Archives for August 2012

Making Space in a Crowded Kitchen

When we purchased our home years ago, we planned for our little family to grow. It did indeed grow. We went from 1 to 2 sweet children and there were space sacrifices made. For instance my stockpile closet in the guest bedroom/office became my sweet baby’s closet. Which also meant that my guest bedroom/office became the nursery.

Needless to say, we’ve become quite the masters at utilizing the space that we have fairly efficiently. And then one day after moving my stockpile into my kitchen cabinets, I realized that there just was not enough space. To be honest, I don’t think that I would EVER have enough space for all the cool gadgets, cookware, and ingredients I’d like to store in my kitchen. But we do the best that we can to make room.

One our kitchen wall, we had a very lovely large black mirror hung over the buffet. This buffet used to contain a huge hutch for our china cabinet, but in the process of de-cluttering and minimizing it got the boot. Back to the mirror.

It was huge and made the wall basically unusable. With cans and pots (and my obsessive mug collection) popping out of the cabinets (almost literally), I decided it was time for a change.

Here’s what I did! 3 simple shelves in place of the mirror gave me space and a place to show off some of my favorite kitchen treasures. I’m fairly sure that when I first brought this idea to my husband that he thought I was silly. But after it came together, he came around.

I love how the shelves made some of the most mundane things like these glass jars look sparkly and special. These would otherwise just be locked away in a dark cabinet and only seen when in use.

Or this trifle bowl. It’s a beautiful vision now with it’s showcase position on the shelves.

Even the canisters holding my tri-color pasta seem to demand more attention.

I enjoy looking at the things that once caused me much grief when I opened and closed my cabinets. And now my matching plate and bowl set are living in harmony in their cozy cabinet without the clutter of mix-n-match thrift store finds cramping their style. But little do they know they were Dollar Tree finds themselves! Shhh, we won’t tell them…

For now we’ll enjoy our extra space. For now that is, until my mugs take over and that is a very big possibility.

I hope that this might inspire you if you are becoming crowded in your own kitchen. Get creative, inventive, and don’t give up!


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Southwestern Black Bean Omelet

My mission lately is to make sure that I eat all 3 meals. I have a tendency to get busy with the girls, cleaning the house, or perhaps blogging my favorite recipes with you and just completely lose track of time and meals. That’s coming to an end because I’m on a mission to find filling, yet easy breakfasts and lunches. I’ve been making one that I wanted to share since I find it really tasty.

This Southwestern Black Bean Omelet is filling and tasty, but also low in calories. I figured it up and there are just 160 calories in this entire omelet! That even includes the cheese, which is where almost half of the calories come from. You could easily knock off even more calories by using reduced-fat cheese.

My favorite thing about this omelet is that it’s super fast to make. It takes no time at all to whip up but leaves you feeling satisfied. With the protein from the egg beaters and the fiber and antioxidants from the black beans, it’s also very healthy.

I find myself eating this for lunch more than I do for breakfast! If you’re looking to change up your everyday lunch or breakfast, you might try this out.

Check out the recipe below and enjoy!

Southwestern Black Bean Omelet
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Lunch
Author: Pennywise Cook
This black bean omelet is not only filling and tasty, but it’s healthy too!
Ingredients
  • 1/3 c. Egg Substitute
  • 2 Tbsp Chopped Onion
  • 1/4 c. Black Beans
  • 1/8 Tsp Chili Powder
  • 2 Tbsp Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Divided
  • 1 Tbsp Salsa
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste
  • Cooking Spray
Instructions
  1. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Combine the egg, onion, black beans, salt & pepper, and chili powder in a bowl. Spray skillet with cooking spray then pour in the egg mixture. Immediately sprinkle with 1 tbsp shredded cheese. Let cook for 4-5 minute until the edges start to firm.
  2. Flip and the omelet in half and top other tbsp of cheese. Cook for about another 2 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from skillet, top with salsa and serve!
Notes

Save the rest of your canned black beans and leftover onion for another day to make another omelet!


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Oven “Fried” Pickles

Pickles.

I love the heck out of some good old fashioned dill pickles. They’ve saved me through diets when all I wanted was something to crunch that contained little calories. They’ve saved me through pregnancies when I just wanted something high in sodium. They’ve saved me through times when I just wanted to be reeeeeal bad and eat something deep fried. I’d have to say that they’ve always had my back.

