Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Pies

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I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I had a great Thanksgiving and long weekend.  I went shopping on Black Friday and got a lot of things for my son for Christmas.  I also bought myself an early Christmas present, a DSLR camera! I'm really excited about it and it should be arriving early this week.  

One of my favorite foods of the holiday season are pies.  Especially Peanut Butter Pie, which is my absolute favorite and the only type of pie my husband will eat.  There are sometimes when I have cravings for pie, but I don't want to eat a whole pie by myself.  These Mini Peanut Butter Pies are perfect for an individual serving of pie whenever you want pie but don't need the whole thing.  
These are also great for the holidays.  I like the idea of letting each person have their own individual pie.  These pies are so delicious and I love the addition of the Reese's to the peanut butter pie.  I can't wait to make these again!

Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Pies(Makes 6 mini pies)
Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts (the ones I bought had 6 in a package)1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk4 ounces cream cheese1/4 cup peanut butter1/8 cup powdered sugar1/2 tub of Cool Whip (4 ounces), thawed10 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped
Optional Toppings
Cool Whip3 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, choppedChocolate Syrup
1.  In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and powdered sugar.  Beat on medium until the mixture is smooth and fully combined. 
2.  Gently fold in the Cool Whip until fully combined. Then gently add the 10 chopped miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Evenly split up the mixture between the 6 graham cracker crusts.    
3.  Refrigerate for an hour or until ready to serve.  Add the extra chopped miniature peanut butter cups on top.  Then add a dollop of whipped cream and drizzle chocolate syrup on top of the pies to serve.  

*Alyssa*
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Showcase Your Talent Thursday #35

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Welcome to Showcase Your Talent Thursday!!


I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! Did anyone do any Black Friday shopping? I couldn't bring myself to go out on Thursday night, but I went out early Friday morning and got some Christmas presents for Aaron.  I also ordered an early Christmas present for myself, a DSLR camera.  I can't wait till it arrives, it should be sometime this week!  

 Thanks to everyone that linked up last week!  I can't wait to see everything that you have to share this week!!  I'm getting excited to see all the great holiday projects!

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Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes by Mandy's Recipe Box.  I love that these cheesecakes are mini and I also really like the fact that they are no-bake.  They look delicious!


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Stained Glass Cookies by Sugar Kissed.  These are so pretty, what a great idea! I think these would be great for the holidays.




BBQ Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake by Love Bakes Good Cakes.  This looks great, I have to add it to my list of dinners to try!




Peanut Butter Fudge Pie Cookies by Hoopla Palooza.  This is such a great idea and they are so cute! This is a great idea for a snack!




Cinnamon Mocha Mix by Silver Boxes.  I love the idea of giving drink mixes as gifts for the holidays.  This is a great gift idea!

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Cherry Pie with Almond Crumb Topping & Giveaway

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith's for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.


When I think of dessert at the holidays, pies are always the first thing that comes to mind.  The only thing I don't like about pies is the time it takes to make them.  If you have ever read my blog before, you know I love making things that are semi-homemade, using store made products, but that taste like they are homemade.

When Mrs. Smith's asked me to try thier new Signature Deep Dish Pies, I knew I had to try them.  Mrs. Smith's Signature Deep Dish pies are deep dish pies that use real butter and have more fruit in them.  These pies come with icing packets that accentuate the flavors of the pies.  My favorite part about these pies is that you can customize them and add your own twist to the pies.



These pies were so delicious, I really liked that I could create my own version of the frozen pies.  They tasted  and looked like homemade.  I love the idea that you can buy a pie that is similar to what you could make.  When I made the Signature Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie, I added miniature Snickers and Toffee Bits on top and then drizzled the pie with the provided caramel sauce.  This was so delicious and a great addition to the apple pie.
  My favorite of the Mrs. Smith's Signature Deep Dish pies was the Cherrry Pie with Butter Fudge Sauce.  I always love the taste of cherries and chocolate together.  It reminds me of chocolate covered cherries and the holidays.



