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Posts Tagged ‘peanut butter cups’

Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins.

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on October 17, 2012| 4 Comments »

Last Saturday I went to Target with the sole purpose of buying 1. toothpaste and 2. halloween-themed tupperware.

Does anyone ever leave Target with only what was on their shopping list? If so, please tell me your secret. My wallet would kiss the ground you walk on.

Anyway, in order to find Halloween tupperware, I had to walk into the Halloween section of Target. This was a problem. I. Wanted. Everything. I haven’t bought anything for Halloween yet because I haven’t had a chance to go through the halloween decorations I do have to see what I need. Plus, I didn’t budget for Halloween shopping! BUT I was convinced that if I waited until Friday aka Payday, everything would be gone.

So there I stood, in the middle of the Target’s Halloween section completely paralyzed and teetering on the edge of a panic attack. I couldn’t stay and buy anything but I couldn’t go and leave all the pretty Halloween stuff behind!

Thankfully, a very cute, bearded sales associate, seeing my wide, panic-strictened eyes, came over to me and asked me if I needed help. When I squeaked out Halloween tupperware, he told me they didn’t have any but he led me out of the decoration section…right into the halloween baking section. Dude, seriously? You just told me you didn’t have what I wanted, thus freeing up money I budgeted elsewhere, and then you proceed to lead me to my most favoritest section ever?

Hence, the numerous halloween themed things from the Monday Things post. SO many cute sprinkles (traditional sprinkles or shapes?)…and liners (monsters or pumpkins?)…and spatulas (how can I choose between a big and a small spatula??).

My wallet wept.

BUT I did manage to resist the urge to buy Reeses peanut butter cup pumpkins. Target- 50, Erin- 1. So what’s a girl with a Reese’s peanut butter craving to do?

Um…obviously use this as an excuse to buy a silcone pumpkin candy mold and make her own! Duh! (I found mine at AC Moore)

Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins
from my early post, Peanut Butter Cups, which is from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverson

INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup Earth Balance butter
3⁄4 cup your favorite peanut butter (I used Teddy’s smooth PB)
3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1⁄4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener (I used Palm Sugar)
1 bag of vegan friendly chocolate chips
a tiny bit of vegan shortening

Melt half the bag of chocolate chips with a little bit of vegan shortening. Spoon the mixture into the candy molds. You want just enough to cover the bottom of the molds and to line the sides. (I just used a spoon for this. I found it to be the easiest way. I tried measuring spoons to be more precise and a butter knife but the spoon won me over.)  Once all the molds have chocolate on the bottoms and sides, place in freezer. Let sit for about 20-30 minutes to solidify.

Once the chocolate is solid, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Spoon the mixture into the candy molds. Fill almost to the top but leave a little room for the top chocolate layer. Place in the freezer to solidify, again, about 20 minutes.

Once the peanut mixture is hard, melt the rest of the chocolate with a tiny bit more shortening, and fill the rest of the molds with chocolate. Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the chocolate to harden and the rest of the cup to not be so frozen solid.

This recipe made about 36 pumpkins. Since I only had 1 tray of molds, I just left the extra chocolate and peanut mixtures in their pots and reheated them when it was time for round two. I didn’t have any problems with this.

I’m 100% in love with this recipe. They are cute. They are delicious. They are shaped like pumpkins! And they should help with those candy cravings when all those kids are ringing your doorbell halloween night. You can be all like “sure, here, have a chemically ridden, refined sugar-filled, made-in a factory candy bar. I have homemade peanut butter pumpkins! ‘  So there!

You could also make these for a party, you know, if you want to share…

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Peanut Butter Cups… and an absurd amount of Holiday Pictures

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on December 12, 2011| 1 Comment »

When I was growing up, Reeses were my favorite candy. I was obsessed. At Halloween, I always traded out other candy to get Reeses, Reeses pieces or Reeses Nutrageouses. Then, to eat them, I would push the peanut butter middle out, roll it into a ball, eat the chocolate outside then eat the rolled peanut butter. It was disgusting.

At Friendlys, the only sundae I ever order is the Reeses peanut butter cup sundae, no hot fudge, extra peanut butter. Since I was like…10 or something. Even my mom’s friends know this is my order.

Guess what? Much like my favorite beer, Shipyard, Reeses aren’t vegan. Obviously. So when I need a fix of my favorite treat, I turn to this recipe. It’s delicious! I like to make a batch and then keep them in the freezer so if I have an urge for a vegan friendly reeses sundae (So Delicious Vanilla Icecream, melted Earth Balance Peanut butter with a little earth balance butter in it, topped with one of these…mmmm…..), I have  stash ready available. Or, if I want to use them for baking, like chocolate cookies with crushed up peanut butter cups, I don’t have to make these first and wait until they’re chilled.

Or, you can just make a whole batch, sit in front of the TV with them watching The Notebook and switch between blowing your nose from your uncontrollable sobbing and absently shoveling one of these in your mouth.

Whatever floats your boat, I won’t judge. But you should definitely make these!

I know this looks like an ad for Earth Balance but, unfortunately, they didn’t pay me to give them props.

Peanut Butter Cups
from Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (It’s also on the back of every carton of Earth Balance Soy Milk)
Makes 12 in a regular cupcake tin, or 24 mini cupcakes. (I like the mini cupcakes because I feel less guilty when I walk past the freezer 8 times and steal one…8 times…)

INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup Earth Balance butter
3⁄4 cup crunchy peanut butter
(preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
1⁄4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener*
1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips
1⁄4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk
1⁄4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

*you will see in the picture above Maple Syrup instead of Maple Sugar. yeah…I read that wrong the first time and made it with maple syrup. It was actually declicious, just a little softer. You would definitely have to keep them in the fridge or freezer if you want to go that route.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin (or a mini muffin time) with paper liners.*Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup (a little less then 1 TBS when going the mini muffin tin route. I felt 1 TBS didn’t allow enough room for the chocolate), among the muffin cups.
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.
Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
Top with chopped nuts.
Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

*I would recommend the aluminum foil liners as opposed to paper. You are dealing with melted butter, melted peanut butter and melted chocolate. They hold up better!

These would be great as christmas gifts. You could make them in the mini muffin pan with cute paper and then package them nicely in themed boxes from Michaels. No one would even know they’re vegan.

So now that you hate me for filling your head with the idea of a Friendlys Reeses Sundae on a Monday when  you are stuck at work, I’ll help distract you.

LOOK AT MY CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

I know, you are all like ‘You showed us a christmas tree last week’. That was my apartments christmas tree, which has appropiate christmas lights and ornaments. This is my christmas tree, which has purple lights, a purple sparkly star on top, a teal tree skirt and teal star garland, and ornaments like Jack Skellington and Rainbow Brite! I took 4 hours out of my Saturday evening to clean my room and set this up. My weekend was awful so I needed the distraction. Isn’t it super awesome?!

We’re going to pretend this tree isn’t completely flat on one side because I set it up at 1 am and I didn’t care that the branches were perfect…thank you…

Jack, Cupcakes and Rainbow Brite! I have the coolest ornaments. My Grandma gets me one every year and I thinks its the best tradition ever!

I also have purple lights for my bed and around my closet. I’m so weird…

My adorable new friend. Isn’t he cute??

Ok…I’m done wasting your time. Weds we’ll resume our regularly scheduled programming and I won’t bombard you with my holiday pictures. Happy Monday!

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