C HO C O L A T E + P E A N U T B U T T E R = L O V E
What is it about this combination that is so irresistable?? How the creamy, nuttiness of the peanut butter balances out the dreamy, sweetness that is chocolate. Perhaps it is because growing up, my favorite candy in the whole world was a Reese's Peanut Butter cup.
Did you ever notice that every holiday, the Reese's cup took on a different identity?
Valentine's Day, you could get a whole family of gourmet cups in shiny red wrappers and sweetly packed in a heart-shaped box. Our Easter baskets always had at least one peanut butter shaped egg doused with milk chocolate and popping out from the neon-colored grass. Christmas you could choose from bell- or tree-shaped chocolates. But Halloween, oh Halloween... Now this was the holiday that was invented for Reese's! What other candy so perfectly reflected the holiday with its orange packaging and dark chocolate goodness?
My little sister and I would get back from our night of Trick-or-Treating and dump our buckets in the middle of the living room floor so we could count and organize our loot. We each had our own method. Janna would place each piece of candy around her in a circle. Surrounded by happiness, she would begin to taste her favorites. I, on the other hand, chose another method---I organized each candy into it's own pile. Once this was accomplished, I would eat a piece from one of the piles that had more than the others. I would proceed this way over several weeks until each candy had "it's turn" and I had one left of each type. The one exception was Reese's cups. No matter what other candies I collected that fateful night, the Reese's cups were my trophy prize. Usually hidden in a discrete location away from the other candy (and in a secret spot that my mom and sister couldn't find), I waited until special moments to eat these treasures and could make them last for months--Quite the feat for a little girl obsessed with chocolate! And you can argue with me about this, but the best way to eat a Reese's is outlined below:
What is it about this combination that is so irresistable?? How the creamy, nuttiness of the peanut butter balances out the dreamy, sweetness that is chocolate. Perhaps it is because growing up, my favorite candy in the whole world was a Reese's Peanut Butter cup.
Did you ever notice that every holiday, the Reese's cup took on a different identity?
Valentine's Day, you could get a whole family of gourmet cups in shiny red wrappers and sweetly packed in a heart-shaped box. Our Easter baskets always had at least one peanut butter shaped egg doused with milk chocolate and popping out from the neon-colored grass. Christmas you could choose from bell- or tree-shaped chocolates. But Halloween, oh Halloween... Now this was the holiday that was invented for Reese's! What other candy so perfectly reflected the holiday with its orange packaging and dark chocolate goodness?
My little sister and I would get back from our night of Trick-or-Treating and dump our buckets in the middle of the living room floor so we could count and organize our loot. We each had our own method. Janna would place each piece of candy around her in a circle. Surrounded by happiness, she would begin to taste her favorites. I, on the other hand, chose another method---I organized each candy into it's own pile. Once this was accomplished, I would eat a piece from one of the piles that had more than the others. I would proceed this way over several weeks until each candy had "it's turn" and I had one left of each type. The one exception was Reese's cups. No matter what other candies I collected that fateful night, the Reese's cups were my trophy prize. Usually hidden in a discrete location away from the other candy (and in a secret spot that my mom and sister couldn't find), I waited until special moments to eat these treasures and could make them last for months--Quite the feat for a little girl obsessed with chocolate! And you can argue with me about this, but the best way to eat a Reese's is outlined below:
How to Properly Eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
And I believe this is how it should be with anything you eat...slowly, savoring each moment. So many times, I see people eating in front of the TV or stuffing their faces while driving down the highway or while on the computer. I think to myself, "Are they even tasting that?! What's the point?" Why would someone spend money on food and then proceed to stuff it as quickly into their gut as possible, without taking time to enjoy it?
I find so much joy in food--from growing/shopping for it, to organizing it in my cabinets, to planning/cooking a meal, that I can't even fathom eating it while being distracted. We sit down for every meal, say a prayer, thanking the Lord for its sustenance and proceed to eat slowly, always with a fork and knife. Then we linger. We chat about our day, but we also talk about the food. We critique the flavors, discuss the textures and make mental notes for how to make the meal even better the next time we fix it.
What has happened to our country?
