Tag Archives: peanuts

Salted Caramel & Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

October 27, 2014 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

Big, chewy oatmeal cookies full of crunchy peanuts and chewy caramel.

So I actually had to make this cookie recipe twice. The first time, I was working off of a different recipe of mine that I cut in half. Easy enough. Well, except I think my pregnancy brain got the best of me and I forgot to cut the oatmeal in half. While I was adding it to the dough I kept thinking, this just doesn’t seem right. But I forged on, not wanting to waste all of the ingredients, and baked the dough anyway. To be honest, the cookies actually weren’t too bad. They were definitely heartier and not as moist as they should have been, but the flavors were great.

Salted Caramel & Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

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Big, chewy oatmeal cookies full of crunchy peanuts and chewy caramel.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 15 large cookies

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
117g (~1/2 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
55g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
55g (1 large whole) eggs
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
65g (~1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
4g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
2g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
160g (~1 ¾ cup) oatmeal (I prefer old-fashioned oats)
110g (~3/4 cup) unsalted chopped peanuts
110g (~2/3 cup) caramel bits caramel bitsor chopped caramel squares
Flaky Sea Salt

Instructions

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
Beat butter and sugars in an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy
Mix in eggs and vanilla on medium speed; scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula
Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture
Once combined, stir in the oatmeal; then stir in peanuts and caramel bits; do not overmix dough
Chill dough in refrigerator for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours), the longer the better
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
When ready to bake, use a large cookie dough scoop to place cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup each) on top of parchment paper, 2-3 inches apart; sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt
Bake cookies 15-17 minutes or until cookies are golden brown; they should look slightly underbaked in the center
Set aside to cool on wire racks before eating

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This time around, though, I double checked what I was doing and the result was wonderful. The oatmeal cookies are nice and chewy and the sweet and salty flavors are spot on. It kind of feels like a Payday jumped into an oatmeal cookie and a star was born. These cookies are addicting.

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No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

July 24, 2014 Keep It Sweet 20 Comments

Creamy chocolate ice cream filled with crunchy sweet and salty candied peanuts. No ice cream maker needed!

I was hesitant to make an ice cream that Matt wouldn’t like (ahem, peanut hater), but ultimately I couldn’t resist. Besides, he’d choose a vanilla base any day while I am a sucker for chocolate. Especially when that chocolate has something fun in it. These crunchy chunks of candied peanuts are the perfect compliment to the creamy chocolate base. Again, this ice cream is so easy to make. It’s joining my ever-growing list of no-churn obsessions.

No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

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Creamy chocolate ice cream filled with crunchy sweet and salty candied peanuts. No ice cream maker needed!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

473 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
50g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder (any kind will work, I used a lighter cocoa powder for a more milk-chocolatey flavor)
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1¼ cups Salty Candied Peanuts (recipe below)

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, cocoa and vanilla; mixture will be very thick; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, gently fold ⅓ of it into sweetened condensed milk mixture; gently fold in remaining cream until fully combined; fold in candied peanuts
Pour ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container; wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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Salty Candied Peanuts

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2½ cups

Ingredients

150g (1 cup) chopped peanuts, roasted and unsalted
110g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
20 milliliters 4 teaspoons water
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) table or kosher salt

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
Cook peanuts, sugar and water in a small heavy duty sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring regularly until sugar begins to caramelize
When mixture begins to bubble, stir quickly until sugar is completely crystalized (it will appear very sandy and dry), about 3 minutes
Continue to cook while stirring constantly until sugar re-melts and turns a dark golden brown (~3 minutes); be careful not to burn
Remove from heat and stir in salt
Spread nuts out onto prepared baking sheet and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes; break peanuts up into small chunks and place in an airtight container until ready to use (up to two weeks)

Notes

From Baking Bites

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I hope you aren’t sick of the ice cream recipes yet…

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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The Best Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

April 21, 2014 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

Thick and chewy peanut butter cookies for peanut butter lovers only.

Wow, thank you so much for the kind notes, tweets, Facebook messages, etc. regarding our big news! We really didn’t tell anyone (other than our parents and siblings) until a week or so ago. Let me tell you, that is one hard secret to keep! When you are exhausted constantly, hungry ALL the time and just generally overwhelmed by the big life change coming, it is difficult to look anyone in the eye when they say “what’s going on” and you have to say “nothing.” Phew! So glad to be past that. I have a pregnancy-related post coming later this week and am happy to share even more as long as people want to read about it.

While many women suffer through morning sickness and get crazy food aversions, I was lucky to avoid that for the most part. There were a few foods here and there (mainly random vegetables and fish) that stopped appealing to me, but dessert was never one of them. In fact, anything that was carb-based sounded extra delicious. Cookies excel in that category!

So, a few weeks ago I took a look at my massive baking inventory and decided to make something that revolved around peanut butter. For peanut butter lovers, it’s hard to beat a perfectly chewy peanut-y cookie. This one is full of peanut butter, peanut butter chips, peanuts AND peanut butter cups. (Sorry Matt, this cookie is kind of your worst nightmare.) They were a big hit and I definitely enjoyed a couple myself. The amount of food I consume on a regular basis astounds me. While I’m trying to eat as healthy as possible (I figure that is the least I can do in taking care of the baby), there is definitely room for my sweet tooth cravings. Don’t expect me to start turning my nose up at dessert any time soon.

The Best Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

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Thick and chewy peanut butter cookies for peanut butter lovers only.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 15 cookies

Ingredients

130g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
12g (1 ½ teaspoons) baking soda
113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
258 g (1 cup) creamy peanut butter
160g (~¾ cup) granulated sugar
117g (~1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
100g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
105g (~2/3 cup) chopped peanut butter cups
90g (~1/2 cup) peanut butter chips
75g (~1/2 cup) chopped peanuts

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in peanut butter cups, peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts
Chill dough for 2 hours
After, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Use a large cookie dough scoop to place cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup each) on top of parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart
Bake ~14 minutes until cookies are brown around the edges

Notes

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to two months

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Peanut Butter Cup Heath Bar Brown Butter Cookies

Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

Funky Monkey Cheesecake bars

Blog, Recipes

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

October 16, 2012 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

The fudgiest blondies loaded with everyone’s favorite sweet and salty candies.

When I asked my Father-in-Law what he wanted for his birthday dessert, his only request was chocolate covered pretzels. Sweet and salty, who doesn’t love those?

But come on, it is a birthday dessert! And since chocolate covered pretzels are what I make as an afterthought when I have extra melted chocolate, I just had to make something else.

So I threw together something else sweet and salty that required just a little more time and effort than the pretzels (of course I made those too) and was thrilled with the result. What I love about blondies is how flexible they can be. You can load them up with whatever you are in the mood for. Since Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, these would be the perfect way to use up any extra candy or the inevitable post-holiday candy sale purchases.

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

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The fudgiest gooey blondies loaded with everyone's favorite sweet and salty candies.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
12⅜ ounces (1½ cups packed) light brown sugar
7 ounces (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 x-large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup honey roasted peanuts
½ cup M&Ms
⅓ cup chopped Heath Bars (~8 minis)
¼ cup Reese's Pieces (I used mini but regular sized would work, too)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly; remove from heat and set aside when butter is completely melted
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla; whisk in butter and sugar mixture
Whisk in flour mixture until almost combined and then fold in any remaining crumbs with a spatula
Fold in peanuts and candy until evenly distributed throughout batter
Pour into prepared baking pan
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set aside to cool before cutting

Notes

Blondies will stay fresh for several days if wrapped or packaged in an air-tight container. They also freeze incredibly well, just wrap them tightly in tin foil.

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