Oct 9 2012

Pinterest Tested: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie

Posted on October 9, 2012 by thepoli3

A few months back, I pinned this delicious looking recipe and I’ve been eyeballing it every time I peruse my Pinterest “Recipes” Board since… finally, I caved in and whipped it up last weekend.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie

This recipe originated from AKM designs and delights and I’m so glad she shared it on her blog and that it somehow landed on our Pinterest page.

Here’s our Real Best Recipe “Pinterest Tested” Results…

Overall rating: 9

Cost: $ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Moderate (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: First of all, if you cook and bake a lot like I do, the cost is pretty low because you usually have the basics on hand (flour, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, etc.) but if you are new to baking, this could be a little more expensive because you do have a lot of things to purchase, which you will use again if you keep baking! I have to say- this is DELICIOUS. -But- This would have been soooo much better as a cookie, rather than a pie. The pretzel crust was okay but this recipe could have totally done without it. Next time I make these again, because I will, I will nix the whole pie/crust thing and just make a ton of cookies. After all, that is what it is… a cookie in a pie crust. And that was the best part. Something else I want to note that I always do when baking cookies (and of course did here) is I underbake them by about 2 minutes. That way they are gooey right out of the oven and stay soft after cooling down. With the Reese’s peanut butter cups in this, it took gooey to a whole new level. After we had our initial slices, I stuck this pie in the fridge to keep, and when going back for more in the following days, I heated each piece up for 30 seconds in the microwave and OMG it was so gooey, peanut buttery, chocolatey and delicious!

In any case, get over to AKM’s site now and print this recipe so you too can enjoy this amazing recipe!

Jul 18 2012

Oh How Pinteresting

Posted on July 18, 2012 by thepoli3

Today we will begin a new link-up with The Vintage Apple called Oh How Pinteresting!

Some things we found “pinteresting” this week are:

This No-Cook Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream by the ChocolateMoosey.com looks delicious and is so perfect for a hot, summer day!

These Kings Hawaiian Roll Sandwiches by Beyer Beware are a delicious and easy-to-make snack to bring along with us at the upcoming football parties we will be attending this Fall.

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Same goes for these cute guys, originally pinned by Chef In Training.

These Ham & Pineapple Kabobs by Goodness Gracious would also be great for any party appetizer! Definitely suggesting using a Honeybaked Ham for this one… yum!

Find us on Pinterest to follow all of these pins and more!

What are some of your favorite pins this week?

Jul 8 2012

The “Real Best” Peanut Butter Sandwich

Posted on July 8, 2012 by thepoli3

This week we decided to test out an easy, kid-friendly, classic: The Peanut Butter Sandwich.

Without further adieu…

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each sandwich was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best peanut butter sandwich that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score, the boyfriend/husband test, and the leftover test. We also provide other comments.

PBM Sandwich

Overall score: 7.5

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 8

Comments: Simple and classic. I thought it was too sweet but my boyfriend LOVED it.

Paula Deen’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Overall score: 10

The boyfriend/husband test: 9

The leftover test: 10

Comments: OH.MY.LORD… These are AH-MAZING. I could probably eat one of these everyday! Paula sure knows what she’s doing when it comes to anything with “butter” in the title. These would be best suited for either breakfast or dessert because of the cinnamon-sugar coating. And because I’m not sure how fat you would feel eating one of these as a lunch… Even hubby loved this and he is not a sweets guy at all! The only change I would make next time is switch out the white bread for something with a few more nutrients, like honey-wheat bread, and cut down on the butter, since it really doesn’t need the extra calories. Now, go make these… like right now. I promise you will thank me!

Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly

Overall score: 5

The boyfriend/husband test: 5

The leftover test: 5

Comments: This was “okay”. I don’t really like jelly very much but this sandwich tasted better to me than regular PB&J sandwiches. My husband said this was just okay too but he also said it was too sweet. I was really surprised by how little peanut butter is in the recipe. I probably wouldn’t make these again.

The winner:

Paula Deen’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Thank you Ms. Deen! Obviously, you would win the RBR Peanut Butter sandwich category!

**Try this with homemade peanut butter!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning sandwich to your dietary needs:

Gluten-free: Use all gluten-free products. There are many options for gluten-free bread!
Vegan: Make sure your peanut butter is vegan, and use a vegan butter to substitute. For strict vegans, nix the honey and consider replacing it with maple syrup or agave.
Vegetarian: It already is!
Lower fat: Use margarine instead of butter, or use half the recommended amount of butter. Consider PB2 instead of peanut butter, which has only 45 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per serving, versus 210 calories and 17grams of fat per serving. Another option is using a low fat peanut butter, but be aware that those are often loaded with more sugar (which means more carbs) than the full-fat stuff.
Lower sugar/calories: Skip the sugar coating. Consider PB2 instead of peanut butter, which has only 45 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per serving, versus 210 calories and 17grams of fat per serving.

Jul 3 2012

Pinterest Tested: Pupcakes

Posted on July 3, 2012 by thepoli3

We recently celebrated a very special birthday in our home…

The birthday of our now 4-year-old beagle mix, Riley!

We adopted Riley from a beagle rescue organization here in Tampa when he was just a puppy. They found his very-pregnant beagle mother in a mail drop somewhere in rural Alabama and transported her down to Florida where she gave birth shortly after to 3 puppies. Luckily, the entire family had a happy ending and they each found their “furever homes”. Riley came home with us after 8 weeks of being in a foster home and has been the most spoiled, cutest, little guy ever since. I love my pups like they’re really my own children and I could not simply let a birthday go by without a special treat. I tried to think of ideas and then recalled I had pinned these cute Carrot-Carob Pupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting by The Culinary Chronicles on Pinterest a few months back, and decided it was a perfect time to give them a try.

The pups LOVED them.

They weren’t that hard to make, I made them in mini-muffin tins, rather than the full size ones, to ensure they would not upset any overindulgent puppy tummies, and so they would last a little bit longer.

The frosting was simple to make as well.

They were so cute and had all dog friendly ingredients.

They looked so good that hubs came home from a day of golf and almost ate one! I suspect he finally noticed the shredded carrot on top right before popping it in his mouth and realized they were for the dogs. Secretly, I was hoping he would eat one, just so I could make fun of him about it.

Here’s how these puppies (get it? oh… was that not funny?) ranked:

Overall Rating: 10… I think. The pups got very excited every time I gave these to them. (scale: 1-10)

Cost: $$ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty Level: Moderate (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

The only trouble I had was finding the Carob Chips. They are like chocolate chips but without the ingredients in chocolate that make dogs sick. Eventually, I found them at a health food store. They cost about $5 for a normal size bag. I suspect I will use them again in other dog-birthday-recipes. Don’t judge me.

-J