Maybe I was secretly born in France in the early 1900's where food, people and community mattered. Where you took pleasure in growing, shopping, cooking and eating your meals. There are many things that I love about America, but the one thing I will never understand is how we take so many shortcuts, stating that we "don't have time" for this or that. And
certainly no time for baking. What happened to the time-honored traditions of our grandparents? Doesn't anyone else but me find it sad that within one generation, we have lost all of the skills that were passed down from our
ancestors? Skills like canning, baking bread from scratch, cleaning the house without chemicals, fixing things instead of throwing them away and building things ourselves instead of buying them--these skills are left for those in the country who still live a simple life and aren't too busy running around trying to entertain themselves with movies, sports and other activities.
How are YOU spending your time?
If most of it is spent in front of a TV, I would ask you what you learned, how did that time you spent contribute to your life, your children's lives, their future skills? I beg you to wake up ONE day and resist the urge to turn on the tube! Just see what you can accomplish! Isn't there something you've been meaning to do or learn but never took the chance?
One day, I came home from a week-long business trip to find that Josh had rearranged the furniture in our small, 2-bedroom apartment. Not only was the TV missing from our living room, I saw that he had placed all of our books on a shelf next to the couch. He had also pushed two chairs together - "Our reading chairs", he explained. While I was traipsing around the country, Josh had an "Ah ha" moment. He was spending so much time watching "his team and shows" he had a revelation that he was missing out on his life. Come to find out, there were things he didn't know
how to do, yearnings on his heart, that he had yet to explore. And TV was getting in his way. So he removed the distraction. That one decision would change the course of our relationship and future endeavors. Instead of watching
shows one after the other like zombies, we would spend our days exploring the outdoors and our nights cooking and reading together while listening to music or podcasts. We would discuss the things we learned and would crave to learn more.
Pretty soon, we were eating exclusively organic, cooking things from scratch for every meal and wanting to grow our own garden. The more we learned the more we realized we couldn't live our life to the fullest in a city of concrete. Our
dream had blossomed into the crazy idea to move to the country and start an organic farmstead. It's crazy how a change in habit can change your life. So take a chance. Your dream can still be a reality.
Living the Good Life...and now for the Recipe
So now that you fully understand my love affair with living, quality versus quantity, eating delicious food, and of course, chocolate, I think you will appreciate this next, easy recipe. This came about one night when I was craving brownies. On a whim, I decided to add the peanut butter and Himalayan salt. I hope you enjoy this Reese's-inspired treat as much as my husband and his friends did.
(And if you do decide to bake today, why don't you turn off the TV and turn on Pandora or your favorite soundtrack? Enjoy the process of cooking as well as the process of eating!)
- Slowly unwrap the cup.
- Unwrinkle the wrapper until it is a tiny gold square of smooth foil. Place aside as your trophy for later.
- Using your forefinger and thumb, carefully release the brown parchment paper and free the chocolate hostage.
- Resist the temptation to put the entire piece in your mouth, and instead, move onto step 5.
- With the smallest of nibbles, bite off the ridged edge all the way around the cup in a circular fashion.
- Now, you can pop the creamy, peanut butter center in your mouth.
- Without chewing, let the chocolate melt on your tongue.
- Close your eyes.
- Savor.
- Smile.
And I believe this is how it should be with anything you eat...slowly, savoring each moment. So many times, I see people eating in front of the TV or stuffing their faces while driving down the highway or while on the computer. I think to myself, "Are they even tasting that?! What's the point?" Why would someone spend money on food and then proceed to stuff it as quickly into their gut as possible, without taking time to enjoy it?
I find so much joy in food--from growing/shopping for it, to organizing it in my cabinets, to planning/cooking a meal, that I can't even fathom eating it while being distracted. We sit down for every meal, say a prayer, thanking the Lord for its sustenance and proceed to eat slowly, always with a fork and knife. Then we linger. We chat about our day, but we also talk about the food. We critique the flavors, discuss the textures and make mental notes for how to make the meal even better the next time we fix it.
What has happened to our country?
Maybe I was secretly born in France in the early 1900's where food, people and community mattered. Where you took pleasure in growing, shopping, cooking and eating your meals. There are many things that I love about America, but the one thing I will never understand is how we take so many shortcuts, stating that we "don't have time" for this or that. And
certainly no time for baking. What happened to the time-honored traditions of our grandparents? Doesn't anyone else but me find it sad that within one generation, we have lost all of the skills that were passed down from our
ancestors? Skills like canning, baking bread from scratch, cleaning the house without chemicals, fixing things instead of throwing them away and building things ourselves instead of buying them--these skills are left for those in the country who still live a simple life and aren't too busy running around trying to entertain themselves with movies, sports and other activities.
