Peanut Butter Fudge Pie

We love anything chocolate with peanut butter! It is really the ultimate combination of sweet and salty. I had a recipe pinned for a Peanut Butter Fudge Pie with Peanut Butter Salted Caramel that sounded amazing. I adapted slightly out of laziness. I did not have any caramel topping and did not feel like making my own. 

The pie turned out really delicious even despite one little mishap with my ingredients. When buying roasted peanuts, I just grabbed a container that said "Golden Roast" on the label. AFTER making the pie, my husband told me that he noticed the back of the label included ingredients like paprika, garlic, onion powder... Ugh! We ate the pie for dessert and I honestly could not tell, but I would definitely double check next time I purchase peanuts for any purpose. 

Super easy fudge

I've never ventured into the fudge-making world. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fudge. For a while, every time Charles and I went on vacation we would buy a bunch of fudge and indulge ourselves. We would try several different flavors. My favorite is chocolate and peanut butter. He loves maple nut. I have just never tried it for myself.

Part of the moving process is clearing out the pantry. I had a can of sweetened condensed milk so I thought I would try to make some fudge. I pulled out the trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and found the easy fudge recipe. This isn't new and exciting, but it's easy so I thought I would share.

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I think it is 14 oz)
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
1 teaspoon vanilla
mini marshmallows

Pour the milk and chocolate chips into a saucepan and heat on low heat. Stirring occassionally until melted together.

Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour in marshmallows (no exact amount...whatever looks best) and mix together.

Pour into greased 8x8 pan and spread out. Refrigerate for at least and 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy!

The recipe called for nuts, but I didn't have any. I would have loved to make some peanut butter fudge to layer on top, but that will have to happen another day.

Fudge-making virgin no more!

I have officially delved into the world of fudge-making. I have always avoided it because I thought it would be difficult. I found a recipe on Pinterest for Chocolate Cinnamon Fudge from a like-minded blogger. She was nervous about making fudge, too, but realized it's a lot easier than you would like.

Here's the recipe:
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (if you like cinnamon, but don't want a huge cinnamon taste, I would go with 1 t. Or you can leave it out completely)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb (about 2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, at room temp

Butter an 8x8 dish. Line with parchment paper (or don't and be like me...although this makes it more difficult to get the fudge out)

In a glass or stainless steel bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon and vanilla extract.  Stir to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and butter. Put the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and there is a smooth consistency. This can take about 6-8 minutes. You can add nuts at this point, if you like nutty fudge. Pour mixture into baking dish and spread evenly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Strawberry Fudge Pie

Charles requested that I make a Strawberry pie. Strawberry Pie has never sounded appealing to me, but I looked on Pinterest for a recipe anyway. I came across one that looked amazing! It's called Strawberry Fudge Pie. So I thought I would give it a chance. I deviated from the recipe a little bit because it called for a brownie mix and I love my homemade Gooey Chocolate Brownies (follow the link for the recipe for just brownies).

Strawberry Fudge Pie

Ingredients:
One pie crust (I use Immaculate Baking Co. crust because it's amazing! You could always make your own, too)

Brownie Layer:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake layer:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry layer:
3 cups strawberries, halved

Make brownie layer. Combine butter and unsweetened chocolate in saucepan and melt over low heat. Add sugar; mix to combine. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once cooled, mix in eggs. Add flour and chocolate chips.

Pour brownie batter into crust-lined pie pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Brownie does not need to be completely done.

Meanwhile, make cheesecake mixture. Beat together all cheesecake layer ingredients. Once brownie layer is done baking, pour cheesecake mixture over brownie and carefully spread over the top. Bake the pie another 18 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for an hour.

Cut strawberries and place cut side down on top of cooled cheesecake layer. You can melt some chocolate and drizzle over the top to add a little extra touch, but I skipped this step out of laziness. Refrigerate for an hour.

Enjoy!