Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

It’s no secret, I love cookies! I’m sure you’re already privy to this little tidbit of information, but I thought I’d mention it again for good measure.

It all started when I met this very talented actress/food blogger, Kayle of The Cooking Actress. Her cookie obsession is down right infectious. I go to her site just to ogle all of her mouth-watering cookies, wishing I could reach through my computer screen and munch on a few. Oh, if only that were possible.

When I’m craving a quick treat, I whip up a quick batch of cookies. They’re the closest thing to instant gratification you’re going to get, which is probably why they’re my go-to snack.

Stir, scoop, bake, eat. It’s as simple as that.

Since I tend to eat above and beyond my fair share of cookies, I decided to develop a cookie recipe that was both delicious and healthy…because there’s no point eating something healthy if it’s not delicious, right?

What came out of my oven the other day is the epitome of healthy cookie recipes. If I didn’t tell you they were healthy, you’d never know it.

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Peanut butter banana cookies with mini chocolate chips. They remind me of banana bread…mini banana breads. Mmm!

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I made these cookies for my Mom-mom and Pop-pop. My grandmother is diabetic, so she has to watch her sugar and carbohydrate intake, and my grandfather struggles with high blood pressure, so he watches just about everything he puts into his system.

Since they’re always complaining that I make them fat, I decided to develop a recipe that not only tasted delicious, but was good for them as well. The result surpassed my expectations. Who knew a healthy cookie could taste so good.

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The cookies are soft and moist like banana bread. They’re made with whole wheat flour, a generous helping of peanut butter, greek yogurt, ripe bananas, brown sugar, and mini chocolate chips.

Now when I’m in the mood for a snack, I reach for one of these guilt-free cookies.

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My dad isn’t much into sweets, but he fell in love with these. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he would have liked these cookies. My mom called me shortly after my grandparents left to travel back home to tell me that dad really likes the cookies. She told me that they were gone, and that I needed to make more for day. “Whoa, wait. My dad? No way! Does he know they’re healthy?” was my response. “No, he doesn’t, and we’re not going to tell him,” she said.

The secret is out of the bag now!

Since that call from my mom 3 weeks ago, I’ve made him 3 batches of these cookies. I’m now his personal baker. Anytime the cookies get low, I get a call to replenish them.

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Enjoy!

5.0 from 5 reviews

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Cookies

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mash banana until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, stir in in brown sugar until combined. Stir in peanut butter, egg yolk, Greek yogurt, and vanilla until smooth.
  4. Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
  5. Using a 1-inch scoop, scoop the cookie mixture onto the baking sheets, making sure the cookies are 3 inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes.
  6. Cool the cookies on the pans for 3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

 



Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Banana Muffins ~ #MuffinMonday

It can’t always be cookies and buttercream, right? Maybe in a fairytale land far, far away where high cholesterol and weight gain don’t exist, but this isn’t a fairytale. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some cookies, but even I have limitations. Well, that is, my hips have limitations. If they’d let me, I’d probably snack on cookies all day; however, that’s not the case.

Sometimes I want to snack on something without feeling guilty about it later, so I’ve been experimenting with guilt-free quick breads in the kitchen lately. Breads full of whole grains, yogurt, fruit, and healthy proteins. Breads that will fill me up without leaving me full of eater’s remorse later. I love baking quick breads for the very fact that they involve little to no planning. They don’t require  kneading, rising, or waiting, and can usually be whipped up in one bowl.

An challenged us to make a muffin using bananas this week, and I instantly knew that I wanted to make a muffin that combined chocolate, banana, and peanut butter. The epitome of all flavor combos. Last week I came across this recipe for Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cupcakes by Sally’s Baking Addiction. I instantly fell in love with them and knew I had to make them for #MuffinMonday this week.

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I made a few minor changes to make the recipe more muffin-like. I added some dark chocolate cocoa powder, white whole wheat flour, and brown sugar. They’re healthy and delicious all at the same time.

