Chocolate Peanut Butter Cracker Bars

You only need 4 simple ingredients to make these no-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cracker Bars...

I don't normally post new recipes on the weekends, but this weekend is the exception. Because today would have been my friend Joan's (aka, Chocolate, Chocolate and More) 50th birthday. 

Some of you all may remember me talking about Joan last October shortly after she died. Though I didn't know Joan well and only had the opportunity to meet her in person once, she had such a huge impact on who I am as a food blogger. 

And I think the same can be said for pretty much every single food blogger who was lucky enough to have known her. She freely shared her knowledge of the blogging business and social media world with all of us. She believed that we should build each other up, & not always be in competition with one another. 

She taught many of us that we are worth far more than we give ourselves credit for sometimes. And she was a sweet soul who didn't see you in terms of follower numbers or page views, but rather as a kindred spirit who also loved sharing delicious recipes & their love for chocolate with others as much as she did.

So, today myself and other bloggers from across our food blogging community are celebrating Joan's life and honoring her memory in the best way that we know how- by sharing some of her time tested & amazing recipes with you all. And let me just say that browsing through Joan's extensive list of recipes & trying to choose just one to share today was no easy task, folks. ;) 

But I finally ended up zeroing in on her Chocolate Peanut Butter Cracker Bars. I mean, can you blame me? Just look at these scrumptious bars! 

Snickers Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats

A classic no-bake treat gets jazzed up with the addition of creamy peanut butter, Snickers, & honey roasted peanuts in these Snickers Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats...

Okay, let's have a little confession time here, folks- how many of you all purposely buy extra bags of candy for Halloween just to make sure you have enough to make some tasty treats with? (Raises hand.) Or maybe you are the one who waits until November 1st, and then picks up a few bags while they are on clearance. (Also guilty on that charge.) 

I mean, there is just something about having hoards of extra trick or treat candy on hand that makes me want to get into the kitchen and whip up a few goodies. If you find yourself with some extra Snickers on hand after those porch lights go off this weekend, then you will definitely want to make sure that these Snickers Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats happen.

The classic rice krispies treats recipe gets jazzed with up with the addition of creamy peanut butter, Snickers, and honey roasted peanuts making it a quick and delicious no-bake treat...

Homemade Peanut Butter Beer Bread

If you have been following me on any of my social media outlets during the past few months (especially maybe Instagram), you have probably noticed my rather intervention-worthy addiction to Julie's Eats & Treats Homemade Beer Bread.

This beer bread is just so simple & turns out absolutely soft and delicious every single time that I bake it.  Plus, beer bread is one of those very rare homemade breads that does not require any rising time.  

Not even one minute.

You can thank the yeast and the carbonation in the beer for that, folks. ;)

Mud Pie MoJoe Fudge

Rich chocolate, peanut butter, Oreos, toasted almonds, & a little Kahlua come together to make this Mud Pie MoJoe Fudge. It is sure to become a new holiday fudge favorite...

Fudge is just one of those goodies that is always associated with the holidays, right?  It is a staple on the holiday treat platters at family gatherings and office parties.  It is a sinful indulgence that we seem to let slide when the Christmas Carols start playing and the holiday lights begin twinkling. 

But fudge is also one of those very temperamental kinds of recipes.  Boil it too long and you get dry, flaky fudge.  Don't boil it long enough and it just never sets up quite right.

Fudge is one of my culinary nemeses.  

You may (or may not have) noticed that until this very day I have never posted a homemade fudge recipe to this blog. 

Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Mug Cake

This moist, perfectly portioned peanut butter cake for one is ready in under 3 minutes and is the perfect excuse for stashing away a few of the Reese's cups from the kids' trick or treat loot...

Every Halloween there always seem to be a few different candies that I covet from the bowl we have been handing out to trick-or-treaters or from my kiddos' orange plastic pumpkins- Reese's peanut butter cups always make that short list for me.  Typically, I prefer them frozen.  I pop them in the freezer for at least 10 minutes, sometimes longer.  Then unwrap and enjoy...