My favorite way to eat pickles? Oh covered in batter and fried to a golden brown and served with a spicy ranch sauce. But since I have this slight (but I really mean huge) aversion to eating fried things, I don’t make or order them too often.

I decided I wanted some “fried” pickles but I didn’t actually want to fry them. Which usually means hello mister oven!

So to begin, we start with a pickle assembly line. Just experience from baking things with coatings on them, I knew that cornstarch was going to be necessary. Then you have your egg substitute, or regular egg if you’re feeling wild. But I promise, you won’t be able to tell if you just use the substitute. It will keep the calories lower this way. Next are a mixture of plain bread crumbs, panko breadcrumbs, and garlic powder. Then you have your pan lined with foil ready for its pickle partners!

Oh and by the way, pickles themselves are needed too. They just didn’t make it into my pictures yet. 🙂

So start off with dipping your pickle in the cornstarch, making sure to shake off the excess.

Take your cornstarched pickle and dredge it through the egg.

Here comes the crunchy part. Then roll it around in the breadcrumbs and place it on the foil lined baking sheet.

Oh look. Now you have all your ducks pickles in a row. Now bake those ducks pickles!

I felt no guilt at all indulging in these “fried” pickles. The pickles themselves are practically calorieless and the breading is used in moderation making these are great snack even for the serious dieter. Plus, the only cost that I had was buying the pickles themselves. They were $1 at Aldi so those didn’t even break the bank. Other than that, you might even have all the ingredients in your pantry right now.

Check out the recipe below.

Oven “Fried” Pickles
Recipe Type: Snack, Appetizer,
Author: Pennywise Cook
You can have the best of both worlds with these oven “fried” pickles. Satisfy your fried pickle craving without the shame or guilt.
Ingredients
  • 1 Jar Dill Pickle Spears, Drained and dried well on paper towels
  • 4 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1/2 c. Egg Substitute
  • 4 Tbsp Panko Breadcrums
  • 4 Tbsp Plain Breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a shallow dish, mix together breadcrumbs and garlic powder. Place the egg in another shallow bowl and the cornstarch in another shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  2. Coat the spear in cornstarch, then shake off excess. Dredge through the egg substitute, then coat with the breadcrumbs.Place on baking sheet.
  3. Once all around on the sheet, very lightly spray the tops. Bake for 12 minutes turning them once every 4 minutes (total of 3 times) so that each side (there are 3!) gets a good brown.
  4. Serve with your favorite low-cal ranch and you have yourself a snack!
Notes

This would also work with the sandwich slices or regular chip versions. However, be prepared for it to take forever to dredge and dip!


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Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

There’s a time and a place for soup. At least at my house it’s that way. When planning meals, soup is never an option. I honestly think that my family would rather eat cardboard than eat such a thing called soup. It’s not because soup is such a bad thing. It’s probably just because when put up against a hearty casserole or grilled steak, soup just doesn’t compare. And therefore usually ends up being bypassed and never even a consideration. This is something that I’d loved to change here in my family.

I love soup! For many reasons too. You can make huge amounts at once, it freezes well, and best of all it’s cheap to make! All of my favorite traits of a good meal. So when I came across this Weight Watchers Cheeseburger Soup recipe, I knew I had to make it.

It’s contains the word, cheeseburger. I knew my family would have to love it.

It’s really easy to make. I healthified mine up a bit with ground turkey in place of the beef. The fam didn’t even know it. I take that back. They know me enough by now that all I use is ground turkey so maybe they did know. Either way, they didn’t care! It turned out really yummy and there are plenty of reasons why I love this particular soup. Not only was it cheap, but I made it in the crockpot so there was no slaving over the stove all evening.

Not to mention that it’s low-calorie. I mean come on, something that the family will eat that’s actually low-cal too? It’s a winner!

I made a few small changes to the recipe and it turned out really good. Mine doesn’t look near as yummy as theirs does, but I can assure you that it was just as tasty I’m sure!

 

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers.

