Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with Chocolate Ganache

Light, airy, peanut butter chocolatety deliciousness. This recipe does generate a lot of dishes, but the techniques are simple and it is WORTH it. Trust me.

Peanut Butter Mousse Pie with Chocolate Ganache

adapted from Pinch Me I'm Eating

Ingredients:

crust

10 graham crackers (~1.25 cup graham cracker crumbs)

6 Tbs butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

peanut butter mousse

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

1.5 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz mascarpone cheese

chocolate ganache

3.5 oz dark chocolate >60%

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs butter, melted

garnish

2-3 Tbs honey roasted peanuts, crushed

1 pinch flaky sea salt

2 Tbs honey

Instructions:

crust

1. In a food processor, place graham crackers and run until a fine crumb without chunks.

2. Add melted butter and sugar, and pulse until just combined.

3. Dump crumbs into a pie or tart pan, and press evenly around edges with the bottom of a glass or back of a spoon. Refrigerate crust until needed.

peanut butter mousse

1. In a microwave-safe dish, combine 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream with the gelatin & whisk with a fork to combine.

2. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom.

3. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, mascarpone cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Whish together using an electric mixer until smooth.

4. Heat the gelatin cream mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to melt the gelatin, but do NOT boil. Add to the peanut butter mixture and whisk in to combine.

5. In a medium bowl, add remaining 1.25 cups cream and whip using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

6. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it. In two more batches, fold in the remaining whipped cream, keeping as much air in as possible.

7. In a piping bag (or ziplock fitted with a star tip) set aside 1/2 cup peanut butter mousse to decorate. Note: you can do this without a tip if you simply have a ziplock bag.

8. Spread the remaining filling into the graham cracker crust evenly. Refrigerate again until needed.

chocolate ganache

1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and add to a small bowl.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream for 10-15 seconds, or until hot but not boiling.

3. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, gently stir together using a fork or spatula to combine.

4. Add melted better and stir in until ganache is smooth.

5. Pour the ganache over top of the pie and smooth over with a spoon, making sure to cover the whole top evenly up to the edges. 

garnishes

1. Pipe remaining mousse in rosettes, or smooth swirls if not using a tip, around the edges of the pie.

2. Roughly chop the honey-roasted peanuts and sprinkle across the top of the pie.

3. Just before serving, drizzle honey over pie & enjoy!

Chocolate Wine Pie

 

This is one of those viral recipes I had to see to believe. It's actually quite nice! A rich chocolate flavor with the red wine backbone. not overly sweet, and texture is like a cross between pudding and mousse. It's fun to serve alongside a glass of the same wine just to compare flavor profiles, so pick-up 2 bottles of the same! I used a bottle of Trader Joe's Chianti and I think that was a perfect pick for this recipe.

Note: this recipe makes about 2 cups more filling than can actually go into the pie, so try to get a deep crust pie if you can, a mini pie crust, or be prepares to save/throw out the extra.

Chocolate Wine Pie

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

1 chocolate pie crust (cookie, wafer, or graham)

1-750 mL bottle good dry red wine

1/2 cup corn starch

1.25 cup sugar

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped small (optional: save off a few chocolate curls to top the pie)

2 Tbs. butter

pinch of salt 

Whipped topping:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. sugar

Instructions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the cornstarch and 1.25 cups sugar. Over medium heat, slowly whisk in wine to prevent lumps from forming. Cook until mixture has come to a simmer and is very thick, about 8 minutes, whisking constantly. 

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, butter and pinch of salt until smooth.

3. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 4 hours and up to overnight.  

4. For the whipped topping, beat together cream and remaining 1 Tbs. of sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over cooled and set pie, and top with chocolate curls if desired.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I have been buying groceries from Hy-vee online and then just picking up. It's amazing, it's so much easier to get the sale items because someone else is shopping way before I'd be in the store to shop myself, and I *generally* get exactly what I ordered, no more. However, I got a couple bags of pretzels to make chocolate covered pretzels, and both bags were almost entirely broken. I had to use both bags to make one batch of chocolate covered pretzels. But then... what else to do with the basically 2 full bags of broken pretzels?! I found this recipe recipe in search of that answer. Easy, simple, 5-ingredient no-bake bars.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

from Live Well Bake Often

makes 12 big bars (or more smaller)

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Pretzel Layer:

1.5 sticks (170 g.) butter, melted

1.5 cups (180 g.) powdered sugar

1 cup (250 g.) creamy peanut butter

2 cups (200 g.) crushed* pretzels

Chocolate layer:

1-12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup (65 g.) creamy peanut butter

*Measure pretzel after crushing if measuring by volume. To crush pretzels, use a food processor and pulse until mostly ground but some small pieces remain.

