Peanut Butter Cup Bars

 They're a little bit of smooth and creamy with a little bit of crunch. The delightful flavours of the chocolate top layer combine in complete harmony with the fudgy peanut butter and make it oh so rich and irresistible.
Peanut Butter Bars. I knew when I came across Christine's blog Kitchen Chronicles that she would be the culprit of a weekend's indulgence and possible weight gain. (Don't worry Christine, I already can't see my toes anyway. My hubby had to do a few more kilometers at the gym though, he doesn't have pregnancy as an excuse!)
I loved everything about this slice, not only the flavour and appearance, but that because of the divine richness, it forced portion control. It's also a really easy recipe to make, and requires no use of the oven, just a little bit of the stove or microwave, which makes it great for summer. The only problem I had was a wee one--the peanut butter layer tended to come away with the knife when I cut through the bar. It was probably an error in my butter calculations that made it so. I heated the knife to make it easier to cut the chocolate layer, so maybe that had something to do with it as well.
Well, I'm off for a while from the Secret Recipe Club to have my bub! Wish me luck!

PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS (Adapted from Kitchen Chronicles)

Peanut Butter Layer:

3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup biscuit crumbs (I used crushed Scotch Fingers but biscuits such as Graham Crackers do the trick well also)

Chocolate Layer:

1/3 cup butter
1 cup dark chocolate buttons

Garnish:

1 tbsp smooth peanut butter

Grease a 9x9 inch tray and line with baking paper.
To make the peanut butter layer, place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over a low heat. Add the icing sugar, peanut butter and biscuit crumbs and stir until well combined.
Pour this mixture into the prepared tray and smooth with a spatula. Set aside.
For the chocolate layer, place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stirring continuously, allow the chocolate and butter to melt and incorporate. Remove from heat. Gently pour this mixture over the peanut butter layer and smooth with a spatula.
In a zip lock bag, place the remaining peanut butter for the garnish. Microwave gently for 15-30 seconds until the peanut butter is runny, then decorate the top of the chocolate layer as desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting with a hot knife.

Strawberry Oreo Kulter Hund Chunks

It literally translates to "Cold Dog", but that conjures up images of jellied, chunky canned pet food to me. Have you ever wondered how dogs and cats could like eating that stuff?
Well, if eating this German Kulter Hund makes me a dog, so be it, and if it makes me a cold dog, well...maybe I am?
This German favourite is usually made with plain baby biscuits. The plain, rectangular milk biscuits that would be given to babies in the first year or two of life are the ones I'm talking about. The ones that are always the last to go from the family selection pack of biscuits.
So here's a wonderful way to use up those more plain biscuits that can accumulate in the bottom of the tin. I've used strawberry oreos for this recipe to add extra decadence. Who knew oreos have been around for 100 years? I only heard of them about two years ago...I must have been living under a rock. I suppose they're not as common in Australia as they are in America, but I decided to give them a go. After all, just about every cooking blog has something oreo. They must be good!
Truth is...they're delicious. Chocolate ripple biscuits are still my favourite all time biscuit for recipe additions though. Both biscuits have been known to make fabulous pie crusts and fillings for various desserts.
Now just a quick note about these Oreo Kulter Hund Chunks. They're so easy to put together that a child could do it, and there's no cooking involved (just the chocolate melting which can be done in the microwave). They can be a bit messy to make, especially as I made this lot in a 20x20cm bundt tin, but it's so worth it when it's set, and you cut off those lumps of chocolatey-oreoey goodness. It can be a little crumbly between cuts, so grab a zip lock bag and sweep up the crumbly bits...it's fantastic over ice cream! So...even for those of you who don't bake, there's no excuse not to whip this up for your mum on Mother's Day! It's child's play.

STRAWBERRY OREO KULTER HUND CHUNKS

450g good quality compound chocolate (I used Nestle)
250g strawberry flavoured oreo biscuits

Grease and line a pan of your choice. (I used a 20x20cm bundt tin, but a loaf pan is fine as well). Melt half the chocolate very gently in a microwave proof bowl, stopping at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is almost melted and can be stirred smooth. pour a layer of chocolate into the pan to cover the bottom. Cover the chocolate in a layer of oreos. Smooth on more melted chocolate over the oreos. Melt the remaining chocolate.
Layer again with oreos, and repeat with the remaining oreos and chocolate, finishing off in a layer of chocolate. Refrigerate to set, before cutting into rough chunks.