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup
Author: Adapted from Weight Watchers
A meal that the whole family will love, this cheeseburger soup is easy and low-calorie too!
Ingredients
  • Cooking Spray or Crockpot Liner
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey (see notes)
  • 2 Tbsp Flour
  • 3 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (see notes)
  • 1 c. Reduced Fat Evaporated Milk
  • 8 oz Cubed Cheese (I used Colby Jack)
  • 1/2 Tsp Paprika
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • Tortilla Chips for crumbling on top
Instructions
  1. Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Saute garlic and onions until tender. Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray and pour the garlic and onions into it.
  2. In same skillet, brown the ground turkey and break into small crumbles as it cooks. Pour off any grease and place into slow cooker.
  3. In a cup, combine 2 tbsp flour with 1/2 cup broth until there are no more lumps.Pour into the same skillet. Then add remaining 2 and 1/2 cup broth.Bring to a simmer making sure to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Pour into the slow cooker.
  4. Add evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, and salt & pepper to the slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
  5. Serve with broken up chips on top.
Notes

I used a pound of ground turkey in this soup, but after making it and seeing how “soupy” it actually was, I would probably add another 1/2 pound next time. If you like your soups like this meaty, you might consider it.

This recipe originally called for chicken broth. I think that I will try part beef broth next time since after all, it is cheeseBURGER soup. Seems to me there needs to be more beefiness.

And honestly, the picture of this soup does not do it justice. It’s a lot more appetizing than the picture lets on. 🙂

Just notes from my brain about this dish! Enjoy!


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Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Today I’m going to address a meaty ingredient that folks often overlook when it comes to making meals.

Canned tuna.

No, it’s not glamorous. Quite the contrary, the very thought of it is not appealing at all to me. When I pop open a can, I feel like I’m about to feed a cat, not make dinner. But undeniably, it’s a cheap meat. I don’t really mind the taste, as long as it’s covered with cheese or mayonnaise or mustard. I even love a good old-fashion tuna sandwich every now and then. Will my husband eat one? No. Will my kiddo eat one? No.

Enter Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole. I adapted this recipe a little from this cookbook.

I’ll go ahead and warn you though, if you have tuna haters who can’t stand tuna, this probably won’t change their tune. It’s not one of those kinda casseroles. But it is quite tasty and a great way to save a little money using affordable pasta, meat, and veggies.

One of my favorite things about this dish is that you can microwave it instead of firing up the oven. That’s always a plus to me.

It’s funny, my daughter was eating it and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was in it. She was blind-sided by the yummy cheese and broccoli (this is what makes this one so sneaky!) and didn’t realize that there was tuna inside. She then said “Ew, fish!” and gave me the oh-so-famous “I don’t like it.”. I told her to just pick out what she didn’t like. She once again stated that she didn’t like the tuna part.

Later on, washing the dishes I found nothing but pieces of mushroom on her plate. She didn’t even know that she was actually eating the tuna and not eating the mushrooms. So the moral of this story is that from now on, I’ll make this dish without mushrooms.

And p.s.- be prepared to have your entire kitchen smell like tuna. If you figure out a way to avoid that, please let me know!

Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Author: Adapted from 366 Low-Fat Brand-Name Recipes in Minutes Cookbook
Affordable canned tuna makes up a very simple yet tasty supper!
Ingredients
  • 10- 12 oz Wide Egg Noodles
  • 10.75 oz Can of Cheddar Cheese Soup
  • 5 oz Evaporated Milk
  • 1 tsp Onion Flakes
  • 2 Cans Tuna packed in water, drained
  • 4 oz Mushroom Pieces, Drained (optional)
  • 16 oz Frozen Broccoli, Thawed (I used steamfresh)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese soup and evaporated milk. Add onion flakes and mushrooms.
  3. Layer 1/2 the noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Crumble 1 can of tuna over the top of the noodles. Add 1/2 of the broccoli and then pour 1 cup of the sauce on top of that. Repeat layers ending with the rest of the sauce.
  4. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese if desired.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Microwave version- assemble as above. Then microwave on high for 8 minutes. Then reduce power to 50% and microwave another 5 minutes.

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3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

So yes, this isn’t a picture of candy bars. But you’ll be happy to know that it is a picture of something just as incredible. These biscuits were my very first biscuit success! A friend of mine who blogs at Thrifty T’s Treasures recently shared a biscuit fail of her’s. Let’s face it, it’s not easy making perfectly fluffy biscuits.

