Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust

     1      package Oreos

            stick  (1/2 cup) unsalted butter (melted)

For the Peanut Butter Filling

1 block of regular cream cheese (8 ounces, softened)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 heaping cup of creamy peanut butter

1 tub of cool whip (8 ounce tub)

For the topping

chocolate syrup

caramel syrup

Instructions

You can either prepare this pie in a 9 inch pie dish or a 9 inch spring-form pan. If using a pie dish spray the bottom of the dish lightly with some cooking spray and set aside. If using a 9 inch spring-form pan, you can either spray the bottom of the pan with cooking spray or you can cut a circle cut out of parchment paper and line the bottom on the spring-form pan with that so when it's time to serve you can easily transfer the whole pie to a serving plate.To make the crust, pulse cookies (use the entire package) in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs. Place the cookie crumbs in a medium sized bowl and melt the butter in the microwave. Pour melted butter over the cookie crumbs and mix together until all the crumbs are evenly coated and moist. Pour crumbs into the bottom of the pie dish of spring-form pan and press them down with the back of a spoon forming a crust. Make sure the crust is even, smooth and packed tightly. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix with an electric mixer on low speed for about a minute and then work your way up to medium speed. Add in the vanilla extract and peanut butter. Continue mixing. You may have to stop and scrap down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add in the cool whip and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Mixture will be fluffy, thick and resemble a pale peanut butter color. Pour peanut butter mixture into the pie dish and smooth it out over the pie crust. Chill pie for at least one hour before serving.

                                                                           Enjoy it!

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Cookies and Cream Brownie Bites

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• About 28 Mini Oreos (bite sized)
• About 28 Cookies ’n Cream Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray mini cupcake pans with cooking spray or use mini cupcake liners. Place one Mini Oreo in each cavity.
2. Stir together melted butter, sugar, and cocoa. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract, coffee or water, and salt. Carefully stir in flour. (The coffee just adds a richness to the brownies, but you can use water if you prefer.)
3. Place about 1 tablespoon of batter in each cupcake cavity or liner, on top of the Oreo. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops lose that shiny, wet look.
4. Let them cool for just a minute, then place one Kiss in the center of each brownie bite. Do not move or jiggle your pans or try to remove the bites before the Kiss has completely re-hardened or it will collapse. Cool completely, gently remove from the pan (a knife can help loosen if needed).
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.

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French Silk with Bailey's Cream

INGREDIENTS

6-8 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed - depending on how thick you want the cookie layer to be. (I used Oreo's)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup Irish Cream Liqueur such as Bailey's

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup white sugar

3 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine crushed cookies and melted butter. Set aside. Bring Irish Cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until volume is reduced by one half and Irish Cream has is beginning to thicken . Remove from heat and set aside to cool. - As it cools it will develop a thick, syrupy consistency. Place semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe container and heat on high for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir and cook for another 20 seconds. Stir until chips are melted and chocolate is smooth. You may need another 10 seconds or so in the microwave. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Cream the softened butter at medium to high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl often. It must be mixed long enough so it's no longer gritty. Add the cooled Irish Cream syrup to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Slowly add the melted chocolate, beating on low to medium speed until the chocolate is well blended and mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl again. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating for two minutes after each addition and scraping bowl between each egg. Layer chocolate mixture and the cookie mixture in parfait glasses, goblets or pretty dessert dishes. If desired top with a sprinkle of the crumbs or lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls - or all three! Serves 6-8, (depending on the size of your glasses or bowls) I used 6 ounce glasses and got 8 servings.

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Oreo Cake

INGREDIENTS

Cake
1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (or Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 large Eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups Buttermilk

Frosting
Scant 1/2 cup Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar 
25-30 oreos

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with butter and flour.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated and scraping down sides as needed.

With mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated. Then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, mix until incorporated. Repeat until the last 1/3 of flour has been used. Mix until incorporated and then beat for 1 additional minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the sides begin to pull away from the edges. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and allow the cakes to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don’t form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it’s best to go by texture.

Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.

Cake Assembly

When the cakes are completely cool, cut each cake in half horizontally. Use 1/3-1/2 cup of frosting to fill between each layer. When all the layers are stacked, set aside 1/2 cup of frosting then use rest to frost the outside.

Using a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, crush all but 6 of the Oreo cookies. Apply the cookie crumbs to the sides of the cake.

Use the reserved 1/2 cup of frosting to create 6 swirls on the top of the cake, place a cookie in each swirl.

Serve with a glass of milk.

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No Bake Strawberry Chocolate Tart

Makes about 10-12 servings

INGREDIENTS

Crust

32 (330g) Oreo cookies

1/2 cup (110g) butter, melted

Chocolate Filling

7 oz (200g) milk chocolate

3.5 oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate

7 oz (200 ml) heavy cream

Topping

10 oz (300g) fresh strawberries

chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, etc), optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Place oreo cookies into the bowl of a food processor and blend until crumbs form. Add melted butter and pour over the crushed cookies. Process until evenly moistened. Press cookie mixture with the back of the spoon and your fingers where necessary,  into the bottom and edges of a rectangular 5x14 inch (12 x 36 cm) tart pan. Freeze until you prepare the filling, just for few minutes.

In a small saucepan, place cream over medium-low heat for a few minutes to get hot. No boiling or simmering needed. Remove from heat, pour over chopped chocolate and let rest for 1-2 minutes. Stir until dissolved.

Pour chocolate filling over oreo crust, and top with fresh strawberries.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

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