Wrap in cellopane and tie with a ribbon for a budget friendly and delicious Mother's Day gift!

Tim Tam Brownies

Possibly one of the most wicked brownies in existence. The Tim Tam brownie.

What exactly is a tim tam? You may wonder what this chocolate coated goodness is that I speak of.

Tim Tams are possibly one of the most wicked things that finds its way into my pantry. Trust me, a packet of those babies doesn't stay there long. They're compiled of two layers of chocolate biscuit wedged with a chocolate cream and then coated, or double coated in an outer layer of chocolate. Add brownie to that mix and you're in for a death by chocolate treat. 

Moist chocolate brownie, chocolate, chocolate malt biscuit, light chocolate cream, chocolate malt biscuit, chocolate, and moist chocolate brownie again. 

Add some ice cream for a quick dessert!

But wait, it gets better. Tim Tams come in all different flavours, as well as white, dark, milk and double coated varieties. Find yourself trying to decide between choc mint tim tams, caramel, rum and raisin, cookies and cream, black forest, (and the list goes on). It's a near impossible task to decide! So mix it up and make your choice of flavoured Tim tam Brownie! You wont regret it (but your waistline might)

TIM TAM BROWNIE

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 packet tim tam biscuits

Preheat your oven to 190C.
Melt butter and remove from heat. Stir through the cocoa and brown sugar until combined.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Next, blend in the flour and salt. Spoon a thin layer of batter into a lined dish. Arrange the tim tam biscuits on the top of this batter as desire. Cover the biscuits with the remainder of the mixture and smooth the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove, and  when cooled, cut into squares serve with ice cream.

OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY YOUR TIM TAMS:

1.Bite the ends off, and drink your coffee through its deliciousness.

2.Crush up tim tams finely and add enough cream cheese to be able to form balls. Coat in chocolate for decadent truffles.

3. Roughly break up tim tams and swirl through softened vanilla ice cream; refreeze. Tim tam Ice Cream? Yes please!

Cherry Berry Rocky Road

Well, its really warming up here in Queensland, and having the oven on for a few hours is looking less and less desirable. To top it off, I'm carrying an extra 14 kg and that adds a few extra degrees to the body, and definitely makes cooking all the more tiring. I cant even get close to the bench anymore with this protuberance at the front of me!
Hopefully baby Massey #2 will be here before long and I wont be so heavy for when Summer really hits us.
So with the warming weather, I've been dreaming up ways of "baking" without baking, filling up the uncomfortable void of oven strike. Fortunately there are tonnes of recipes that are deliciously unbaked, and call for no additional heating of the house. I'm thinking jellies, mousses, ice cream cakes, sorbets, frozen delights, refrigerator slices, truffles. Let's add rocky road to the list, because its simple, delicious and is a winner at just about any occasion.
Speaking of good food, I'd like to share a rather exciting event that's coming up here for those of you who live in the Brisbane area. It's the Good Food and Wine Show, and it's being held over a few days in early November. If you're interested in going, I recommend checking out this link 
http://www.weekendnotes.com/brisbane-good-food-and-wine-show/
It sounds totally awesome, and although I've never been, I'm hoping to make it this year! Finger's crossed, the unborn lets me. Bon Appetit!

CHERRY BERRY ROCKY ROAD

100g paschal swirl berry marshmallows
250g dark chocolate
1/4 cup peanuts or cashews
6 mini cherry ripe bars (about 100g), roughly broken
4 chocolate ripple biscuits, roughly broken

Line a 20x20cm square dish with baking paper.
Arrange the nuts, marshmallows, broken biscuit and cherry ripe pieces on the base. Pour melted chocolate over the top, ensuring all the other ingredients are well covered.
Refrigerate until firm, cut into squares and serve.