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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Weird Recipe Wednesday: Peanut Butter Cookies-and-Creme Fudge

Weird Recipe Wednesday: Because some recipes are so weird I just HAVE to try them.  My curiosity always gets the better of me.


Due to the cake adventure I told you about yesterday, we've switched this week's Weird Recipe Wednesday with Tuesday's Twist.  If you're looking for weird, check out yesterday's post.  If you're looking for a slightly more normal recipe (but not really, who am I kidding), then you're in for a treat.  And by treat I mean peanut butter fudge studded with chocolate cookies.


My mom has used the same fudge recipe for years.  Each Christmas we make several flavors from the same base recipe by changing the flavor of the chips (regular chocolate chips, mint chips, dark chocolate chips or peanut butter chips).  I bet you'll never guess I wanted to try something different this year.  I like our simple recipe, but I have a few issues with it.  My mom levitates towards that recipe as a diabetic since it has relatively little added sugar.  While it's much lower in sugar it has quite a bit more butter than most recipes.  Using marshmallow creme works every time, but it's also a pretty sticky mess.  In addition to a recipe with less butter, I wanted to make fudge using marshmallows rather than marshmallow creme.  My last issue was with our peanut butter variation.  You know how much I love peanut butter.  Some brands of peanut butter chips are delicious, others are far to waxy, but either way they've got a list of ingredients I'd rather not consume.  Why not use actual peanut butter in place of the peanut butter chips?


As usual, I compared way too many recipes before finally picking one I would only somewhat follow.  Peanut butter straight from the jar,  marshmallows instead of marshmallow creme, no butter and only 1 cup of sugar.  I've never liked walnuts in fudge, but I was looking for a way to bulk it up and make it stretch a little further.  Enter crushed cookies (and all the ingredients we were trying to avoid in the peanut butter chips, oh well.)


This definitely isn't your traditional fudge.  It's a fun twist, but it doesn't have the same dense, creamy texture of chocolate fudge.  I like the idea of adding cookie pieces, but I'm still planning to play around with base recipes.  Don't get me wrong, it's still tasty in and of itself, and it's still addicting enough to eat far too many pieces while "evening off" the edges.  It's just not your grandma's (or mom's) fudge.  But we all know there's nothing like mom's.



Peanut Butter Cookies-and-Creme Fudge

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
2/3 cup fat-free or regular evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1-1/4 cups roughly chopped chocolate sandwich cookies with white filling

Instructions:
* Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray; set aside.
* In a large saucepan combine marshmallows, evaporated milk and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Continue to cook at a rolling boil for 7 minutes, stirring constantly.
* Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Stir in peanuts. Gently stir in cookie pieces and spread mixture into prepared pan. Chill until set before cutting into pieces.

Food for Thought: "The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire, not things we fear." -Brain Tracy 

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