Knock Your Socks off Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake!

Cake
1 3/4 c. flour
2/3 c. baking cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1t. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1t. vanilla
1c. buttermilk
1/2 c. coffee liqueur/cold strong coffee/ or water
1c. peanut butter chips
1 pkg. of mini rees peanut butter cups cut into 1/4's
1c. finely chopped peanuts

Heat oven to 350. Grease 2 -9in. round cake pans, and lightly flour.

Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside. Beat sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla in mixer, beat on low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until blended. Beat in buttermilk and coffee. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in peanut butter chips. Pour into pans.

Bake 30-33min. or till tooth pick comes out clean. Cool 10min; remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely. Cut each layer horizzantally to make 2 layers. Drizzle with 2 T. coffee liqueur over each cut layer.

Place cut side up on serving plate. Slpread with 1/4 c. Peanit Butter Frosting to within a 1/4 in. of the edge. In between layers put choppes rees cups. Repeat with remaining layers. Placing the second nor cut side down. Frost cake with the Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting. Decorate with peanut butter cups, if wished. Store covered in the refridgerator.


Peanut Buttter Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1t. vanilla
8oz. cream cheese
4c. powdered sugar

Beat peanut butter, whipping cream, vanilla, and cream cheese on med. speed till light and fluffy. Add sugar on low speed till smooth




Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 c. softened peanut butter
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1T. coffee liqueur
8oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1T. dry instant coffee(opt.)
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Beat whipping cream. liqueur. amd cream cheese in mixer at med. speed till fluffy. Gradually beat in cocoa powder, coffee, and powdered sugar on low speed till smooth.

Warning: this is extremely addicting!
Cooks note: We have found that this make way more frosting then you need for the cake. Not to worry though, it will keep in the fridge. Use it on cupcakes, brownies, or another cake!

Sweet Potato Rolls

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 cups canned sweet potato puree
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons butter,softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast, warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
Add remaining sugar, sweet potato, butter or margarine, salt, and slightly beaten eggs. Stir to mix well. Stir in 3 cups of flour. Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Knead 2 to 3 minutes, adding just enough of remaining flour to prevent sticking. Do not knead too heavily; when smooth, shape into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let raise about 1 hour or longer.
Punch down, and allow dough to rest for 2 minutes. Divide into 16 to 20 balls, and place on a greased cookie sheet or in a 9x13 inch pan. Allow to rise until doubled.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 12 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Hannah made this the other day to go with our soup, they were absolutely scrumptious!

Peanut Butter Munchies

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4c. peanut butter
1egg
1T. milk
1t. vanilla

3/4c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
2T. sugar

In bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, and baking soda; set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the butter, sugars, and 1/4c. peanut butter. Add egg, and vanilla and milk. Stir in dry ingredients.
In another bowl, mix last 3 ingredients. Blending throughly. Set aside.
Shape chocolate dough into 32 balls, about 1 1/2in. Shape peanut butter mixture into balls also making 32. They will be about 3/4 in.
Take one of the chocolate balls, flatten slightly and put one of the peanut butter balls into the middle. Fold dough around peanut butter ball. Making a ball. Repeat with remaining balls.
Place balls on cookie sheet about 2in. apart. Bake at 350 for 8min. Just until set. Cool 1min. before removing from cookie sheet.
Makes 32 cookies


Everyone in our family loves theses unique cookies!
Hannah

BitterSweet Cheese Cake Torte

This indulgence starts and ends with gnache, a velvety mixture of dark chocolate and cream far more luxurious and delicouis than sugar icings.
2/3 cup whipping cream
8 ounces milk chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Nonstick spray for baking
1 19.5-ounce package brownie mix
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces milk chocolate or bitter sweet chocolate, melted
3 ounces white baking chocolate, melted


1. For ganache: In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium-high heat just until boiling. Remove from heat. Add the 8 ounces milk chocolate(do not stir). Let standfor 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until thick.
2. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat two 9x1 1/2-inch round cake pans with onon-stick spray for baking; set aside. Prepare brownie batter. according to package dirctions. Bake about 25 minutes or until edges are set. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove uncut brownies from pans. Transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.
3. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in eggs just until combined. Transfer half of the mixture ( about 1 1/2 cups) to a medium bowl. To the large bowl, add 3 ounces of melted milk chocolate; stir until smooth. To the medium bowl, add the melted white chocolate; stir until smooth.
4. Wrap heavy-duty foil around the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan, making sure foil comes at least 1 inch up the sides. Using a sharp knife, trim edges of brownie rounds, making two 8 inch rounds. Place one of the brownie rounds in the pan. Pourthe milk chocolate mixture on top. Place the remaining brownie round onthe milk chocolate mixture and pour the white chocolate mixture on top.
5. Place foil-wrapped springform pan in a large roasting pan; pour enough hot water around the springform pan to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until cheesecake appears set when gentlyy shaken. Carefully remove pan from water.
6. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, loosen edge from th sides of pan; cool 30 minutes more. Remove the pan sides; cool completley on wire rack. Cover and chil overnight.
7. Remove ganache from refrigerator. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy, and spreading consistency. Spoon whipped ganache into pastry bag fitted with a medium star or round tip. Pipe stars or mounds to cover the entire top of chilled cheesecake. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