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The muffin is dark and moist and, my favorite part, swirled with melted peanut butter.

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Guilt-free muffins… Now, that’s my kind of breakfast. Enjoy!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Banana Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Muffin, Quick Bread
Cuisine: Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Serves: 16

Ingredients
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 egg white
  • ¾ cup greek yogurt, vanilla or plain
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup dark or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup creamy peanut butter, melted
  • ⅓ cup peanut butter chips

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 16 muffin cups with papers.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the brown sugar, egg, egg white, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Mixture will be slightly lumpy.
  4. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Fill the muffin cups ⅔ of the way full with batter. Spoon ½ tablespoon of the melted butter on top of the batter. Using a knife or a toothpick, swirl the peanut butter into the batter. Sprinkle with peanut butter chips.
  6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room-temperature for up to 3 days.

 



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream ~ #SundaySupper

We have a birthday in the house. Sunday Supper turns one today! I have my party hat and party horn ready. Let’s get this party started.

Happy birthday, #SundaySupper! *Blows party horn*

A year ago today, Isabel of Family Foodie started a mission to bring back Sunday supper around the family table. Isabel’s vision quickly swept the internet, gaining recognition and making an impact amongst the blogging community. Each week, like-minded foodies began gathering around her virtual family table to support her mission and join her on her journey to bring families together.

Today we’re celebrating 52 weeks of recipes that have inspired families to gather around the table and make memories. We’re representing the gathering of family, friends, and food by making a dish from one of our fellow #SundaySupper members.

A birthday isn’t complete without ice cream, right? Exactly! I knew you’d have my back on this one.

Back in October, Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic made this very decadent chocolate fudge brownie ice cream that had me drooling all over my keyboard. I knew I had to make it as soon as I saw that scoop of ice cream loaded with chunks of brownies and fudge. Kim is amazing…for a lunatic. Wink! The girl crafts up some delicious grub. Her lasagna soup… Amazeballs! I know because I made it and ate it all. Yup, consumed the entire pot. It was so good. Strings-of-cheese-curling-over-my-lower-lip good.

While I kept the base of the ice cream the same, I decided to change up the add-ins. Since I have a ton of candy left over from Christmas, I decided replace the brownie and fudge chunks with a peanut butter sauce swirl and chopped peanut butter cups. Holy mother of all things chilly, is this ice cream insanely delicious. It’s everything ice cream should be- creamy, decadent, smooth, and rich.

 

This ice cream is ridiculously easy to make. The recipe doesn’t call for eggs, which eliminates cooking, tempering, and overnight cooling. This method is as close to instant ice cream gratification as you’re going to get, which means less wait time before stuffing ice cream into your face pronto!

Welp, gotta go, because this ice cream is calling my name from the freezer. Enjoy!

Check out what the other #SundaySupper participants are making:

Sunday Supper Appetizers:

Sunday Supper Soups and Breads:

Sunday Supper Main Dishes:

Sunday Supper Veggies:

Sunday Supper Desserts and Snacks:

Sunday Supper Breakfast Faves:

Sunday Supper Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

5.0 from 3 reviews

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
 
Author:
Recipe type: Ice Cream
Cuisine: Adapted from Cravings of a Lunatic

Ingredients
  • Custard:
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup peanut butter cups, chopped
  • Peanut Butter Sauce:
  • ½ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tbs. powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp. vanilla
  • ¼ cup half and half
  • 2 tbs. milk

Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add cocoa powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and milk. Whisk until sugars dissolve. Add heavy cream and vanilla and whisk until thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the mixture is the consistency of pudding.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
  3. Remove from the refrigerator and transfer the mixture to the bowl of your ice cream maker. Churn for 15 minutes.
  4. Add half of the mixture to a bowl. Top with half of the peanut butter sauce and peanut butter cups. Swirl with a knife. Top with remaining ice cream. Swirl in the remaining peanut butter sauce and peanut butter cups. Cover and place in the freezer until completely frozen, about 4 hours.
  5. Peanut Butter Sauce: In a small bowl, add peanut butter and powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Whisk in half & half, milk, and vanilla until smooth.