How are YOU spending your time?
If most of it is spent in front of a TV, I would ask you what you learned, how did that time you spent contribute to your life, your children's lives, their future skills? I beg you to wake up ONE day and resist the urge to turn on the tube! Just see what you can accomplish! Isn't there something you've been meaning to do or learn but never took the chance?
One day, I came home from a week-long business trip to find that Josh had rearranged the furniture in our small, 2-bedroom apartment. Not only was the TV missing from our living room, I saw that he had placed all of our books on a shelf next to the couch. He had also pushed two chairs together - "Our reading chairs", he explained. While I was traipsing around the country, Josh had an "Ah ha" moment. He was spending so much time watching "his team and shows" he had a revelation that he was missing out on his life. Come to find out, there were things he didn't know
how to do, yearnings on his heart, that he had yet to explore. And TV was getting in his way. So he removed the distraction. That one decision would change the course of our relationship and future endeavors. Instead of watching
shows one after the other like zombies, we would spend our days exploring the outdoors and our nights cooking and reading together while listening to music or podcasts. We would discuss the things we learned and would crave to learn more.
Pretty soon, we were eating exclusively organic, cooking things from scratch for every meal and wanting to grow our own garden. The more we learned the more we realized we couldn't live our life to the fullest in a city of concrete. Our
dream had blossomed into the crazy idea to move to the country and start an organic farmstead. It's crazy how a change in habit can change your life. So take a chance. Your dream can still be a reality.
Living the Good Life...and now for the Recipe
So now that you fully understand my love affair with living, quality versus quantity, eating delicious food, and of course, chocolate, I think you will appreciate this next, easy recipe. This came about one night when I was craving brownies. On a whim, I decided to add the peanut butter and Himalayan salt. I hope you enjoy this Reese's-inspired treat as much as my husband and his friends did.
(And if you do decide to bake today, why don't you turn off the TV and turn on Pandora or your favorite soundtrack? Enjoy the process of cooking as well as the process of eating!)
P e a n u t B u t t e r B r o w n i e C u p s
2 eggs
1/3 c coconut sugar (or organic granulated sugar will work just fine)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
7 oz good quality bittersweet baking chocolate (50-60%)
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate minis, chips or chunks (GMO-/soy-free preferred)
1/4 c all purpose organic flour
1/4 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum)
12 tsp creamy peanut butter
Himalayan salt (or Celtic sea salt), for sprinkling on top
STEPS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 12 muffin cups.*
*I use ungreased nonstick silicone baking cups placed on a baking sheet lined with recycled parchment paper. This method rocks! I never have to worry about having paper baking liners on hand and it's an easy-to-clean solution to muffin tins. Any drips created by the batter is caught by the parchment paper. Once baked, this paper gets shredded and goes in our compost bin.
2. Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla on MEDIUM for 10-15 minutes, or until thick, pale and creamy.
This is the trick to this recipe and makes the brownies fluffy and yummy. I use coconut sugar, as this contributes the perfect amount of nutty sweetness without being too sweet. Plus it has a lower glycemic index which means its safer for kids and diabetics. The only thing I can't substitute coconut sugar in is sweet tea. It's too sacred.
3. While the egg mixture is getting fluffy -- Melt the 7 oz bittersweet chocolate over a double-boiler, stirring frequently.
If you don't have a double-boiler, you can use a large heat-proof (glass) bowl set over a large pot of simmering water. Some people just use two pans that sit inside of each other. The trick is not to let the water touch the bottom of the pot.
4. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Time to finish making the batter. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add this and the melted chocolate to the creamy egg mixture. Stir or mix on LOW until just incorporated.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips/chunks/morsels, scraping the bowl.
7. Fill the baking cups with 2 T of chocolate batter. Add1 tsp of peanut butter to the top of each cup. Sprinkle with a dash of Himalayan salt.
I use a small icecream scoop for accurate batter distribution. If you have a pastry bag, you can pipe the peanut butter into the center of the batter. Otherwise, just use two spoons---one to scoop, one to get the sticky, nutty substance off the other spoon and onto your chocolate cups.
8. Bake at 350 F for approximately 15 minutes.
Dry brownies with dried-out peanut butter is not tasty, so do not overbake! Brownies should be slightly gooey, as they will continue to cook after they are taken out of the oven. You can test a few spots with a toothpick. Don't be alarmed if it comes out with chocolate. Don't forget---you have extra chocolate morsels in there. You are looking for tops that have lost their shine, slightly cracked and holds their shape when poked gently with your finger. Yes, I know, this isn't scientific, but it works for this recipe!
