Cake Batter & Crumbs

Easy Peanut Butter Meltaways

My mom pulled my husband and I into her kitchen one day and asked us to taste these and tell her what they reminded us of. We both instantly shouted "Gardener's Peanut Butter Meltaways!!" These creamy, chocolate and peanut butter, fudge-like dreams just melt in your mouth and they easily rival those of a higher end confectionery shop in our area.

The best part is that they are so easy to make! The recipe is basically one part white chocolate, one part milk chocolate, and one part peanut butter; melt and mix, then pour into a greased pan. After they cool, you can cut them into bite-sized pieces.

In my first trial I learned it's important to not try to add any extra peanut butter. I was thinking I could make them extra peanut-y but the extra addition of peanut butter makes them not set up solidly when at room temperature. They are just fine when kept in the fridge, but any length of time at room temperature will start melting these meltaways.

Easy Peanut Butter Meltaways

12 oz. white chocolate chips
12 oz. milk chocolate chips
12 oz. creamy peanut butter

Lightly spray a 13"x9" pan with cooking spray. Melt both kinds of chips together in the microwave or over a double boiler. Add the peanut butter and mix until all are combined. Pour into the pan and let it allow it to set up. You can speed this up by placing it in the refrigerator. Once it's all set, you can cut it into individual pieces.

It would also work well to pour the melted mixture into little paper liner candy cups to have an even prettier presentation.

 

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

In celebration of my mom’s birthday tomorrow, I decided to make her favorite, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Chocolate and peanut butter, what’s not to love? These turned out beautifully, and I can’t wait to deliver them to her tomorrow night. Maybe I should give her a carton of milk with a bow on it as well, because these go so perfectly together! 

 

 

I found these cute birthday cupcake liners at a local store, but unfortunately the chocolate cake made the birthday pattern hard to see.

 

 

The cakes were made using a slightly modified recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor’s Cupcake book. I chose the Chocolate Almond cupcake recipe and swapped the almond extract for vanilla extract. I wanted a good chocolate base recipe, and this seemed to fit the plan for a mid-week bake when time is at a premium.

 

 

To make the icing, I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com for Fluffy Peanut Butter Icing. It got a large number of high reviews, so I figured I’d give it a try. I was delightfully pleased with the icing. It had a creamy texture and I didn't think they were too sweet or rich. Although  my husband and father-in-law always think any icing is too sweet. I, however, thought it worked well with the chocolate cake. I topped the them with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups. Yum.

 

 

 

Fluffy Peanut Butter Icing

 

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

   

1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat      with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to      get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the      sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at      least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.