 

 

 

 



Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Chocolate Muffins with Peanut Butter Frosting~ #MuffinMonday

Happy New Year’s Eve! What do you do to ring in the new year? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s way more fascinating than what I’m doing. I tend to be a huge dud on New Year’s Eve. Squirrel and I tend do something low key. Usually, we go over a friends house, mingle, play a few board games, and have a few cocktails…except for last year. Don’t laugh, but last year Squirrel and I stayed home and fell asleep before the ball even dropped. I remember my lids feeling like bricks, so I stopped fighting it and just let the inevitable happen and fell asleep. Duds, I know. Going out means spending 5x the price for a Captain and Coke, fighting the crowds to make it to the bar for said cocktail, then jumping up and down to get the bartender to acknowledge my existence (I’m only 5’1″). So, we take the route less travelled and stay home. I mix up my cheap cocktail, pop a bag of popcorn, and plop myself down onto my favorite part of the couch and watch movies all evening. Call me old but I love it!

Today is the last #MuffinMonday before the end of the year, so I had to go out with a bang. I took the concept of the word muffin to an entirely new level with this recipe. It’s sort of a muffin/cupcake hybrid. I made a decadent chocolate muffin stuffed with a peanut butter cup and topped with peanut butter frosting. Can I get a hell yes?

The only rule we had to follow this week was to make something indulgent using chocolate. Chocolate? Check. Indulgent? I’d say so.

I know this looks like a cupcake, with its creamy frosting and peanut butter cup center, but looks can be deceiving. This is, indeed, a muffin; a very decadent and indulgent muffin. A muffin that masks itself as a cupcake that begs to be eaten for breakfast.

How about we make this muffin our last hurrah before we set our New Year’s resolutions. Whatdoya say?

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Do you think she’ll notice if I steal that pan of muffins?” It’s New Year’s Eve, I’m willing to share. We’re all friends here.

Enjoy!

5.0 from 3 reviews

Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Chocolate Muffins with Peanut Butter Frosting
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Muffin/Quick Bread
Serves: 12

Ingredients
  • Muffins:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ cup milk
  • 12 miniature Reese cups, unwrapped
  • Frosting:
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs. milk

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, vegetable oil, and egg until light in color. Whisk in vanilla extract.
  4. Add the dry mixture to the egg mixture alternating with the milk until the mixture is smooth (a few lumps are okay).
  5. Fill the tins a third of the way full with batter. Place one Reese cup in the center and gently press it into the batter. Top with batter until the cup is ⅔ of the way full.
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  7. Frosting:
  8. In a medium-sized bowl, add the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Cream together the peanut butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Whisk in the milk until the frosting is smooth.

 

 



Peanut Butter & Banana Chip Granola

Baking season is in full swing, and I’m pumping out sweet treats like they’re going out of style. I’ve been baking so much that my skin is imparted with the smell of butter and sugar. Mmm, I smell delicious!

You want cookies? I got ‘em by the dozens. Mini loaves of bread? Uh huh. Fudge? You betcha. Rice krispie treats? Heck yes! You name it, I have it. I’m knee deep in all things sweet and I don’t want to be dug out. I’m living the high life, eating cookies for just about every meal. Hey, it’s the holidays. My motto is eat now and worry later.

To help break up the monotony of cookie recipes, I made a peanut butter and banana chip granola. This is on my list of food gifts this year, and it’s a winner.

The oats and almonds get coated in a creamy peanut butter and brown sugar base and toasted in the oven until brown and nutty. Once the mixture cools, I toss in handfuls of dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and banana chips.

It’s addictive!

