Thursday, January 20, 2011

Peanut Butter Bars

I’ve come to terms with the fact that some people don’t like chocolate. I will have to clarify that the first time I came upon someone with this, I’ll call it ‘affliction’ lol, was back in my Elementary school days and I’ve only recently accepted it fully. But I still can’t wrap my mind around the people who dislike peanut butter (exempt from this statement is of course all people who suffer allergies to nuts!). I’ve heard explanations about texture or it just being too sweet. My best friend was not raised in North America and can’t stand the stuff. On the flip side there food items that she enjoys that would take a lot of coaxing for me to sit down and enjoy eating.


But getting back to the point, there is nothing like a yummy peanut butter treat when the craving hits. I remember going to the movies once and eating so many Reese’s pieces I thought I was going to be sick! So if I still crave peanut butter today it must be a pretty deep addiction!:)


I’m constantly checking out what my fellow bloggers/baking enthusiasts are up to both for posting ideas and recipes. On the Brown Eyed Bakers blog I found a confession for a love for peanut butter and a recipe that I was immediately eager to try.

It seemed simple enough: peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, icing sugar, milk chocolate chips, and lotsa butter! I’d attempted a similar recipe over the summer that had a ‘caramel like’ middle layer between the chocolate and peanut butter base. I remember the recipe seeming a little weird (When you have a: ‘Hmm, how is this going to work?’ moment when looking at a recipe: the alarm bells should be going off.) and I had a really hard time getting the ‘caramel’ to set. So I immediately liked that this recipe stuck to the classic peanut butter combo of P.B. & chocolate.

Well my friends, I was not disappointed. This bar is more fudge then square! It is so good: they just melt in your mouth. When cutting the bars up you can definitely keep the portions small as most people will only be able to make it through one without risking a sugar coma. Another blog recipe experiment complete!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Holiday Magic: Green Lantern Cupcakes

‘Tis the season for special surprises!

Well, firstly, a very Happy New Year to you all!

The holiday season is always full of magical surprises and an old school friend of mine ‘J’ really outdid himself with his now fiancĂ©e ‘L’.

‘J’ had mentioned to me that he was going for a Green Lantern themed proposal on Christmas Eve and I came up with logo cupcakes which are made out of fondant. The base is my Decadent Chocolate cake which is always a hit and a layer of classic vanilla buttercream between the logo and cake.

I left one of the cupcakes with a classic swirl garnish to act as a cushion for the beautiful engagement ring. I also piped a saying that was special to the couple.

Congrats to L & J on their upcoming nuptials and thanks for the decorating challenge!

I’ve been told by J that there was a request of what other super hero logos could also be done in this manner. My answer: most. Hahaha. Well, I can definitely try my best and I do like a challenge so send me a message and we could definitely come up with ideas!