Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifle

This is seriously the most delicious thing you will ever eat. For seriousness. And it's so easy. I made it a while ago to bring to a friend's house for dinner and it was enjoyed by everyone :)

 The layers are composed of brownies, whipped cream, a sweet peanut butter mixture, pudding, and Reese's.

 I kept forgetting the layers while I was at the store and I couldn't get the recipe back because I had terrible service, so I just guessed on what flavor pudding. I guessed vanilla, but it was supposed to be chocolate so I  just added cocoa to the vanilla mix and it worked out just fine.

It's so pretty layered too! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifle (found here)

1 Box Brownies, baked according to the box directions

1 5 oz box Chocolate Pudding, prepared and Chilled

2 C Heavy Cream

1 C Creamy Peanut Butter

1 C Powdered Sugar

2 T Milk

8 T Cream Cheese

Beat the heavy cream in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a medium bowl and chill. In the bowl the cream was whipped in mix the peanut butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and milk. Fold 1 C of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until it is a lighter color and mostly combined. Layer however you like and enjoy!

It's Just Lunch

 I have always loved hummus, but I don't usually get the chance to eat it because of two things. One, it's a little expensive, and two, my mom doesn't like it so she doesn't think to buy it. I've seen recipes going around Pinterest and have been meaning to try some for a while now, and I just got around to it because of "It's Just Lunch!" I had read lots of recipes and they all called for tahini, which is expensive. I looked up substitutes and got mixed responses. Some people say peanut butter would be a terrible substitute and the money to buy tahini is worth it, others say you can't taste the difference. So I decided just to try it and if it was terrible, well that was the point of this blog post series! So I mixed it all up and I think it's pretty good! I'll have to play around with the flavors a little bit, I think I'll browse the refrigerator section for inspiration! 

Hummus (found and adapted from this recipe)

1/4 C Peanut Butter

1/4 C Lemon Juice

1 Garlic Clove

1 t Salt

1 Can Chickpeas

Water

Paprika and Olive Oil for serving

Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Empty the can into a small pot and cover with water, so there is about an inch over the peas. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Drain the water, but keep it aside to add later. If you have a food processor you should use that, but since I didn't I used a handheld mixer and a bowl. I tried using a blender, but I found the mixer worked better. Mix the peanut butter, lemon juice, garlic, and salt together in the bowl. Add softened chickpeas and mix. At this point your hummus will be pretty dry. Add the cooking water a little at a time until you like the consistency. I added between 1/4-1/2 C of water. Mix until smooth. This will take a while, just be patient :) Add whatever other flavors you like, I sprinkled paprika, olive oil, and chili powder on mine. Enjoy with whatever you'd like to dip in your hummus!

4 Ingredient Cookies? I'm In!

You know those posts you see on Pinterest where you just thing "that is NEVER going to work!"? Well that was my thought when I saw this recipe for peanut butter cookies that only uses 4 ingredients. Neither I, nor my mom, thought that these were going to work, but with only four ingredients you're not really wasting that much if they don't work. We (I) decided to try it.

 Literally this is all you need.

They turned out great! They were so easy to make. They had that crunch that peanut butter cookies are supposed to have, but they also melted a bit in your mouth. Delicious!

4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

1 C Peanut Butter

1 C Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 t Vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Use a fork to create the ridges on the top. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

Brownie Cupcakes

I actually made these quite a while ago and I just haven't had a chance to post them. That happens sometimes when all I do is load the pictures onto my computer. I forget about them and then a month later I remember that I haven't told y'all how to make deliciousness in a while, and then I remember these cupcakes! Anyway, they are dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. (side-note: my dad hates frosting. He won't eat it. He scrapes it off his cake and gives it to my mom. But he likes this icing! That's got to tell you it's good, right?) Back to the cupcakes. They taste a little like brownies spread with creamy peanut butter. Bottom line, they're delicious.

I got the recipe here, but I'll type it out for you too, so you don't have to go to two links. I don't know about you, but I find that annoying, so I try not to do it.

For the Cupcakes:

1 Stick Butter

2 oz Chocolate Chips

1/2 C Cocoa Powder

3/4 C Flour

1/2 t Baking Soda

3/4 t Baking Powder

2 Eggs

3/4 C Sugar

1 t Vanilla Extract

1/2 t Salt

1/2 C Sour Cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat butter, chocolate chips, and cocoa on medium heat until melted and combined. Stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately. Bake 18-20 minutes.

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 C Powdered Sugar

1 C Peanut Butter

5 T Butter

3/4 t Vanilla Extract

1/4 t Salt

1/3 C Heavy Cream

Mix all ingredients except the cream on medium-low speed until creamy. Add the heavy cream and mix. If you want thicker icing you can add more powdered sugar. If you want thinner icing add more heavy cream. Enjoy!