I sit in front of the TV and snack on handfuls of this granola while watching my favorite shows. It’s healthy, yet it will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Add the granola to a pretty glass jar and wrap a big old red bow around it to give to that special someone for the holidays. Don’t be surprised if you get a bunch of emails asking for the recipe. It’s that good!

Happy Holidays!

Here’s what I’ve been cooking/baking over the past few weeks:

Orange Sugar Cookies by Movita Beaucoup- These are the softest cookies you will ever eat, and they’re so easy to make.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni by Juanita’s Cocina- This makes for a great weeknight meal. So good, yet so easy.

Parsnip and Carrot Latkes by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen- This was my very first attempt at latkes. Let’s just say that I’m now a huge fan. These are amazing!

Salted Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies by A Periodic Table- Whoa, are these cookies huge, but they’re one of the best cookies I’ve ever shoved into my cookie hole. The toasted hazelnuts. The chocolate. The salty bite. This is one great cookie and a must try.

There’s also a winner in the house. Congratulations to #35, Donna Currie, for winning the Hodgson Mill giveaway. Happy baking!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter & Banana Chip Granola
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Granola

Ingredients
  • 4 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1½ cups whole almonds
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ¼ cup peanut butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 1½ cups banana chips
  • ½ cup peanut butter chips
  • ¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine oats and almonds.
  3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, canola oil, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the peanut butter is smooth and the brown sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Take the mixture off of the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
  4. Pour the mixture over the oats and fold until all of the oats are coated with peanut butter mixture.
  5. Pour the oat mixture evenly onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the oats are golden brown.
  6. Cool the mixture completely on a wire rack before tossing with the banana chips, peanut butter chips, and dark chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

 

 



Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Banana Muffins~ #MuffinMonday

Is that a long title, or what? Sorry, but I just couldn’t leave anything out. Doesn’t that muffin just sound delicious? Is it calling your name? It is, isn’t it?

Today marks the first Monday of our holiday #MuffinMonday series. Every Monday the #MuffinMonday crew will be bringing you sweet holiday themed muffins that will get even more decadent the closer we get to Christmas. If that doesn’t get you excited for the holidays, I don’t know what will.

Peanut butter and banana is one of my favorite combinations. The two flavors blend beautifully together. You get the sweetness from the banana and the saltiness from peanut butter…it’s perfection.

An asked us to make a decadent muffin, so I went the extra step and added mini chocolates chips and topped them with a dark chocolate glaze. What you end up with is an extremely moist muffin that tastes like a decadent dessert, but a dessert that you can eat for breakfast.

These muffins were so good that I proceeded to eat three of them in a row on Saturday. I had to give the rest away so I wouldn’t eat the entire batch in one sitting.

How do you like them sprinkles? They’re little pink piggies!

I enjoyed these muffins so much that I decided to turn them into bread and give them as Christmas gifts.

Happy Monday!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Muffin/Bread
Serves: 12

Ingredients
  • Dry:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
  • Wet:
  • 1 banana
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup peanut butter
  • 1 tbs. half & half
  • 1 egg
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • Chocolate glaze:
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips.

Instructions
  1. Muffins:
  2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin.
  3. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, add the banana and sugar. Mash to combine.
  5. Whisk in the peanut butter and half & half.
  6. Add the egg and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
  7. Fold in the dry ingredients.
  8. Add the mini chocolate chips. Fold to combine.
  9. Scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin tins, about a third of the way full.
  10. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  11. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
  12. While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze.
  13. Glaze:
  14. Add the chocolate chips to a small bowl.
  15. Heat the heavy cream over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.
  16. Lightly dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze and, if you like, add some sprinkles.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week. 



Peanut Butter Snickers Rice Krispie Treats

I’m gonna get down and dirty and get straight to the point. I’m a snacker!

