Bready or Not Original: Quick Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
Holiday time can be all kinds of hectic, but if you need a sweet treat in limited time, this Quick Peanut Butter Fudge will be adored by all chocolate and peanut butter lovers!
This thing literally comes together in under five minutes. Give it a couple hours to set in the fridge, and there you go. Plus, it keeps for weeks in the fridge (if you can make it last that long) and it can be frozen for ages.
I love using walnuts in this fudge, but any nut will do. Can you make it without nuts? Sure, but I find that a little bit of crunch is great for texture. Some seeds could work in this, too, if you need to avoid an allergen (keeping in mind, this already includes peanut butter chips!).
My husband had co-workers describe this fudge as “crack.” Consider yourself warned.
I’ve shared a number of quick fudge recipes over the years. Here are some others to try out!
Five-Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge
Quick Cake Batter White Chocolate Fudge
Gingerbread Cookie Dough Fudge
No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Fudge
Bready or Not Original: Quick Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
Equipment
- 8x8 or 9x9 pan
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 10- ounce bag peanut butter chips 1 bag
- 8- ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips about 3/4 bag
- 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup walnuts or other nuts, chopped
Instructions
- Line a small square pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter with a zap or two in microwave. Add peanut butter, chips, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. Heat in a couple 30-second bursts, stirring well between each, and continuing until the mixture is smooth. Fold in nuts.
- Pour into prepared pan. Smooth out using an uneven spatula, taking fudge to edges and pressing down to remove any bubbles.
- Chill in fudge for at least two hours. Use foil to lift onto cutting board for easy slicing. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper between the layers; keep in fridge as long as a month, or freeze for longer.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Blueberry-Gingerbread Loaf
Fresh blueberries and gingerbread! This combo never occurred to me before, and wow was I missing out. Find out how good it is when you bake this Blueberry-Gingerbread Loaf.
I’m growing increasingly convinced that blueberries can make almost everything better. Case in point: Wensleydale Cheese with Blueberries. DIVINE. This recipe ranks up there, too.
As any gingerbread should be, this loaf is packed with spices that sing of autumn and winter. Blueberries add an incredibly fresh note, a literal burst of flavor that stands apart from the usual tart cranberry.
This bread is very moist and tender. It is perfect to slice for breakfasts or snacks, and it doesn’t even need an additional pat of butter.
I’m sharing this recipe in December because of the gingerbread/Christmas association, but let me fervently remind you that delicious foods should not be confined to any season. Print this out and save it for when summer blueberries are bountiful and cheap. Heck, even bake the bread and freeze it for later.
This bread smells so good, though, I bet you’ll find it hard to resist a slice or two.
Bready or Not Original: Blueberry-Gingerbread Loaf
Equipment
- 9x5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 6 ounce pack
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or mix in whole-wheat, plus extra flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment to fit inside a 9x5 loaf pan, with paper extending up the two long sides to form a sling. Apply nonstick spray or butter to pan, place parchment inside to adhere, then grease paper as well.
- Wash and pick through blueberries to remove any stems, smashed berries, or moldy ones. Dry blueberries and gently toss with a couple spoons of flour to coat. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves.
- In a big bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add both sugars, beating until combined and fluffy. Add applesauce, vanilla, and baking soda. Follow up with flour mixture, mixing until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, removing loaf only after middle has passed the toothpick test. Cool in pan no more than 20 minutes. THIS IS IMPORTANT, as otherwise the loaf can steam up and collapse! Let loaf continue to cool on a rack.
- Keep stored in a plastic bag or plastic wrap for at least two days. Loaf can also be frozen for later enjoyment.
OM NOM NOM!