9. Let cool slightly. (Molten peanut butter burns little tongues.) Eat with a fork and a large glass of milk. Yum!
*These are even great the next day for an afternoon snack and a cup of hot tea. Or, if you're like my mother in law, for breakfast!
Enjoy!
1/3 c coconut sugar (or organic granulated sugar will work just fine)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
7 oz good quality bittersweet baking chocolate (50-60%)
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate minis, chips or chunks (GMO-/soy-free preferred)
1/4 c all purpose organic flour
1/4 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum)
12 tsp creamy peanut butter
Himalayan salt (or Celtic sea salt), for sprinkling on top
STEPS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 12 muffin cups.*
*I use ungreased nonstick silicone baking cups placed on a baking sheet lined with recycled parchment paper. This method rocks! I never have to worry about having paper baking liners on hand and it's an easy-to-clean solution to muffin tins. Any drips created by the batter is caught by the parchment paper. Once baked, this paper gets shredded and goes in our compost bin.
2. Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla on MEDIUM for 10-15 minutes, or until thick, pale and creamy.
This is the trick to this recipe and makes the brownies fluffy and yummy. I use coconut sugar, as this contributes the perfect amount of nutty sweetness without being too sweet. Plus it has a lower glycemic index which means its safer for kids and diabetics. The only thing I can't substitute coconut sugar in is sweet tea. It's too sacred.
3. While the egg mixture is getting fluffy -- Melt the 7 oz bittersweet chocolate over a double-boiler, stirring frequently.
If you don't have a double-boiler, you can use a large heat-proof (glass) bowl set over a large pot of simmering water. Some people just use two pans that sit inside of each other. The trick is not to let the water touch the bottom of the pot.
4. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Time to finish making the batter. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add this and the melted chocolate to the creamy egg mixture. Stir or mix on LOW until just incorporated.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips/chunks/morsels, scraping the bowl.
7. Fill the baking cups with 2 T of chocolate batter. Add1 tsp of peanut butter to the top of each cup. Sprinkle with a dash of Himalayan salt.
I use a small icecream scoop for accurate batter distribution. If you have a pastry bag, you can pipe the peanut butter into the center of the batter. Otherwise, just use two spoons---one to scoop, one to get the sticky, nutty substance off the other spoon and onto your chocolate cups.
8. Bake at 350 F for approximately 15 minutes.
Dry brownies with dried-out peanut butter is not tasty, so do not overbake! Brownies should be slightly gooey, as they will continue to cook after they are taken out of the oven. You can test a few spots with a toothpick. Don't be alarmed if it comes out with chocolate. Don't forget---you have extra chocolate morsels in there. You are looking for tops that have lost their shine, slightly cracked and holds their shape when poked gently with your finger. Yes, I know, this isn't scientific, but it works for this recipe!
9. Let cool slightly. (Molten peanut butter burns little tongues.) Eat with a fork and a large glass of milk. Yum!
*These are even great the next day for an afternoon snack and a cup of hot tea. Or, if you're like my mother in law, for breakfast!
Enjoy!
Shopping Tip:
Choose the best quality ingredients for your recipes.
The better the quality, the better the taste of the final product. We use all organic ingredients, which is surprisingly easy to find these days. Even Target, TJ Maxx, Big Lots, Wal-Mart and local grocery stores carry at least one organic
product on their shelves. Keep an eye out for the staples -- flour, chocolate, (yes, chocolate is a staple!), butter, sugar, baking soda/powder-- so you can grab them when you are out running errands. We stock up on things when they are
on sale or buy in bulk. Keeping our pantry stocked makes it easier to whip up a tasty meal or yummy dessert at a moment's notice!
Choose the best quality ingredients for your recipes.
The better the quality, the better the taste of the final product. We use all organic ingredients, which is surprisingly easy to find these days. Even Target, TJ Maxx, Big Lots, Wal-Mart and local grocery stores carry at least one organic
product on their shelves. Keep an eye out for the staples -- flour, chocolate, (yes, chocolate is a staple!), butter, sugar, baking soda/powder-- so you can grab them when you are out running errands. We stock up on things when they are
on sale or buy in bulk. Keeping our pantry stocked makes it easier to whip up a tasty meal or yummy dessert at a moment's notice!