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!

Copenhagen Pastry: The Place for Authentic Danish Pastries and One of the Overall Best Bakeries in Los Angeles!

Copenhagen Pastry, located in Culver City on Washington Blvd., just a block east of the 405, is a truly authentic Danish bakery. Everything from the kringles to the people serving you are the real deal. I went to their grand opening awhile back and have been a huge fan ever since. The selection is not enormous, but all the right things are on their simple menu and the prices are very reasonable at just $1.85 per pastry. Lots of almond paste, cinnamon, butter, sugar, and flaky, flaky dough. Yum!

Well, today I learned there's a 6 minute 40 second mini-documentary of the bakery interviewing Karen Hansen, who I see every time I go, and Henrik Gram, the master baker, who I will now have to introduce myself to next time I'm there! In the film, they take you behind the scenes into the kitchen so you can watch how they make their authentic danishes! I love this video. I love Copenhagen Pastry. Go right away! Tell them Happy Go Marni sent you!




The Details
Copenhagen Pastry
11113 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA
310-839-8900
www.copenhagenpastry.com

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!

Hanukkah is Happier with Sufganiyot from Bibi's Bakery & Cafe!

It wouldn't be Hanukkah without jelly donuts, known also by their Hebrew name Sufganiyot. And I couldn't be more thrilled to find out that one of my favorite spots in LA is serving them up all Hanukkah-long.

Bibi's Bakery & Cafe in the kosher Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles is a GREAT place for a tuna melt, a Greek salad, a pita toastee, shakshukah, babka, challah, and now sufganiyot! When Bibi's switched ownership and Dan Messinger became the new captain of the ship, everything improved, from the menu, to the signage, ambiance, customer service, and even the marketing...they're now on Facebook offering up plenty of food porn pics and social media discounts! Basically, Dan is really Dan the Man.

While I already consider myself a regular customer there, I hope that soon enough I can get around to ordering a bunch of the aforementioned savory items all at once, take some pics, and share all that with you on this blog (especially because Bibi's tuna melt is in my top 3 favorite tuna melts of all time), but for now, go get yourself some sufganiyot! In addition to the traditional jelly-filled donuts, Bibi's is offering custard-filled and chocolate-filled! Price is $1.50 per donut, and they are a hefty, honkin' good size.

Happy Hanukkah!

Details:
Bibi's Bakery & Cafe
8928 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 246-1788
Strictly kosher dairy/pareve
Official Website: http://bibisbakery.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/BibisBakeryandCafe

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...

The Ultra Fun Voice-Activated Popinator: Shooting Popcorn Right Into Your Mouth One Kernel at a Time

If ever there was a time to use the made up word "funnest," it's in reference to this Popinator contraption from Popcorn Indiana. They have invented, hands down, the funnest way to eat popcorn. Sit or stand up to 15 feet away from the Popinator machine and say the word "POP" and it will launch a kernel of popcorn into your mouth. It uses some sort of audio science to identify where you're located based on hearing you say "POP."

Sure, no two popcorn kernels are exactly the same size, weight, shape, etc... and so when the machine spits one out, you may have to angle your body or dip, duck, or jump slightly to catch the unique piece flying through the air, but from what I can tell in the video, it does an amazing job of getting pretty darn close to your mouth.

I suppose there's a slight risk of it being a choking hazard if you care about safety and such. :)

But I want one! Watch the video and you'll want one, too!

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!