Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins: Breakfast or Dessert?

My aunt and uncle gave me a cookbook for my birthday back in January called Peanut Butter Sweets, and every single recipe in the book uses peanut butter. They know the way to my heart (or is it mouth or stomach?).

So, one recent sunny Sunday afternoon, I was craving a peanut butter snack, as is often the case, and I decided to head to my peanut butter cookbook. I had all the ingredients on hand to make these simple and totally scrumptious peanut butter muffins. I added chocolate chips to them because the only thing better than peanut butter is when you pair it with chocolate.

I cut into a muffin, hot out of the oven, and it not only took care of my craving, but it was impressively moist and peanut buttery, with chocolate chips that were ooey gooey, and a cross section featuring a perfect crumb. And that makes it something I'd do again without hesitation.

Thank you, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Phil, for the cookbook!

And now to stump you with what's stumping me, I must ask, is a peanut butter chocolate chip muffin a breakfast item? Or a dessert?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from a recipe by Pamela Bennett in Peanut Butter Sweets
Makes 12 large muffins or 36 mini muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I recommend using Skippy rather than a natural brand)
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease or spray each cup. I prefer greasing the cups over using paper liners.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Transfer these dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the peanut butter and butter and beat just until you see coarse crumbs forming. Add the milk and eggs and mix just until well combined. Don't overmix. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick and gloppy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Add the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir together...

Add the peanut butter and butter and blend...

Once coarse crumbs form, stir in the milk and eggs...

But don't overmix!

Gently stir in the chocolate chips...

Fill each greased muffin cup about 3/4 full...

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean...

Enjoy!

Coconut Butter Brownies: I'm Officially Cuckoo for Coconut Oil!

I've heard a lot of good things about coconut oil, everything from the taste, to the health benefits, to how great it works as a baking ingredient. This week, I used coconut oil to make Coconut Butter Brownies! It was my first time ever using this ingredient. I found it at my local Trader Joe's store. And the only other time I'd encountered it was at my parents' house, because my dad makes a mean popcorn with coconut oil for movie nights at home.

Coconut oil, at least the kind Trader Joe's sells, is not as thin and liquidy as you might expect. It's much more of a grainy paste - very soft and spreadable, and very unlike olive oil, grapeseed oil, canola, and other common cooking oils. But, if you put coconut oil in the microwave and melt it down, it will become that thin liquid you're so familiar with for oil.

Anyways, the brownies came out GREAT. The fat called for in the recipe is half butter, half coconut oil. That ratio definitely gives it a distinct coconut taste that sets it apart from other brownie recipes, but to me, it seemed mild enough that picky eaters who wouldn't normally go for coconut desserts might still really enjoy this. My taste-tester friends, however, reported a very obvious coconut taste (and for most of them, that was a very good thing!), so I suppose if you're not so keen on coconut, this might not be the recipe for you.

The texture is moist but with some mealiness to it. The top gets that beautiful brownie crust, but the inside is soft and chewy and utter perfection. I'll be making these again! And if you tell yourself that coconut oil has all those health benefits, then hey, this recipe is good for you! I'm officially CUCKOO FOR COCONUT OIL!

Coconut Butter Brownies
Adapted from a recipe by Marcy Goldman on BetterBaking.com

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, slightly melted and stirred (looks almost like a soft grainy paste - I get mine from Trader Joe's!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray the bottom and sides of a 9x9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Alternatively, line the pan with foil and spray the foil.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the melted butter and coconut oil with the white and brown sugars. Add the vanilla and eggs and blend on low until well incorporated. Remove bowl from the mixer.

In a separate medium-size bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients gently, just until incorporated. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl because you'll probably find some of the flour mixture still at the bottom!

Spread the batter evenly into the pan. The batter is really thick and won't slide around so you'll need to even it out with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Do not overbake. Err on the side of underbaking if you're not sure because a moist brownie is always better than a dry one! The center of the brownie should look set, not jiggling.

Cool the pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container. Feel free to serve with powdered sugar dusted on top at the last second before serving.

Makes 12-20 depending on size. I prefer smaller, bite-size brownie squares.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
This is the coconut oil I used. It looks like clear liquid when melted down from the white paste in the jar...

 

Beat the butter and coconut oil with the sugars...

 

Beat in the vanilla and eggs...

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in a separate bowl and then fold into the wet ingredients...

Spread the batter into the greased pan. The mixture will be thick...

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes...

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Move Over, Peanut Butter! I'm Nutty for Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

Peanut butter will always have a special place in my heart. It's one of my favorite ingredients of all time, and the flavor combination of peanut butter and chocolate is arguably (am I arguing with myself?) my all time favorite. But man, oh man, I have to tell you, I feel a little disloyal to peanut butter as I share this recipe with you. Because here's a cookie that features not peanut butter, but ALMOND butter, and it's as good as or better than any peanut butter cookie recipe I've ever had EVER. Whew! That hurt to say.