I like to snack throughout the day. I nibble when I’m at the computer at work, in-between patients, during class, and, yes, when I’m bored. Now, I’m not proud of it, but I do occasionally frequently snack when I’m bored. I try to snack on healthy things, like fruit, yogurt,  nutella almond bars, or these no-bake peanut butter energy bites (which happen to be amazing and famous) by Amy from Fearless Homemaker.

I really do try to snack healthy, but some days require these salted chocolate hazelnut cookies (which are amaze balls good) by Shannon from A Periodic Table or these brown butter chocolate chip cookies (talk about addictive) by Kayle from The Cooking Actress. You know the days; The ones where you stub your newly pedicured toe on a rock and it swells to twice the size and you can’t get it to stop bleeding and you’re forced to wear flip flops in 40 degree weather because you were too busy talking instead of paying attention to where you were going. Yeah, those days. They require more than just a healthy snack. They require a big ol’ fat cookie that says you’re going to make it through the day.

I made peanut butter snickers rice crispy treats to add to the list of feel-better snacks, and they’re doing a mighty fine job coaxing my left middle toe back to health (yup, I was that dummy who ran right into a rock).

Crispy rice cereal gets coated with a generous drizzle of gooey peanut butter marshmallow sauce. If that doesn’t make your mouth water, I don’t what will.

I tossed in a heaping handful of chopped snickers bars, chopped peanuts, and mini marshmallows. It took every ounce of will power not to devour the pan before photographing it.

I just took snacking to the next level and, technically, since these bars are made with rice cereal, they can be considered breakfast. Technically.

Well, hello sexy rice crispy treat, with your mini marshmallow studs and chopped snickers bar pieces. I don’t mind if I do.

Enjoy snacking on these!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Peanut Butter Snickers Rice Krispie Treats
 
Prep time

Total time

 

Author:
Serves: 14

Ingredients
  • Marshmallow Sauce
  • 6 tbs. unsalted butter
  • 1-10.5 oz bag marshmallows
  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
  • Crispy Treats
  • 6 cups Rice Krispie cereal
  • 5 Snickers bars, chopped
  • 1½ cups mini marshmallows
  • 1 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)
  • Chocolate Drizzle
  • ½ cup peanut butter chips
  • ¼ cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 tbs. butter
  • 1 tbs. half & half

Instructions
  1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
  2. Add Rice Krispies to a large bowl and set aside.
  3. In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add the peanut butter halfway through the melting process and stir until smooth.
  4. Fold the marshmallow mixture into the cereal, then fold in mini marshmallows, chopped Snickers, and chopped peanuts.
  5. Press the mixture into the prepared pan.
  6. Over a double boiler, melt peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, butter, and half & half until smooth. Drizzle over the Krispie treats.
  7. Allow the treats to set before cutting into squares.

 



Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae & A PB Crave #Giveaway!

 
Welcome to day six of #icecreamweek! Can you believe there is only one more day of frozen treats left? The week flew by in a flash.

I have a very special frozen treat to celebrate the end of #icecreamweek. It’s a no cook peanut butter ice cream turned hot fudge sundae. And, I’m giving away a set of four PB Crave peanut butter flavors. How’s that for exciting?

PB Crave is an innovative peanut butter company started by Curt Riess, a fellow peanut butter lover and the creative genius behind PB Crave. Curt believes that everybody loves peanut butter, so he set out to make a unique blend of peanut butters with only the finest, all-natural ingredients.

Not only does PB Crave promote healthy snacking, they have set out to make a difference with Project Peanut Butter, a non-profit organization focused on treating malnourished children. The company’s goal is to help save the lives of 2 million children. In order to achieve their goal, 2 percent of the profits from every jar of PB Crave peanut butter is donated to Project Peanut butter.

PB Crave comes in four different unique flavors:  Choco Choco, Cookie Nookie, Razzle Dazzle, and Coco Bananas.

As you can imagine, I was extremely excited when I found the PB Crave package waiting on my front porch when I arrived home from work. I ran in the house, hastily opened the box, and proceeded to try all four flavors. Me and a spoon and four different flavors of peanut butter equals a very happy Jennie.

