Peanut Butter Cheesecakes and Avoiding Weight Gain

You already know that my pants don’t fit.  I don’t know about you, but I find it nearly impossible to diet around this time of year.  It is so cold out that the last thing I want to eat is salad.  What really appeals to me are dishes like chili, lasagna, fresh baked cookies… comfort food.  Add on holiday celebrations, office treats, and Christmas candy sales; I am hopeless.  Well, it is fair to say that I won’t lose any weight in the last week or so of December, but I will do anything I can not to gain more weight.  As a result, I am making an effort to lighten up some of the desserts I am making over the next few hours weeks.

Honestly, I don’t do well “giving up” anything. I don’t do well with portion control either.  The first step in trying to combat that is pre-portioning desserts.  The other thing I like to do is take out some of the fat and calories where it won’t be missed.  Previously I’ve made ice cream desserts that taste delicious but are made with lots of low-guilt ingredients.  Well, I decided to make Individual Peanut Butter Cheesecakes using lower fat cream cheese with a few more decadent ingredients to balance them out.

These cheesecakes are made with a crunchy pretzel crust, a creamy peanut butter filling and chocolate chips snuck in as a layer above the crust and throughout batter.  By the way, you’d be so proud of me.  I only ate two of them!  That may or may not be because I gave some to friends and left the rest in my parents fridge.  Sorry, Mom:-)

This recipe is actually very easy and revolves mostly around a food processor.  I figured if I needed to take out the appliance for making a crust, I might as well use it for the cheesecake batter too!

To begin, fill up your food processor with salted pretzels

Run them through until they are mostly fine crumbs

In a small bowl, pour melted butter over the pretzel crumbs

Add sugar

Stir until all of the crumbs are moist

Press a couple tablespoons of crust ingredients into two muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; bake for about 6 minutes

When crust comes out of oven, layer with several milk chocolate and caramel chips

Regular chocolate chips would also work, but I really like the combination of caramel, chocolate and peanut butter; set pan aside

Meanwhile, prepare cheesecake batter; you can shake out the crumbs from the food processor, no need to wash it

Cream 2 blocks of cream cheese in the food processor

Add sugar, flour, vanilla and salt

Combine well

Add your eggs

Measure 1 cup of peanut butter chips

Microwave about 45 seconds and stir; microwave in additional 20 second increments until chips are melted; note this will be very thick

Add peanut butter to cheesecake batter

Process until smooth and creamy

Pour cheesecake batter into a separate bowl and fold in chocolate chips

Use a small ladle or large spoon to put about 1/3 of a cup of batter in muffin tins

Bake cheesecakes for about 15 minutes or until mostly firm

Serve drizzled with chocolate and caramel or sprinkled with pretzel crumbs

Individual Peanut Butter Cheesecakes, lightened up

Makes 24 mini-cheesecakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups finely ground pretzel crumbs

4 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, separated

1 8-ounce block fat free cream cheese, softened

1 8-ounce block reduced fat cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter chips*, melted

1/2 cup milk chocolate and caramel chips

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

To begin, fill up your food processor with salted pretzels and run them through until finely ground

In a small bowl, pour melted butter over the pretzel crumbs

Add 2 tablespoons sugar and stir until all of the crumbs are moist

Press mixture into two sets of muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; bake for 6 minutes

When crust comes out of oven, sprinkle a few milk chocolate and caramel chips into each cup; set aside

Shake crumbs out of food processor and use it to prepare cheesecake batter

Cream 2 blocks of cream cheese in the food processor

Add sugar, flour, vanilla and salt; cream until well combined

Add eggs and mix well

Add melted peanut butter chips to cheesecake batter and process until smooth and creamy

Pour cheesecake batter into a separate bowl; fold in chocolate chips

Use a small ladle or large spoon to put about 1/3 of a cup of batter into each cup

Bake cheesecakes for about 15 minutes or until tops are mostly firm

Notes:

*You can replace these with regular peanut butter (not natural)

The peanut butter flavor isn’t really strong; some people may prefer this but I may try increasing the amount of peanut butter chips next time (using regular peanut butter could also help)

Are you worried about weight gain during the holidays?

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How do You Define the Perfect Cookie?

Who doesn’t like a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie?  No one I know.  At the same time, if you put 100 people together in a room and had them each describe their perfect chocolate chip cookie, you would get 100 different answers.  My dad, for one, LOVES crispy cookies.  He likes to bite into a chocolate chip cookie and have it crunch and crumble inside his mouth.  My mom would take half-baked if you had them.  Who needs to wait for cookies to bake and cool when you can take them out of the oven after a few minutes when they are gooey, warm and delicious?  My sister will take her cookie and eat around the chocolate chips (who is she?).  And the Husband, he is happy as long as you give him a glass of milk to dunk into.