They never said biscuit-making would be easy. Isn’t that a famous quote? No? Well it should be. Because it’s the truth! Pillsbury has made life too easy on us. (Never thought I’d say THOSE words)

But I also don’t want to spend my entire afternoon in the kitchen creating the perfect biscuit dough, either. This momma has plenty to keep her occupied without slaving over biscuits. So I was very excited to find this recipe over at Fun Cheap Free. And I figured they were worth sharing because A) I was able to snap pretty narly pictures of them and B) they were actually edible and C) Addie just loved them and she’s my biggest critic.

The ease of this recipe is what makes it so good. That and the fact that it only contains 3 easy ingredients.

Start with 3 cups of self-rising flour. The self-rising part is very important so don’t use any other kind.

Or if you don’t have the self-riding kind, make your own self-rising flour with this recipe:

1 c. flour
1 & 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Make a well in the middle with your wooden spoon and pour in 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Or canola oil, or whatever kind oil you have.

Next, slowly add in 1 & 1/4 cup buttermilk and then using a fork stir to combine. Don’t worry about it being all lumpy.

Lose the fork and then use the two best cooking utensils that God gave you, your hands. Knead the dough until well combined and then turn out onto a floured surface.

Roll it out, but not too thin. You want them pretty thick in order for them to rise a bit and have some fluff to them. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles and place them on your baking sheet.

Place them on the stove while you let your oven preheat to 400 degrees. This gives them some time to rise a bit. But just being honest, mine rose very little and they still turned out fine.

I also put a little square of butter on each of mine before I placed then in the oven. And then when I got them out of the oven I sprayed them with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Neither of those are required, but make them extra good.

Bake for 10 minutes.

All you need is a good old cup of coffee and some jam to go with your biscuit and you’re set.

These seriously were the easiest biscuits I’ve ever made. While they are buttermilk biscuits and don’t have that buttery taste like some biscuits, you can add whatever you like to them to make them yummy.

I think they would make great biscuits for making and freezing sausage biscuits!

3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Side, Bread
Author: Fun Cheap Free
Ingredients
  • 3 c. Self-Rising Flour + extra for counter
  • 1/4 c. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 & 1/4 c. Buttermilk
Instructions
  1. Place 3 c. flour in a large bowl. Using your hand or a wooden spoon, make a well in the middle. Pour oil into well.
  2. Slowly add the buttermilk and use a fork to combine. Don’t worry if it’s lumpy. Use your hand to knead it into a dough ball.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out leaving it fairly thick. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out circles and then place them on a baking sheet.
  4. Place on stove to rise while you wait for your oven to preheat to 400 degrees.
  5. Once preheated, (optional- place a tiny square of butter on top of each), bake for 10 minutes or until starting to get golden.
Notes

Her recipe said these only make about 6 or 7 biscuits, but I was able to get about 24 of them out of it. Mine were a lot smaller than hers, I’m sure. But they were plenty big for us.


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The Great Milky Way Disaster…(Vlog)

I promised to share it all with you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, maybe not the ugly. If it’s really ugly, I probably won’t be taking a picture of it.

Anywho, I have created a video to share with you my situation…


Yeah….that. Kindergarten has me in a tizzy. I didn’t expect it to be this way, but alas I have buckled under it’s pressure. I’ll get used to it. I think…

THIS is the failure. It happened more than once actually.

Yes, it tasted heavenly. Yes, I ate WAY too much of the carnage. And I was bouncing off the walls at 9 o’clock at night after eating my weight in pure sugar.

While I’d really like to call it quits, I simply MUST conquer the Milky Way candy bar. And you’ll be there first to know when I have!

Until then, will you leave me a comment with your favorite candy bar? Maybe it’ll get my mind off this mess!


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Homemade 3 Musketeers Bars

Oh man, I’m still on a sugar high from all of this week’s candybars. When you have bowls of fillings and melted chocolate in front of you, it’s impossible to resist. I’m just sayin’.

We’re going to go a bit lighter today on our candy bars and talk about how to make Homemade 3 Musketeers Bars. Once again, the simplicity of this recipe stunned me. There are once again just 3 ingredients in this one and it’s as simple as pie to make. Well, maybe not apple pie. It’s really not that easy to make apple pie from scratch is it?

I digress…

The main ingredient in the filling for these candybars is whipped cream. You don’t get much fluffier than that, huh. I think that’s why it’s so much lower in fat than most other candybars. It also explains it’s lighter than air texture.

You simply melt up 2 cups of chocolate chips. I used semi-sweet this time around, but I won’t be using those next time.