*Test Kitchen Tip:
Before wrapping the spring form pan in foil, place the bottom of the pan on each brownie round and use the tip of a sharp knife to trace around the pan bottom. This will ensure the brownie rounds fit tightly in the pan after trimming the edges.

Granola Stuffed French Toast with Cinnamon Syrup

Here is a creation of mine that we had yesterday. It was extremely good!
Enjoy!
Hannah

8- 2in. slices of french bread

Cream Cheese Filling

cream together

8oz. cream cheese

1t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Egg Dipping Mixture
Mix together;
4 eggs
1c. half and half

Granola Crust
Put 3c. of granola in blender and blend till coarse crumbs ( carefull not to blend to much)


Cut slits in bread and stuff with cream cheese mixture. Then dip bread in egg mixture, dip in granola crust mixture and press into sides. Toast in a frying pan with 2T. of butter till brown on both sides. Approx. 1min. on each side. Repeat with remaining slices. Drizzle with cinnamon syrup. And if you wish put a little whipped cream on top!



Cinnamon Syrup
5T. of butter (salted)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1T. cinnamon
1/8 t. cloves
1/8t. salt
1T. flour
3T. half and half

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and 1T. half and half. Put back on stove and bring to a simmer. remove and stir in flour and 1T. half and half. Pour over french toast!

Red Pepper Cornmeal Souffle

1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 cups milk
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fiesta cheese blend
1 T. dry parsely
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 egg yolks, beaten
7 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tater

In a large saucepan, saute the onion and red pepper in butter until tender. Add the milk. Bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal ( make sure you add the cornmeal slowly not all at once or else it will get clumppy); whisk constantly until thickened , about 5 minutes. Add the cheese, parsely, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of the cornmeal mixture to the egg yolks; mix well. Return all to the saucepan. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tater and remaining salt until stiff peaks form. Fold into cornmeal mixture. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. souffle dish. Bake at 375 F. for 35-40minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8-10 servings.


STIRRING UP SUCCESSFUL SOUFFLE BATTERS
Properly preparing the batter is one of the keys to creating a stndout souffle. Follow these tips for a distinctive dish guests are sure to fall for!

• When separating eggs, make sure no yoks get into the egg whites, or they won't beat properly.
• Let egg whites stand at room temerature for 30 minutes before beating. They will expand more than cold egg whites and will give better volume.
• Be sure that the beaters and bowl are clean and dry before they touch the whites.
• When beaten, the whites should be just firm enough to form and hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted
• When adding the egg whites to the yolk base, fist fold in a third of the egg whites until blended. Then fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, you can serve at dinner or breakfast it is amazingly good!

Esther

Challah Bread

2pkg. Yeast

1c. lukewarm water

1T. sugar

6-7 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. lukewarm water

3/4 c. olive oil or canola

3 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 c. sugar

1t. salt

1t. cinnamon

1T. vanilla or almond extract

1 egg beaten for glaze

Combine yeast and 1c. lukewarm water and 1T. sugar in a medium bowl; stir to mix. Let stand 5 to 10 min. or until foamy. Stir in 2c. of the flour, let stand 30min. so the yeast can develop.

Combine 1 1/2 c. of the lukewarm water, oil, and 3 eggs in a large bowl mix well. Stir in 1/2 c. sugar, salt. cinnamon. and extract. Add the yeast mixture. Mix well. Add remaining flour 1c. at a time until dough is slightly firm. It will be softer then your ordinary dough though. Knead 5min. ( I do all of this in our K-Tech bread mixer).

Shape dough into 3 24in. long strands, and braid. Tuck ends under. Place on a very large lightly greased cookie sheet. ( I find it easier to braid the dough on the cookie sheet, that way you don't have to transfer it afterwards.) Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk.

About 15min. before loaf is done rising, brush with beaten egg. And pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for about 25min. or until loaf is gloden brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.

Enjoy!