Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles!

Hey guys!  As I have been studying for finals this week, I have also been doing my fair share of procrastinating -- much of which has come in the form of wasting time surfing Pinterest.  I came across the awesome recipe by Sweet Peas Kitchen and I am thinking that I MUST give them a try!  These bite sized Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles sound absolutely delicious.  I am thinking that I will make these and sell them at my first sale, which will hopefully be at RCS soon after I get home!  If you try making them soon, let me know how they turn out!

Here are the ingredients you need to make these truffles full of wonderfulness:

• 1½ cups whole tiny twist pretzels
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter chips

And here are the cooking directions:

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.
2. Place pretzels in a resealable plastic bag and run a rolling pin over the bag crushing the pretzels into small bits; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt until completely blended and smooth. Add the pretzel bits and mix thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball (use your fingertips to shape the balls-the mixture is sticky). Place on prepared pan and place in the freezer until firm, at least 15 minutes.
5. Melt shortening and chocolate chips together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
6. Working about 4 balls at a time, dip balls in chocolate using a spoon or a dipping fork and place on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Keep the undipped balls in the freezer until ready to dip.
7. Once you have covered all the balls in chocolate, place in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is set. Once the coating is set melt the peanut butter chips and drizzle over each truffle. Return to refrigerator until drizzle is set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

(All credit for this recipe and the photo go to http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/)

DR. Bars - to die for!

Upon arriving home for spring break, my brother David and I decided that we were going to experiment.  Not the kind of experiments that include chemicals, goggles, and lab coats -- food experiments!!  Of course, this is the best kind of experimenting there is.  So, we starting thinking of things that we could bake.  In this process, my brother came up with a GREAT idea...what could be better than a bar made of warm ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie, Ghirardelli milk chocolate caramel squares, peanut butter, pretzels, and decadent brownie?!  Once my brother came up with this concoction, I knew it would need to be named after him - the DR. Bar for his first and middle initials - also for the doctor that you may need to visit after eating the entire batch of bars because they are way too delicious to stop eating!

So here's what we needed to create these small bits of heaven:

1 roll of Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
1 box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix (plus necessary mix-ins: eggs, water, etc.)
1 bag of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate & Caramel Squares
Approximately 25-30 pretzels (any type of pretzels you like will work - you just need enough of them to fill one layer that covers the entire pan you use)
Approximately 1 cup of peanut butter (again, as much of it as you need to create a thick layer that will cover the area of the pan)

Step 1: Make sure that you either butter or spray your pan before you coat the bottom with a layer of cookie dough.  You don't want these super duper yummy bars to be stuck in there forever!  Once you have coated the pan so that the bars won't stick, the next step is to create a layer of cookie dough - it should be roughly 1-2 cm thick.  Then place your Ghirardelli chocolates on top of the cookie dough.  Because we did not have enough of them (we ate some before we began baking...oops!) we placed them as shown below, but for optimal taste and caramel in every bite, you should create an entire layer of these wonderful chocolates.

 Step 2:  The next step is to add a layer of peanut butter - you can make it as thick as you want or as thin as you want.  Then add a layer of pretzels.  They add a really nice salty flavor to the bars as well as a crunch.  Mmmm!

 Step 3:  Pour your brownie batter (which you make by following the instructions on the back of the Betty Crocker mix) on top of everything that you have placed in the pan so far.

 Step 4:  Make sure that you have covered the entire thing with brownie!  Then place in the oven on 355 for approximately 30 minutes.  The time necessary to cook these will vary greatly depending on how thick you choose to make the bars.  Test with a tooth-pick to see when they are finished.  Don't over cook them...they are best when gooey and melting!  Enjoy!