Instructions:

1. Line a 9"x13"  baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment. Make sure to leave some overhang for easy removal, and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, powdered sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, and crushed pretzels and mix until fully combined. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press it down into an even layer.

3. In a medium microwaveable bowl, add chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals until fully melted. Pour over peanut butter pretzel layer and use a spatula to distribute into an even layer.

4. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until chocolate layer has hardened. Then remove from the pan, and slice into bars. You can slice into 12 big bars, but they are pretty rich. I'd recommend making them smaller.

Sweet Cornbread

This is a sweet cornbread recipe, but you can always play with the amount of sugar. Great with ham and beans, great as a breakfast with butter and maple syrup.

Sweet Cornbread 

from Bless this Mess

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

⅔ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup neutral oil or melted butter

1 large egg

1 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.

2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

3. Add butter, egg, and milk. Whisk to combine.

4. Pour batter into a buttered 9"x9" pan or cast iron.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

German Cucumber Salad

Another recipe introduced to me by my aunt! It's so simple but so good. She only uses cucumber, vinegar, sugar, and sour cream. I went with a slightly enhanced version here 

German Cucumber Salad

from Plated Cravings

Ingredients:

2 English cucumbers

1/2 cup sour cream

1 Tbs white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbs fresh dill

1 tsp salt

black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. With a mandolin, slice cucumbers thinly. Place in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk all other ingredients to combine. Pour sour cream mixture over cucumbers and stir to combine.

3. Chill salad 4 hours to overnight before serving.

4. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Sweet Salad Dressing (Simple Vinaigrette)

My aunt gave me this salad dressing recipe. It's so simple but so good!

Sweet Salad Dressing 

Ingredients:

1 (or 2) Tbs. water

1 (or 2) Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. vinegar

1 Tbs. oil

salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients and whisk yo incorporate. 

2. Toss salad with dressing.

Traditional Coleslaw

Good old fashioned mayo-based coleslaw - perfect accompaniment for a fish fry.

Coleslaw

adapted from Simple Seasonal

Ingredients:

12 oz. bag coleslaw mix

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs vinegar (apple cider or white)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp celery seed (optional) - or substitute salt & celery with 1/2 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well.

2. Let coleslaw sit for 1 hour before serving.

Mulberry Pie

Mulberries are one of my favorite fruits found on local trees (alongside pawpaws!) I grew up with a few of them in the yard. I would always pick a few as I passed under them on the riding lawn mower! I had a lot of time to invent little games to keep the 4+ hour mowing job that that was semi-interesting for myself.

Luckily, my neighbor here in Marlborough (East Waldo) has a  mulberry tree on our shared property line! So in the summer when the berries are ripe and dropping, I lay out a tarp under the tree and collect only the perfectly black, ripe ones in the morning and toss the rest to reset the tarp. Although you do not have to, I like to remove the green stems by pinching them off between my fingernails. It's great to use the berries fresh, but I get a lot so I freeze what I can't practically use for a later taste of summer. To do this, lay the berries single-layer across a cookie sheet freeze. I do NOT recommend washing before freezing to help prevent clumping and to preserve the berries in as perfect condition as possible. After the berries are frozen on the cookie sheet, scrape them into a freezer container (or bag) and keep until needed, remembering to rinse them after they're pulled out.

Mulberry Pie
from Yummly

Ingredients:
4 cups (1 qt.) mulberries, rinsed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
double crust pastry

Optional:
- 1 Tbsp. demerara sugar for dusting top of pie lattice

Instructions:
1. In a bowl, combine berries, sugar, and flour until berries are evenly coated. Set aside while crust is blind-baking.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
3. Pour in berry mixture into prepared crust. With second crust, arrange a lattice top to the pie.
4. In a small bowl, whisk well the egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush egg wash across top of pie. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top, if using.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 F and bake for 45 more minutes.
6. Cool pie completely before slicing.

Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)

I've used essentially this formula for years, if not decades at this point. I'm still not a great pastry cook, but I've made many a good fruit pie and quiche using this basic crust recipe. I've always made it as an all-butter crust, but you can do half lard if you so choose.

Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)
based on Simply Recipes
makes single crust

Instructions:
1.25 cups (160 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar (1.5 tsp. if for a sweet recipe)
1 stick butter (112g.) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3-4 Tbsp. ice water

Option:
- replace half of butter with lard

Ingredients:
1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse to combine.
2. Add the butter, half at a time and pulse until mixture is coarse and mealy.
3. Add 2 Tbsp. of ice water to mixture and pulse until just combined. Slowly add more ice water tsp. at a time, pulsing a few times after each addition until mixture just holds when pinched between two fingers.
4. Turn crumbly mixture out onto counter, and fraisage: press the heel of your hand down on the crumbly mixture 4-6 times, to make crust flakier.
5.  Form dough into a flat disk. Cover with plastic wrap.

Later use:
- Freeze for up to a month.

Immediate use:
1. Refrigerate dough disk for an hour or more.
2. Take out of fridge and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Between 2 sheets of wax paper, roll dough out into desired size and shape to about 1/8 inch thickness. Gently massaging together any cracks that form in the dough.
3. Line pie or tart pan with dough, trimming excess. Line inside of crust with aluminum foil.
4. Freeze for at least 15 minutes before use. This will help prevent crust shrinkage.
5. Preheat oven to 425 F. Do NOT defrost crust before blind-baking.
6. Take crust out of the freezer. Poke holes across the bottom of the crust with a fork. Then foil line crust and fill with dried beans, rice, sugar, or pie weights.
7. Place crust in oven, turn temperature to 400 F, and bake for 10-15 minutes until raw dough look is gone
8. Take crust out, remove pie weights and foil. Decrease heat to 350 F and bake for another 10-15 minutes until starting to brown if baking crust again or 15-20 minutes until fully golden brown if making a no-bake pie.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

I found this recipe easy, delicious, and not at all too sweet! And of course, it features one of my favorite ingredients: SQUASH. I highly recommend using homemade pumpkin puree: Just slice a pie pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, and place cut-side down on a lined baking pan. Bake at 350 for an hour. Scoop out inside, mash or process until smooth et voila!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread
from Homemade Hooplah

Ingredients:
cheesecake filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs flour
- 1 large egg

pumpkin bread
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs. pumpkin spice
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 large egg

Instructions:
cheesecake filling
1. In a large bowl, whisk all cheesecake filling ingredients together until smooth.

pumpkin bread
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Butter a 9"x5" bread pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, pumpkin spice mix, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, and egg until smooth.
4. Pour sifted dry ingredients into wet. Using a spatula, gently fold together until dry ingredients are just combined.

assembly
1. Pour 1/2 of the pumpkin batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out with a spatula.
2. Pour cheesecake filling into pan. Smooth out with a spatula, trying not to touch cheesecake filling to the edge.
3. Pour remaining pumpkin batter on top and smooth out. You can swirl with cheesecake layer if desired.
4. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a recipe from Truman State University's Food Service! They would sometimes serve this in the food hall and I asked the staff enough times for the recipe I finally got it! The original was for an industrial-sized batch, so this is a normal pan's worth. Made this recently again for my friend's kid's second birthday party and it was a huge hit. I'm not a fan of the cream cheese frosting recipe, so I am not posting it. Honestly It's delicious and moist and flavorful on it's own and does not require frosting but should you so choose, I recommend using your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.

Tip: Double this recipe if you want a cake instead of bars in the same sized pan. Increase cooking time accordingly.

Zucchini Bars

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 scant tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded zucchini with moisture squeezed out (measure after squeezing)
1.5 oz. walnuts

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. In a medium bowl, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix.
3. In a large bowl, combine oil and eggs. Mix well. Sift in dry ingredients and combine.
4. Shred zucchini. Then place in a cheesecloth or a very thin dish towel and squeeze over the sink until you can't get any more moisture out. Add zucchini and walnuts to the batter and fold in.
5. Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan. Pour in batter and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.