They’re not your traditional, plain old peanut butter. They have added flavors like raspberry, banana, cookie dough, and chocolate chips swirled in. They’re smooth, creamy, and slightly sweet. All of the flavors are amazing, but I fell head over heels in love with the Coco Bananas, which happens to be the flavor I used in this peanut butter ice cream recipe. It has a lovely depth of banana flavor with a hint of chocolate. It’s slightly sweet and extremely smooth. I ate the entire jar. All gone. No more Coco Bananas *sad face.* There’s a huge void in my life now that it’s gone.

I made a no cook Coco Bananas peanut butter ice cream. It doesn’t get any easier than this ice cream.

You literally throw all of the ingredients in a blender, give it a whir, and churn it in your ice cream maker. It’s that closest thing to instant gratification you’re going to get with an ice cream recipe.

To take this ice cream from great to amazing, I made a homemade hot fudge sauce. It’s thick and chocolatey and only takes 5 minutes to make.

I assure you that you’ll never go back to the store bought version.

Mmmm, look at that chocolatey goodness dripping from the spoon. And, yes, I licked the spoon clean. No shame here.

Don’t forget to check out what Jen from Juanita’s Cocina and Carla from Chocolate Moosey made for day six of #icecreamweek.

This giveaway is for one Choco Choco variety pack, which includes free shipping directly to your door. The Choco Choco variety pack includes:  1 jar of each Choco Choco, Cookie Nookie, and Razzle Dazzle. A value of $20.97!

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will run from Friday, July 20th to Thursday, July 26th at 6 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen by random draw. I will notify the winner by email.

Required entry:  Leave a comment telling me which PB Crave peanut butter your most excited to try.

Additional entries:

Like The Messy Baker on Facebook
Follow The Messy Baker on Twitter
Follow The Messy Baker on Pinterest
Subscribe to The Messy Baker’s RSS feed
Pin this post on Pinterest
Like PB Crave on Facebook
Follow PB Crave on Twitter

Remember to leave separate comments for each entry you complete. That’s 8 chances to win!

 



Strawberry Peanut Butter Oat Bars

After indulging in several delicious desserts these past couple of weeks, I decided it was time to make something on the healthier side. A dessert that is good for your heart, body, and health, but tastes yummy, too. It has to taste good. Period. There’s no sense in eating something that doesn’t taste good. Healthy doesn’t have to equate to flavorless. I created a strawberry peanut butter oat bar that will satisfy your sweet tooth, but won’t have you regretting it later. Nope, you won’t have to spend extra time on the treadmill after treating yourself to one of these bars.

These bars remind me of a cross between granola and shortbread. They’re delicate, crunchy, sweet, and wholesome. They literally melt in your mouth as you eat them. Absolutely delicious and satisfying. And, there will be no worries or lingering thoughts of treadmills after eating them.

The ingredient round-up. You’ll need whole wheat and all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar, almonds, butter, peanut butter, oats, and a jam of your choice. I had strawberry jam, so I went with that. Look at all those healthy ingredients just waiting to fuel your body.

You’ll need to muster up some strength for this recipe in order to cut the butter into the flour and oat mixture. You’ll bulk up your arm muscles while making this recipe.

Mmmm, jam. It adds a nice sweetness to the bars, and I love how it gets sticky and concentrated after the bars cook.

Enjoy!

Love and sweet treats,

The Messy Baker

Recipe:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

1/2 cup almonds, ground to a coarse crumb

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

10 tbs butter, cold and cut into cubes

3/4 cup peanut butter

1-18oz jar of your favorite jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular pan.

In a large bowl, mix together both flours, oats, ground almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter. Next, cut in the peanut butter. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread the jam onto the oat mixture. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake until light brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely, and then cut into squares.

 

 

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