Perfection. ;) 

There is only one other way that I really love eating them & that is all melty and ooey, gooey.  Yes, two extremes- frozen solid or messy melty.  There is no in-between with me when it comes to Reese's cups.

Take4 Chocolate Pudding Cookies

In early spring, I noticed a lot of pudding cookie recipes popping up on my favorite food blogs and in my Pinterest feed.  Everyone was making some kind of cookie or another and throwing instant pudding mix in the batter.  I was intrigued, but initially refused to drink the kool-aid (or should I say bite the cookie?).  This is pretty much the same way it happened with me and cookie butter, just to let you all know. You all now know now obsessed I am with that stuff... ;)

But the photos of soft, thick pudding cookies kept beckoning to me and at last I took the plunge.  I decided to make a pudding cookie in the likeness of a Take5 candy bar.  If you all are not familiar with Take5's from Hershey, it is basically caramel, pretzels, peanuts, and peanut butter all covered in chocolate.  With these cookies, I included everything but the caramel.  You could always feel free to pop a caramel in each cookie if you have to have it, but I personally wouldn't change a thing about these cookies. 

They are soft, chocolaty cookies with gooey mini chocolate chips topped with salty & crunchy pretzel pieces... :)

Take4 Chocolate Pudding Cookies

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

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Ingredients (26-28 cookies)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 3.9 oz package of instant chocolate pudding
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup of crushed pretzels

Instructions

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Beat together the butter, peanut butter, & brown sugar in a large bowl until light & fluffy. Add in the chocolate pudding mix, and beat until well blended. Add in the eggs and then the baking soda. Mix well.

Beat in the flour a little at at time until blended. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Pour the crushed pretzels onto a plate. Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and then press the tops of each one into the crushed pretzels. Place on your prepared baking sheet pretzel side up, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. (After 3 days, the pretzels start to lose their crunch.)

Enjoy!

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**Recipe is based on THIS ONE from Kraft. 

Have you bit into the pudding cookie craze yet?  Tell me I am not the only one a little late to this yumminess. ;)

If you could turn any candy bar into a cookie, which one would you choose?

If you loved this recipe, you might also like my...

Peanut Butter Chai Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Pie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Pie

Join the Pi Day Pie Party with Crazy for Crust and enter to win some fabulous prizes!

I love a good challenge, and recently learned of the Get Your Chef On challenge from White Lights on Wednesdays and Four Marrs and One Venus 's blogs.  Here is the quick low-down: Once every 2 months they give you an ingredient. You come up with your best using that ingredient and then link up on the start of the challenge.  The posts are drooled over by the lovely hostesses and then they pick a winner!  Fun, right? ;)

The secret ingredient this is round is..... Peanut Butter!!  I adore peanut butter, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would be submitting my Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Pie. :)  My recipe is an adaptation from a recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Pie from the blog, One Ordinary Day.  

This creamy, rich pie comes together easily and with very little effort.

What you will need:

One graham cracker crust (store bought or homemade)

One 3.2 oz box of Chocolate Mousse mix (I needed 1 cup of cold milk for the mix I used.)

One 8 oz package of cream cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

Half of a 8 oz tub of Cool Whip

The rest of the Cool Whip, chocolate syrup, and peanuts for garnishing

(Like how I used the Lite Cool Whip and 1/3 Less Fat cream cheese? I saved just a few calories and fat grams there. ;) )

Prepare the chocolate mousse mix according to the package directions.  Spread the mousse into the prepared graham cracker crust.  Let the chocolate mousse layer set up in the fridge for an hour.

To make the peanut butter layer of the pie, cream together the cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until smooth.  Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla.  Fold in the 4 oz of Cool Whip.  Mix well.  

Spread the peanut butter mixture evenly over the chocolate mousse layer.  Return the pie to the fridge and let it chill for another 3-4 hours.  

Once chilled, slice the pie.  Garnish each slice with a dollop of your remaining Cool Whip, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a small handful of peanuts.  

And there you have it!  This is by far one of husband's and son's favorite desserts of mine that I make.  It is pretty fair to say that they were both beyond excited when I told them I was making it this past weekend for the Get Your Chef On challenge.  They never complain about being my personal taste testers. ;)