UPDATE- I tried the nougat part with milk chocolate and it made it WAY too runny, so I do not advise using the milk chocolate chips.

Anywho, melt those up in the microwave or double boiler (I prefer this method) and then give them a good whippin’ with your mixer. Beat in an 8 ounce container of cool whip just until combined and fluffy.

Pour into a lined square dish and freeze. The longer, the better. At least 30 minutes, but overnight is great!

Sorry this picture is so dark. I got these put together at night and the lighting was just horrible. But you get the idea don’t you?

Once frozen, cut it into bite-size squares and dip into your melted chocolate wafers. I used a fork to turn and coat them well. These were a little more difficult to work with than the Butterfingers. These didn’t turn out as pretty for me, but they were still tasty!

Recipe from Monster Mama.

Homemade 3 Musketeers Bars
Recipe Type: Dessert, Candy, Snack
Author: Adapted from Monster Mama
Ingredients
  • 2 c. Milk Chocolate Chips
  • 1 8 oz Tub Cool Whip (You can even use sugar-free or fat-free!)
  • 2 c. Chocolate Melting Wafers
Instructions
  1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or using a double boiler (I use this method). If you do use the microwave, it’s best to melt them on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring between each spurt.
  2. Beat your melted chocolate chips with a mixer for about a minute. Add in the cool whip and beat just until combined and fluffy.
  3. Pour into a lined 8×8 baking dish and freeze for at least 30 minutes. The longer, the better!
  4. Take out and cut into bite-size squares.
  5. When frozen, melt chocolate wafers according the package directions and using a couple forks, roll the squares until coated. Place on a wax-paper lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer to set.

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Homemade Butterfingers

We’re now on day number 2 of our CandyBar Week here at Pennywise Cook. It’s great making cakes and cookies and casseroles and all, but there is great satisfaction that comes when you have a batch of homemade candybars laying around. I’ve been using them for more than just eating by themselves. I’ve thrown a few in homemade ice cream a couple of times. They also make great bribery tools for the kids. And the husband…

Today’s homemade candybar is Butterfinger! Oh yeah, that’s right. Peanut Buttery, orange goodness. You might just be surprised by what exactly goes into these.

It’s possible that you may need to have a seat before you continue reading.

Almost everyone that tasted these could not guess what it was that these are made of. But they ALL said they taste exactly like the real thing.

It all starts with the famous fall candy, candy corn. I’m a big fan of it myself, but just like coconut I know there are some who don’t like it. It doesn’t matter. If they like Butterfingers, they will like your candybars even though they contain candy corn. If you’re concerned about whether that will make a difference, just don’t tell them. It can be our little secret.

But you might just be dying to share this 3-INGREDIENT recipe with everyone.

It starts with 1 pound of candy corn getting all smooth and melty in the microwave. I was a little surprised, but this was my first experience melting candy corn. It was fun. I was surprised at how quick it went back to being firm again.

Here’s a view of the melted candy corn awaiting the arrival of peanut butter. That’s the next step once you get it melted. Stir in a 16 oz jar of creamy peanut butter.

Then it’s time to pour it into a square pan to freeze. I used another piece of wax paper to smooth the top out and create a perfect square. I didn’t freeze it with the wax paper on top.

No need to freeze it long. Just let it get firm for about 15 minutes. You’ll find that the candy corn really firms up well.

Cut it into squares. You decide how big. Just eyeball it. I tried to make mine smaller so I could eat more. 🙂

Then it’s all a matter of using two forks to roll the squares through melted chocolate wafers. When I started, mine were really ugly y’all. But as I went on, I got better and they began to look fairly similar to a candybar. I even used my fork to drizzle little lines on the top to mimic the real thing. Not perfect, but I think it was a nice touch.

And they turned out SO good! They taste so incredibly similar that it’s crazy. I was very impressed with them and I know you will be too!

Let me know if you make them!

Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken.

Homemade Butterfingers
Recipe Type: Dessert, Candy, Snacks
Author: Adapted from Plain Chicken
With just 3 simple ingredients, you can create your very own Butterfinger candybars!
Ingredients
  • 1 Pound Candy Corn
  • 16 oz Jar Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 2 Cups Chocolate Wafer Melts
Instructions
  1. Melt candy corn in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir then continue microwaving in 15-second increments until melted completely. Stir between each interval.
  2. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Pour into a lined or greased 8×8 square baking dish. Freeze for about 10 minutes. Place wax paper onto a cookie sheet.
  3. Cut into small squares. Melt chocolate wafers according to package. Using two fork, roll the square into chocolate coating all sides. Lay on wax paper and allow to firm. Freeze for about 10 minutes once all are coated.

