Thursday, February 17, 2011

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

My hubby's favorite treats include anything with chocolate and peanut butter. When we were planning our Super Bowl menu I decided I wanted to try a new dessert and one that would feed a crowd. I had been wanting to try something from my new favorite cooking blog The Girl Who Ate Everything and these definitely did not disappoint. I will for sure be making these again!


First set of ingredients:

1 pkg. plain yellow cake mix
1 stick melted butter
1 c. creamy peanut butter
2 eggs

Second set of ingredients:

1 (12 oz) pkg. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:


1. Combine first set of ingredients and press into a 9X13 pan reserving 1 1/2 c. of the mixture to crumble on top.


2. Melt the second set on low heat in a small pot. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp. vanilla.


3. Spread chocolate mixture over the mixture pressed in the pan and then crumble the 1 1/2 of reserved cake mixture on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees.

4. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

ENJOY!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Pretzel Bites

Found these delectable little babies over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe . Had to give them a try and they were fabulous! They were so good they made it onto the superbowl menu. We served them with mustard and pizza sauce to dip in but they'd be great with cheese or some cinnamon and sugar as well. Try them out for dinner with a yummy salad!

Yields about 24 pretzel bites @ 1 WW PointsPlus each



Ingredients:

Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted (I changed this to about 1 1/2 tablespoons)


Directions:

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

ENJOY!