Peanut Butter Brownies

YUM YUM YUM. My mom came to town and she sells these cookware products that are fantastic. Well because she was here she wanted to have a cookware party. So we made these wonderful brownies (that I ate way to many of).

Ingredients:

• 1 brownie package
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 20 mini reeses peanut butter cups
• 20 honey roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Mix brownie mix according to the instructions on the box.
2. Pour mix into Demarle mini muffin tray filling the cups 3/4 of the way full. Press a mini peanut butter cup into the center of each muffin.
3. Cook according to the instructions on the box.
4. Remove from oven and press a honey roasted peanut into the center of eat peanut butter cup.
5. Allow to cool before removing from Demarle tray.

Peanut Noodles and Veggies

I am always looking to try something new and now that I have the wonderful PB2 peanut butter I can have more peanut foods without all the calories. 2 tbs of PB2 amounts just 45 calories compared to 190 calories in Jif.

So I went looking for something peanuty for dinner and I found this gem. Now this recipe doesn't have any vegetables so I just added what I thought would be good. I also doubled the sauce to make enough for the noodles and the veggies.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons ginger
  
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1-1/2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound Udon noodles
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 4 cups broccoli
• 1.5 cups snow peas
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup onions (sliced)
• 1 chicken breast

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.
2. In a large skillet cook chicken. Remove from pan and cut into little pieces.
   
3. Into the large skillet combine the veggies and saute until just cooked. Add the chicken and cook for another minute.
   
4. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add to veggies, add noodles, and toss to coat.

Mini Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok...so the raisin cookies yesterday didn't meet the peanut butter craving I have been having so even with tons of cookies in the house I just had to make these cookies. I love peanut butter but the last cookies I made were pretty dry so I needed something different. These cookies were no drier than I would expect from a peanut butter cookie but they were made with Splenda and light butter which I think normally leads to drier baked goods.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1.5 tbsp apple sauce
• 1/2 c peanut butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs Splenda
• 2 tbs egg beater
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the Splenda and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.
   
4. Use a teaspoon to measure out dough and roll into balls. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 8 minutes.

Makes 38 mini cookies - calories per cookie - 30

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

I have had a craving for peanut butter cookies for a long time. I haven't had peanut butter since I started losing weight 10 months ago. I love peanut butter but it has so many calories and while it is good fat it is still fat. Trust me, I get enough fat in my diet without peanut butter.

Earlier today I made little raspberry cookies for miles that had only 20 calories a cookie. I figured I could tinker this recipe a little to make it peanut butter chocolate instead of raspberry chocolate. It took a lot more tinkering than I imagined and this cookies have 10 more calories a cookie than the raspberry but when we are talking about 30 calories total that is a lot more. In the end they were totally worth it as they met my craving and now I can move on...maybe.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
  
• 3 tbsp Splenda
• 6 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tbsp light butter melted
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 2-3 tbsp water
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Sift dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix adding more water if needed to get a crumbly but manageable dough. Dough will be very dry.
3. Smash into small flat disks. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
   

Makes 18 cookies - calories per cookie - 32