Peanut Butter & Chocolate Brownies

For Christmas I got several cookbooks, one being The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Looking through the recipes, the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Brownies sounded so good. BUT I have to say that they were a major pain in the be-hind to make. I think I used every pan, bowl, measuring device I had. When they were done I didn't think they were worth the effort. I took them to work and they loved them so I tasted them again and they were much better?? Go figure. The recipe is very long so I'm not going to type it out, but if you want the recipe I will send it to you.

Peanut Butter & Fudge Swirl Pie

Birthdays are special and I like to make the birthday boy/girl feel special by making their favorite dessert. One of the men I work with loves anything with peanut butter and chocolate. He's not a huge fan of cake so I found this recipe for a peanut butter/chocolate pie. It was good but very rich!

Peanut Butter & Fudge Swirl Pie

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese-softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I added 1/2 cup because I wanted a stronger peanut butter flavor)

2 cups Cool Whip

1 (6 oz) Oreo pie crust

1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping

Beat cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in Cool Whip until blended. Spoon into crust; drizzle with fudge topping. Swirl gently with a knife. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Refrigerate any leftovers.

You could also sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

At lady at work tasted this pie and liked it but she wanted to make it lighter so she made it but used low fat cream cheese, Splenda and sugar or fat free Cool Whip. I didn't taste it so I can't say for sure if it was good or not, but she really liked it.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

I got an order for 9 boxes of cookies. One of the cookies I decided to make were kiss cookies. I have never made these kiss cookies before but they were easy and very nummy num!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package (13 ounces) Hershey's Kisses

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, beat shortening and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture. Mix well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls (dough will be slightly dry). Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. With your finger make an indention about 1/2 inch deep in the center of the each ball. (dough will crack around edges).

Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately place a kiss in the indention of the cookie. Remove from pan to cooling rack and cool completely.