I am somewhere in between.  While I don’t love extra crispy cookies, I can recognize their appeal.  And really, who can resist warm and melty cookie dough?!  There is a time and a place for all forms of chocolate chip cookies, and yes that includes a plain old Chips Ahoy in times of desperation.

However, right now, I am on a quest to reinvent the most delicious chocolate chip cookie I have ever had.  Every year someone sends the most amazing cookies to our office, and let me tell you, I don’t eat office treats unless I think they are really worth it.  These cookies, worth it.  They are dense and chewy with the perfect hint of salt and a lot of chocolate chips.  Something about them is so addicting.  I’ll go into the kitchen and grab one, because look at me, I can eat just one cookie.  But about two seconds after I take that last bite, I am back for more, because who am I kidding, I can’t eat just one cookie.

On my way to figuring out a recipe to recreate this “perfect” cookie, I found something quite different, but quite tasty.  These Doughy Chocolate Chunk Cookies are about as addicting.  To me, they exemplify the flavors of freshly mixed cookie dough in baked cookie form.  Moist, chewy, doughy and slightly underbaked with the perfect amount of big chocolate chunks.  I used Christmas colored dark chocolate M&M’s to give them a festive appeal and chunks of milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses for the sweet contrast.  Any form of chocolate chip would work just as well.

To begin, lightly chop your Kisses and set aside

Combine flour with the other dry ingredients

Whisk together and set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars until light and fluffy

Then, add your eggs and vanilla and combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Scrape your bowl a couple of times to make sure flour is fully mixed in

Stir chocolate pieces into your batter

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon for cookies

Lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Once done, allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack

Doughy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup dark chocolate M&M’s

1 cup milk Hershey’s Kisses, lightly chopped

Directions:

Lightly chop Hershey’s Kisses; set aside

Combine flour with the other dry ingredients and whisk together; set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars; beat well until light and fluffy

Then, add your eggs and vanilla and combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Stir chocolate pieces into your batter

Chill your dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges; cookies will not change color much

Set the cookies aside on cooling racks

Any tips for me on making this “perfect” cookie? I am having trouble finding that dense chewy texture that was so enjoyable.

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Chocolate and Peanut Butter Love

I love peanut butter.  If a day goes by where I don’t have it, I experience withdrawal symptoms.  A few days without it? Don’t mess with me.

As much as I loved being in Italy for my honeymoon this summer, going without peanut butter for almost two weeks may have been enough to convince me that getting back to real life still kind of sucks isn’t so bad after all.

Oatmeal with peanut butter? Good.  Banana and peanut butter? Yum.  Ants on a log? Underrated children’s snack.  Chocolate and peanut butter? The pair should have its own show.

You may remember that my Thanksgiving with Friends featured eight desserts.  I enjoyed coming up with a fun and delicious variety of pick-up baked goods, but was stuck when it came to THE peanut butter and chocolate item.  You have seen my fan favorite cookie bar and the peanut butter brownies with chocolate ganache.  So have my friends.  Both items were a hit, so I knew when it came to my peanut butter loving friends, I was going to have to outdo myself.

Well, I did.  If you are human like peanut butter and chocolate, you are going to LOVE these.  The one upside to marrying a crazy wonderful man who DISLIKES peanut butter? More for me!

These Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling start with a rich chewy cookie dough, used here, and are slathered with a creamy peanut butter filling that is irresistible.  Salty and sweet, chewy and creamy.  Oh, and these cookies are even good eaten right out of the freezer, not that I would know.  Have I mentioned my pants don’t fit?

Begin by making the cookies

Mix together the dry ingredients- flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer

Beat until light and fluffy

Beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla

Mix well

Gradually add your dry ingredients with mixer on low, then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Next up, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir in the chips

Use a cookie dough scoop for the most uniform cookies

A tablespoon will also work; beware, the dough will be sticky when shaping into balls

Cookies will flatten while baking, that is expected

Let them cool on wire racks

While cookies are cooling, make your filling

Cream softened butter until light and smooth

Add peanut butter and cream some more

Beware of the incredible aroma

Mix in sugar

When mixture is smooth and creamy, it is done

Time to make your sandwiches

Slather a tablespoon or two onto the bottom of one cookie

Cover with another cookie and gently press down

Repeat

Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

Cookie recipe from Hershey’s

Makes ~2 dozen cookie sandwiches

Cookie Ingredients:

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Dash of salt

1 ¼ cup (2 ½ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups granulated Sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cup salted natural creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Cookie Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375

Mix together the dry ingredients, except for sugar, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar

Beat in the, eggs and vanilla

Gradually add dry ingredients with mixer on low;  then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Stir in chocolate chips

Drop dough in heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until cookies are slightly puffy

Let cool on cooling rack

Filling Directions:

Beat butter until light and creamy

Beat in peanut butter

Mix in confectioners sugar on low speed and then beat until light and fluffy

Sandwich Directions:

When cookies are cool, spread one to two tablespoons of filling on the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat

Do you know anyone that can resist peanut butter and chocolate?

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