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CandyBar Week: Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Monday! There are only about a million reasons why today is a GOOD Monday, y’all. First off, my oldest baby starts kindergarten today! It just doesn’t seem right. I’ve been at home with her since the beginning and it’s going to be really different around here without her energetic self. I might just be able to keep the house clean. 😉

Another reason that today is a great day is because I had a fantastic weekend and someone those always seem to make way for a good week. Enjoyed some time with all of my family. I got to snuggle my step-sister’s little boy and even worked a little Scrabble game in. My dad even made me up some homemade ice cream. You know, the automated cranked kind. (I must be really special, huh?!) It was such a wonderful weekend and makes me so thankful for my family.

The biggest reason that I’m so glad that it’s Monday is that I have now declared TODAY the beginning of CandyBar Week here on Pennywise Cook! Oh yeah, we’re talking homemade versions of your favorite candybars that take very little time, money, and effort. I had no idea how easy my favorites were to make! I’m so glad to share these with you this week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

And my entire family and friends have. I have now shared some of my candybars with most of my family by request. They were all in aw of how close they were to the real thing! And by the ingredients too….you might be surprised what it takes to make them. But I’ll shut up now and start you off today with Homemade Peanut Butter Cups!

I can already tell you that you will love these Homemade Peanut Butter Cups. Much like the original Reese’s Cups, these are much more special because they are made with love and ingredients from your very own kitchen. Can’t you just imagine them as perfect Christmas gifts?

Grab your old trusty double boiler, or perhaps your two small saucepans like I do. Throw some hot water in the bottom one and get it going on a slow boil. Melt up a cup of milk chocolate chips. Or use your microwave if you’re brave. I’m not, so I use my saucepans.

Line a muffin tin with liners and drop a thin amount of melted chocolate into each cup. Use your spoon to get it into each little crevice of the liners. This is what really makes it look like a peanut butter cup. Then pop them in the freezer for a bit while you whip up the filling.

The filling is super easy. In a mixer, mix together natural peanut butter, powdered sugar and honey. Voila! It’s ready to be rolled and then flattened into your frozen bottoms.

Use about a teaspoon of the filling per cup. Roll it up into a ball, then flatten onto the chocolate leaving a little space around the outside. This way the chocolate can ooze down in there to create a smooth outer shell.

Melt another cup of chocolate chips and smooth it on top of each cup and freeze for a little bit longer and you’re done!

So tasty and so close to the original thing that you’ll believe that’s just what you’re eating.

The first time I made them, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips for the coating. It was ok, but not near as good as the milk chocolate. We liked the ones made with them a lot better. I also made them in the mini muffin tins the first time and the second batch was in the larger ones. After having it both ways, my hips told me to go back to the smaller muffin tins next time. 🙂

Mine weren’t perfect by any means, but here’s the inside. Oh my goodness, I want one right now y’all!

Let’s talk about how to make them…

CandyBar Week: Day 1- Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
Recipe Type: Candy, Dessert, Snack
Author: Pennywise Cook
With just 4 ingredients, create peanut butter cups that rival even the biggest peanut butter cup competitors.
Ingredients
  • 2 c. Milk Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 c. Natural Peanut Butter
  • 3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp honey
Instructions
  1. Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Drop equal amounts into a lined mini muffin pan. Use a spoon to even it out into the crevices of the liner. Place in freezer for 5-10 minutes while you make the filling.
  2. With a mixer, whip together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and honey. If you notice your filling being a little too thick, pour a few drops of the natural peanut butter oil into it to thin it out just a bit. It should be like dough and able to be rolled.
  3. Remove the chocolate from the freezer. Roll the filling into 1 teaspoon- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon balls. I used about 1 and 1/4 tsp for mine. Flatten them on the chocolate leaving a little space on the outside of the filling for the chocolate to go into.
  4. Melt the other cup of chocolate chips and even pour equal amounts on top of the peanut butter filling smoothing it out as you go. It’s best to do one cup at a time because the peanut butter can make the chocolate harden faster this time.
  5. Freeze for about 10 minutes then serve!

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