˚F and prep a bundt pan with butter and flour or with Pam for Baking

3.  In a large bowl, sift or whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda until well mixed.

4.  Slowly whisk or beat in the melted butter mixture until combined, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and whisk to incorporate.  Stir in sour cream until combined.

5.  Option 1: Pour half of batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups, and pour remaining half of batter over the Reese’s.

 Option 2:  Stir peanut butter cups  into batter and pour into prepared pan.

6.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes until done.  Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack and remove pan to finish cooling completely.

7.  Once your cake is cooled, make your ganache by heating your cream just until it starts to bubble.  I usually do that by heating it in a 2-cup measuring cup in the microwave, but you can use a saucepan on the stove if you like.

Add chocolate and corn syrup and whisk to combine (if you used a pan for your cream, pour the cream over the chocolate instead).  At first it will look like it’s going well, then it will look like it’s going very poorly, then if you just keep whisking you’ll be relieved when it all comes back together again.

 

better than crack brownies

better than crack brownies

These brownies were baked on Saturday night, while enjoying jellybean cocktails and watching reality TV. Chocolate, alcohol, and trashy TV… I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday night. Can you?

Layers of chewy brownies, chopped Reese’s and a crunchy chocolate/crisp rice cereal mixture make these positively divine. Be sure to cut these into tiny squares, not only because they’re rich but so that when you share, you only have to share a little bit (and you can hoard the rest for yourself).

The recipe called for peanuts as well, but I don’t like nuts in my baked goods (generally speaking) so I left them out. Feel free to use them if you like. I might have added more Reese’s to the peanut butter cup layer, but that’s up to you. If you want a thicker brownie layer, go ahead and double the batch of brownies (I had a hard time spreading mine to take up the whole pan).

Crunchy, chewy, sweet, and salty – these brownies have it all.

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

[ Printable Recipe ]

  • 1 batch brownies (boxed mix or your favorite recipe)
  • 1/2 cup salted peanuts (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups
  • 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 1/2 cups Crisp Rice Cereal

1. Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.

2. When they are finished baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Pour cereal mixture evenly over brownies.

3. Chill two hours to firm up before cutting.

[ Adapted from How Sweet It Is ]

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