To make the Cherry Pie even better I decided to add an Almond Crumb Topping. I added the topping right on top of the crust to make this a cherry crumble pie.  Then I drizzled the Butter Fudge Sauce on top of each slice and topped with whipped cream.

Yum, this looked and tasted homemade.  I brought this pie to my in-laws for Thanksgiving dessert and everyone loved it!  I loved the combination of the buttery, flaky crust with the almond crumb topping.  This is a great way to spice up your Mrs. Smith's pie!



Make sure you visit Mrs. Smith's on Facebook and on Pinterest.  Check out the retailers where you can buy Mrs. Smith's Siganture Deep Dish pies.Also the makers of Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Signature pies provided me with a $50 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card and a coupon for a free Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Signature pie.  This is so exciting! This is great for the holidays, a Gift Card for Williams-Sonoma and a pie for your holiday dinner.  The winner will be able to customize thier pie and have a gift to add to their kitchen!


Please enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter. To enter please leave a comment telling which of the 4 Mrs. Smith's Signature Deep Dish Pies that you would try and what you would buy with the $50 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card if you won.  The giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only.

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Cherry Pie with Almond Crumb Topping
Mrs. Smith's Signature Deep Dish Cherry Pie
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup flour
6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into pieces
Whipped cream (optional)

1.  Combine the brown sugar, almonds, oats, and flour in a medium sized bowl.  Add in the butter using your hands until all the butter is combined with the almond mixture.  Refrigerate the crumb topping for 10-15 minutes before putting on top of the pie.
2.  Get the pie ready to bake according to the directions and make sure to cut slits in the top of the pie.  Once the slits are cut, add the crumb mixture on top of the pie.  Cook the pie according to the package directions.  Serve with the Butter Fudge Sauce and Whipped Cream.

Miette's Homemade Graham Crackers

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Miette's Homemade Graham Crackers - ButterYum

How do homemade graham crackers sound?  Irresistible if you ask me.  That's why I ran straight to the kitchen to make them when I came across the recipe in the Miette Cookbook.  I had a lot of fun making them.  Flavorwise they're scrumptious, although the original recipe called for honey which I found to be a bit over powering so I substituted my favorite ingredient, Golden Syrup, which adds a beautiful caramel flavor.  The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and the baked cookies can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container..


Roll cookie dough between 2 sheets of wax paper.  I find a ball-bearing rolling pin does the job best.  To ensure all the cookies turn out the same thickness and bake in the same amount of time, use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide when rolling the dough.


 Cut your cookies with your favorite cookie cutters.  I love my set of scalloped cutters and my Williams-Sonoma Message Cookie Cutters.


 The message cutters are so fun to play with.


Transfer wax paper to a sheet pan and chill until dough is very firm.


 When dough is firmly chilled, slide an offset spatula between the cookie dough and wax paper.


 Transfer cookies to a parchment or silicone lined sheet pan.

OR

After making several batches, I discovered I could speed the process along a bit faster if I chilled the cutouts in the freezer for about 5 minutes.


Partially freezing the dough firms it enough to peel the wax paper away easily.


And the partially frozen cutouts are easier to transfer to a prepared sheet pan for baking.


Keep cutouts chilled until it's time to bake them.  Before they go in the oven, sprinkle them with granulated sugar.


 If cutting round shapes, use a skewer or toothpick to poke a few decorative holes - this will help the cookies bake evenly.  This step isn't necessary if you use the message cutters.


Eat 'em plain.


Or turn them into ice cream sammies.  Fun-fun!!

Homemade Graham Crackers
makes two dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies 
adapted from the cookbook Miette: Recipes from San Fransisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop
Printable Recipe

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (6 ounces)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup (or honey)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
granulated sugar for sprinkling

To make the dough:
Sift dry ingredients together; set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup together for 5 minutes.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

To cut cookies:
Using a rolling pin, roll dough between layers of wax paper to 1/8-inch thickness.  Use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide.  Cut shapes from rolled dough and chill well before transferring to a sheet pan.  I used these scalloped round cutters and these Williams-Sonoma Message Cookie Cutters. 

To bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Place chilled cookie cutouts on a cool parchment or silpat lined sheet pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 10-13 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

My Notes - Measuring ingredients like flour and sugar by weight is much more accurate than measuring them by volume so weigh ingredients with a digital scale.for the best results.

This recipe is being shared over at Yvonne's blog StoneGable and Mangia Mondays.

Lemon Poppy Seed Overload Cake

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Lemon Poppy Seed Overload Cake - ButterYum

I had 8 egg yolks left over from a recent baking project so I searched the internet for a recipe to use them and I came up with this rather unusual lemon poppy seed cake.  The recipe is adapted from 3-star Michelin Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner.  The high ratio of poppy seeds lends a pleasantly nutty flavor and somewhat crunchy pop in every bite which leaves you wanting more and more.  On the flip side, the original recipe called for only enough lemon zest to lightly perfume the cake so I bumped up the lemon flavor with the addition of pure lemon oil.  All in all, the cake is dense yet light, dry yet rich, crunchy yet tender, not too sweet yet satisfying... quirky, unique, and spectacular.



Don't be alarmed when you read the list of ingredients - they are correct.  Be sure to cover the cake pan with foil as directed, and don't over bake the cake - remove it from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.   If you like your cakes a little sweeter, feel free to add the optional glaze I've included below. One word of caution - the cake wants to stick to the pan badly and I have found Baker's Joy works perfectly, allowing the cake to release cleanly from the pan.


beat egg, yolks, and sugar together until light and fluffy
the mixture will look like this after 8 minutes
now the flour and cornstarch are sifted into the bowl
fold them in by hand
using a spatula, go down through the middle
carefully sweep up the side of the bowl and over
repeat, turning the bowl 1/4 turn each time, until all the flour is incorporated
 now fold in the lemon oil, melted butter, and lemon zest


lastly, sprinkle the poppy seeds over the batter, being careful not to deflate the batter
put the bowl back on the stand mixer and let the whip distribute the seeds
look at all those seeds!  They must be called poppy seeds because they pop in your mouth :)
now we use this magic stuff to coat the cake pan
spray every nook - we don't want any cake disasters
don't be alarmed that the batter doesn't fill the pan... this is a short cake
cover the cake pan well with nonstick foil or buttered foil
the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean and the cake starts to shrink away from the edges of the pan (note the cake doesn't rise much in the oven)
wait 15 minutes before turning the cake out of the pan
the finished cake is pretty small - only 7 inches wide and 2 inches tallsmall in size, but big in flavor

Mmmm.  Snack time!


Lemon Poppy Seed Overload Cake
Printable Recipe
makes one short 7 to 8-inch diameter cake (baked in a tube or bundt pan)

cake:
2/3 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoon lemon zest (2-3 lemons)
2 teaspoon pure lemon oil
1/2 cup poppy seeds

optional lemon glaze:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

optional garnish:
confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325F.  Prepare an 8-inch tube or bundt pan with Baker's Joy or other flour/oil baking spray (I used this silicone cake pan).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks, whole egg, and sugar at medium high speed for about 8 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and very fluffy.  Beat in the lemon zest.  Remove the bowl and whisk attachment from the mixer (you'll need the whisk attachment again in a few minutes).  Gently sift the flour and cornstarch over the egg mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them in.  Return the bowl to the mixer; use the the whisk attachment to add the melted butter, pure lemon oil, and poppy seeds.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Cover pan tightly with non-stick foil (or buttered foil).  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove foil from pan and cool for 15 minutes before unmolding.  Make glaze by heating the sugar and lemon juice together until the sugar dissolves (without allowing the mixture to boil); brush over top and sides of unmolded cake.  Cool completely on a cooling rack.  If desired, sprinkle with confectioners sugar after glaze dries.  Wrap leftovers well in plastic wrap and serve within 3 days.