I remember vividly the day I made this cookie. My brother was moving to LA for school so my mom was in town helping out with the move. While they were out and about running errands, dealing with the housing office, and other assorted not-so-fun tasks, I was in the kitchen making, unbeknownst to me, what would become one of my favorite cookies of all time. As I took the last tray of cookies out of the oven to cool, my mom and brother called to say they had accidentally left some important housing paperwork at my apartment and were going to head over to pick it up. They were in a huge rush and would need me to run down to the street to hand them the paperwork.

So naturally, I grabbed a Tupperware container and plopped a bunch of cookies in it for them. My mom and brother were going to need some almond butter chocolate chunk cookies for the road, I figured. Moving Day will be so much better with cookies!

A few minutes later, I got a call on my cell phone and it was them, pulling up to the front of my building and needing me to run down with the paperwork. I put my flip flops on, grabbed the paperwork and the container of cookies, and ran downstairs. I presented them with the care package and they seemed excited and thanked me. Then they drove off.

I ran back upstairs, and just a few minutes later, I got another call on my cell phone. It was them again. "Something wrong?" I asked. Well yes, something was the matter. They were calling to let me know that they'd run out of cookies. They had eaten the entire container within a mile or two of my apartment.

And THAT, my friends, is how you know you've made a good cookie. That, or my mom and brother have zero willpower. :)

Move over peanut butter, there's a new nut butter in town. I'm nutty for almond butter cookies!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted from a recipe by Emily Luchetti in Fearless Baker
Makes at least 4 dozen cookies

1/2 cup sliced almonds
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup almond butter
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ounces dark chocolate (58 to 62 percent cacao suggested, but any semisweet or dark will work fine), chopped or broken into tiny pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place one rack in the upper third of the oven and another rack in the lower third. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

Toast the almonds in one layer on a foil-lined baking sheet until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. I used a toaster oven, but you can use the oven, too. Do not go too far away from the kitchen because nuts burn easily! Let the almonds cool, then chop them into smaller pieces. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the almond butter, then add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well incorporated and smooth. Remove from the mixer and stir in the chopped chocolate and almonds with a wooden spoon.

Scoop tablespoon-fuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Feel free to make the mounds of dough larger or smaller (just adjust the baking time accordingly). With the bottom of a glass, flatten each mound of dough slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned but the center still feels soft. Do not overbake them; err on the side of underbaking since they'll continue cooking a bit as they cool. Halfway through baking, swap the two tray locations so they bake evenly. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Beat the butter and sugar together...

Beat in the egg...

Beat in the almond butter...

Beat in the flour, baking soda, and salt...

Stir in the chopped chocolate and almonds...

Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough onto a prepared baking sheet...

Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the top of each mound of dough...

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes...

What to Do With Leftover Pie Crust Dough: Mini Zucchini Onion Quiches Baked in a Muffin Pan!

I made a strawberry pie earlier in the day, and had a bunch of scraps left from the dough I had rolled out for the top and bottom crusts. The scraps were sitting in plastic wrap in my fridge. Now, I hate to waste perfectly good dough (Ummm, did I say perfect? Why yes, yes I did! The dough is from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert cookbook and it's my new favorite, probably never-to-be-one-upped pie crust recipe).

So anyways, I threw a couple of ingredients together, totally makeshift, a whatever-I-had-in-the-fridge kind of thing, and it turned into an amazing mini quiche recipe that made use of every last ounce of that dough!

So here's the thing. This is not an exact science. Everyone is going to have a different amount of leftover pie dough when they finish making their pie. So, go ahead and make this quiche filling, and if you end up having too much for the amount of pie dough you have left, simply divide up the rest of the filling into buttered ramekins and bake crustless quiches! There's simply no way to fail, guys! The math will work out! You'll net zero extra, wasted crust. You'll gain deliciousness, and maybe a few pounds.

Whatever you do, DO NOT THROW OUT YOUR PIE DOUGH SCRAPS! A much better destiny awaits them!

Mini Zucchini Onion Quiches in Leftover Pie Crust (Though Crustless Quiches Work Great, Too!)
Recipe by Happy Go Marni

3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (feel free to use powdered buttermilk with water instead, or even regular milk)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 zucchini, grated or shredded
1 onion, chopped

However much leftover pie crust dough scraps you have from the delicious pie you were making for dessert

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have an ungreased muffin pan ready.