Giftmas 2019: Fruity Wensleydale Cream Cheese Balls & a Fundraiser for the Edmonton Food Bank
If people know only a few things about me, it’s that I bake, I share lots of cute cat gifs, I write some stuff, and that I love, love, LOVE cheese. As part of the Giftmas Fundraiser, I’m sharing a recipe I just made for the first time during my American Thanksgiving last month–and I’m hoping you’ll share some money and goodwill to help the Edmonton Food Bank, too. Your donation (in Canadian dollars) will help a lot of folks in need this season. One dollar equals three meals.
Please give to the Edmonton Food Bank for Giftmas!
Scroll down past the recipe to enter an incredible Rafflecopter giveaway that includes loads of stuff, including a signed Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas book featuring one of my stories. You needn’t donate to enter the giveaway–in fact, even spreading the news about Giftmas is a big help. Use #Giftmas2019 on social media to do that.
As part of Giftmas, there’s also a Snowman drawing contest. The whole family can take part in this one! Find out the details from Rhonda Parrish.
2019 has been a cruel year, and 2020 could go straight-out apocalyptic. Let’s help each other stay warm and fed.
Let’s start that effort with some delicious cheese.
This recipe is inspired by a glorious cheesecake I experience at the Wensleydale Creamery during my dream-come-true trip to the UK in June. I immediately began mulling ways that my cheese-loving mom could enjoy a facsimile of the cheesecake, but with a lot less carbs.
The result is this recipe for Fruity Wensleydale Cream Cheese Balls. This is gluten-free, keto-friendly, low-carb, and probably other buzz words with dashes, too. More importantly, it’s DELICIOUS.
Please support the Edmonton Food Bank for Giftmas!
Bready or Not Original: Fruity Wensleydale Cream Cheese Balls
Ingredients
- 4 oz Wensleydale cheese with fruit such as blueberry or cranberry
- 4 oz cream cheese half block
- 2 Tablespoons dried fruit that matches cheese
- 1/2 cup ground pecans
Instructions
- Use a fork to chop cheese into chunks of various sizes. Add dollops of cream cheese and extra dried fruit and stir together, taking care distribute the Wensleydale without breaking it apart too much.
- Place ground pecan pieces in a small bowl. Use a tablespoon and hands to form small balls. Roll in pecan bits to coat. Store in a sealed dish in fridge. Flavor improves after a day as the pecan flavor infuses the cheese balls more. Keeps for at least four days.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Fruitcake Cookies
These Fruitcake Cookies turned out gorgeous AND delicious, but could’ve been a total disaster.
I completely rewrote a base recipe for these cookies before I even got to the kitchen. Once I started combining ingredients, I realized I had a major problem.
I had too little dough to hold my fruit and nuts. Uh oh! If I continued as planned, they would not be the slightest bit cohesive.
So, I winged it. I added more flour, more brown sugar, another egg. The dough became cohesive. I baked the first batch. They stayed cohesive.
Whew! The cookies were saved. Not only saved, but absolutely delicious. The combination of ingredients brings all the best elements of fruitcake without all the fuss.
Want more fruitcake? Here’s my recipe for Mini Loaves–which wouldn’t be ripened by Christmas, unfortunately–and also another Fruitcake Cookies recipe, this one like oatmeal cookies. I also have a recipe for brownies that uses candied cherries and one that uses candied orange peel in delicious scones. Keep in mind that a lot of fruitcake ingredients can be found for fabulous clearance prices after Christmas, so bake up these recipes in the new year! Good food shouldn’t be confined to one season.
Bready or Not Original: Fruitcake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dried apricots finely chopped
- 1/4 cup dried dates finely chopped
- 1 cup candied cherries coarsely chopped
- 1 cup walnuts and/or pecans, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 stick, softened
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment.
- Combine fruit and nuts with 1 cup of flour, coating everything. This will prevent the fruit from sinking as the cookies bake.
- Cream together the butter, shortening, and sugars. Add the eggs with the vanilla and almond extract. Stir in the remaining flour with the baking soda and salt.
- Stir in the fruit/nut/flour mixture until just combined.
- Drop dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
