Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

April 23, 2013April 24, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

You know those sad individuals who are allergic to peanuts? The ones whose noses snivel at the mere mention of their nemesis and don’t even know what they’re missing? I wouldn’t trade places with them for all the light sabers on Tatooine. Peanut butter is the light of my life, the proof that good exists in this cruel world!

I’ve tried a couple of peanut butter bar recipes lately, but none have been up to snuff and it’s made me question the immense faith I put into Pinterest’s ability to answer my every desire. Nothing keeps me away from that crack-cocaine website for too long, and when I returned with renewed hope I found a promising, mouth-watering, stab your best friend in the back for the glory of it all kind of recipe.

It combines the beauty of a layered bar, with it’s crispy crust and velvety center, with that of an actual piece of heaven. I want to be eating it all the time, so that I can grow to be the size of a house and say “Yes. It was worth it.” Because it WAS.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

from Amandeleine

Crispy layer:
1 3/4 c rice krispies
1/4 c water
1/4 c sugar
3 T light corn syrup
3 T melted butter
Chocolate Peanut Butter layer:
1 c creamy peanut butter
5 oz milk chocolate chips
Chocolate Glaze:
3 oz milk chocolate chips
1/2 t light corn syrup
4 T butter, cut into small pieces

For the crispy layer, grease an 8×8 baking pan. Place the cereal in a large bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, place water and gently add the sugar and corn syrup, being careful not to let it touch the sides. Bring to 235 degrees over medium high heat, stirring gently and frequently (this takes about 5-10 minutes after the mixture boils. Be very careful– hot sugar is one of the worst kinds of burns you can imagine). Remove from heat, stir in the butter, and quickly stir the sugar mixture in with the cereal until completely coated. Press it into the greased pan and set aside.

For the chocolate peanut butter layer, place both ingredients into a mixing bowl and set it over a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir constantly with a spatula until it is all melted together, then remove from heat and pour over the crispy base. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

For the chocolate glaze, place all ingredients into the clean mixing bowl over simmering water and stir until all is melted together. Pour over the peanut butter and refrigerate another hour, or until set. I couldn’t wait and dove into mine well before that.

Nailed it.

Lemon Gorgonzola Risotto

April 21, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

(This post is for Corin, who has discovered the joys of risotto and will (hopefully) love the choice of ingredients!)

Far be it from me to rub it in the rest of the country’s face that California’s generous weather system has graced us with summer a couple of months early, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway: 80 degrees, baby.

Such brilliant gusts of warm, freshly-cut grass breezes brought me to lemons and lemons brought me to Deb and Deb brought me to risotto. Add in the leftover gorgonzola from a little wine and cheese party last night and the world just made sense again.

I highly recommend investing in a bottle of lemon oil, which packs so much of a punch you only have use it sparingly and don’t need to purchase frequently. It mellowed out the gorgonzola perfectly (which was very strong) and was the perfect end to a warm day.

Lemon Gorgonzola Risotto

1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
1/2 c short-grain or arborio rice
1/4 c white wine
2.5 c warm stock
1/2 c grated parmeggiano
1/3 c crumbed gorgonzola
1 scant t lemon oil or 1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2 T diced chives (optional)

Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat and, when hot, add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add in the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for 1 minute, or until absorbed a bit. Add in 1/2 c stock and reduce the heat to med-low, so that you have a high simmer going. Stir the rice frequently as you grate the parm, crumble the gorgonzola, zest the lemon, and dice the chives. Gradually add the stock into the rice as it absorbs and bubbles, approximately every 3-5 minutes. Remember to stir frequently and add enough stock along the way, or else the bottom of the pot will burn the simmering rice. After about 20 minutes or when the rice is at desired done-ness, turn off the heat. Stir in the parm, lemon oil, zest, and gorgonzola. Plate the risotto and add a sprinkling of chives on top. I served mine over a bed of arugula and spinach, which is pretty much how I eat everything.

Peach Blondies

April 15, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

Instead of tinkering with the very silly, and very broken, washing machine (currently home to a large portion of laundry from yours truly), I opted to brush off the baking apron and dive into one of the weirdest recipes I’ve seen to date.

White Bean and Peach Preserve Blondies

Pardon, m’lady. You seem to have placed “beans” into the title of a dessert, which couldn’t possibly be what you meant. Right you are, Jeeves. It sounds downright dumb, right? Placing an item that so clearly belongs alongside the likes of kale and spicy Italian sausage with peaches! Preserves! Honey! Oh, my!

But this kind of blew my freaking mind. It’s not as sweet as a brownie or as decadent as a butterscotch pudding pop, but hot diggity dog: this is a keeper/repeater. And I cannot wait to try other combinations, like peanut butter strawberry or blueberry lemon.

White Bean and Peach Preserve Blondies

adapted from Greatest

1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c honey
1/4 c tahini paste
1/4 c peach preserves (or your favorite kind)
1/4 c flour (I used gluten-free and it was lovely; since it’s such a small amount, substituting any kind of flour would be just fine)
1 t vanilla extract
dash salt
1/2 c cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 c peach preserves
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease an 8″x 8″ pan. In a food processor, puree the beans and then add, one at a time, the rest of the ingredients through salt. Spread into your pan. Mix the cream cheese with the preserves until thoroughly combined, then incorporate the egg. Pour on top of the batter in the pan and draw a knife through in swirls to incorporate the two layers together. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is firm, nothing jiggles, and a knife comes out without batter dripping off of it.

Let cool for 15 minutes, cut into squares, and serve. ENJOY.

You’re welcome.