Divide the leftover pie dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. On a floured work surface, roll each ball of dough into a circle about 5 inches in diameter, or large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a muffin cup. Gently press the dough into the muffin cup, stretching or patching the dough so that it reaches all the way to the top of the cup. Using the tines of a fork, poke several holes in the dough on the bottom and all over the sides. If you don't have enough pie dough to fill all 12 muffin cups in the muffin pan, fill the empty cups with a half-inch of water. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until golden. If the crust starts to puff up too much in the first 5 minutes, open the oven door and use a fork to puncture the air pockets.

While the mini crusts are in the oven, prepare the quiche filling. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Then add in the salt, garlic salt, oregano, and parmesan cheese. Stir in the zucchini and onion.

When the crusts come out of the oven, use a ladle to pour the filling into the crust cups to about 3/4 full. If you have extra filling, butter some ramekins and fill them 3/4 full with quiche filling. Place the ramekins on a lined baking sheet. Return the muffin pan and the ramekins to the oven and bake for 20-35 minutes. I found that I preferred cooking them on the longer side so the tops would be golden, but technically, the eggs are done cooking and ready to eat much sooner.

NOTE: The night I did this, I had enough leftover pie dough to line 12 muffin cups (1 entire muffin pan) with crust. The quiche filling recipe I concocted allowed me to fill all 12 of the crust-lined muffin cups and an additional 4 ramekins of crustless quiches.

ENJOY! Don't eat them all at once!

Buttery, Feathery, Puffy, Perfect Pull-Apart Rolls

 

It's the Happy Go Marni Limerick Happy Hour! In other words, I wrote a poem about these bread rolls.

Bread Roll Limerick
There once was a roll oh so good,
That you wonder if you even should.
The secret's the butter.
2 sticks; don't shudder.
Its perfection can't be misunderstood.

You know that round pan in your cabinet you use mostly for cheesecake? Yeah, the springform pan with a clasp on the side. I've got a new use for it. Bread rolls! I can't emphasize enough how incredible these rolls are. They are everything you want a roll to be, and then some. Soft, buttery, golden, feathery, fluffy, and sizable. Serve them with dinner, or spread some jam on the inside for a yummy breakfast alongside your coffee.

I'm thrilled to have discovered what will undoubtedly become a staple in my recipe repertoire. When I served them for dinner, they were a huge hit and I swear, eyeballs were rolling into the heads of my guests. No exaggeration. To get a reaction like that from a bread roll? That's pretty special. And that's why they warranted their own limerick. See corny limerick above.

And can I offer you some words of advice? Whatever you do, don't skimp on the butter. The recipe calls for a stick in the dough, and another stick melted on top. Just bite your tongue and play along. You'll be glad you used all that butter. I think that's where "guilty pleasure" came from. :)

Buttery, Feathery, Puffy, Perfect Pull-Apart Rolls
Adapted from a recipe by Marcy Goldman in The Best of Betterbaking.com
Makes 12, 14, or 16 buns

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons instant yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into chunks
5 to 6 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, for glazing

Grease a 10-inch round springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. You can also use a 9x13-inch baking pan, but I think the round pan looks way cooler. Place the pan on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, mix the water and yeast briefly and then let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 2 or 3 minutes. Mix in the sugar, salt, eggs, stick of softened butter, and 5 cups of flour until the dough forms a soft mass. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes, adding more flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Spray a large bowl and place the ball of dough in the bowl, then turn the dough over so both sides are coated. Cover loosely and allow the dough to rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Punch down the dough to deflate it, then leave it alone to rest for 20 minutes. Return the dough to the lightly floured work surface. If the dough looks like it rose back up at all, gently deflate it. Divide the dough into 12 or 14 or 16 equal portions. To shape each roll, create a disk out of the piece of dough, and then pull three corners to the center, pinching to seal. Turn over so seal side is down and place in the baking pan. At first, it might not seem like all the rolls will fit into the pan, but they will. You just have to pack them in tightly. Brush the tops of the rolls generously with the melted butter and then dust with flour. Cover the pan loosely and allow the rolls to rise for 20 or 30 minutes, until very puffed up.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the round pan (which is on the parchment-lined baking sheet) in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Lift the round pan off the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then unclasp the springform pan and remove from the rolls. Serve at room temperature or still warm. You are going to love this!


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Mix the water and yeast together, and then add the sugar, salt, eggs, and softened butter...

Mix in 5 cups of the flour...

Add enough additional flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl...

Knead the dough and shape into a ball...

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover until doubled in size...

Once it's doubled in size, gently deflate the dough...

Remove from the bowl and divide the dough into as many portions as you want rolls (I made 16)...

Shape each piece into a roll and place seal side down in the baking pan...

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with flour...

Let rise, covered loosely, for about 20 minutes, until the rolls are very puffed up...

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden on top...

Allow to cool off the baking sheet but with the springform still attached for 30 minutes...

Then remove the springform, and enjoy!