Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Baked Buttermilk Mini Donuts

I'm sure you all know how much I love American goodies and having made 2 trips to America this year, I've accumulated an impressive collection of American related baking ingredients and equipment. I really wanted to enter United Bakes of America hosted by Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem and decided on a recipe that Gem herself suggested I might like back in July when I made my Olympic Mini Ring Donuts. Well it's been a few months but here it is! They were just like I imagined - a lovely (read healthier) baked peanut butter flavoured donut dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with peanut butter cups. Definitely one for the peanut butter lover :)

 I knew there was a reason I bought a packet of vanilla pudding the last time I was in America! 

 Mini donut pan 

 Fresh from the oven 

 ready to eat! 

Recipe adapted from Picky Palate

93g flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

56g sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding mix

8 mini Peanut Butter cups , roughly mashed with a fork + extra to decorate

3/4 cup buttermilk

100g chocolate, broken into pieces

2-3 tablespoon soured cream or double cream 

• Preheat oven to180C.
• Place flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, egg, vanilla and pudding mix into a large mixing bowl.
• Add mashed Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and pour in the buttermilk, stir to combine.
• Scoop batter into prepared donut pan (in batches if necessary). Bake for 8-10 minutes, until baked through.
• Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
• To prepare the chocolate ganache, melt the chocolate in a microwave or ina bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Stir in the cream and mix until smooth.
• Dip tops of donuts in chocolate and decorate with chopped up mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

It's October which means Halloween! On my recent trip to America, I bought a can of pumpkin puree and assorted Halloween goodies. Yes I know you can buy this in London but it's quite expensive here. Anyway, I was quite excited to bake with it as I've never used it before and I remember seeing this recipe on our recent Secret Recipe Club reveal which I'm also a member of.  It was on So Tasty, So Yummy's blog who in turn got it from Loving Life.

What can I say? Everyone loved it! It was delicious and moist, almost like a carrot cake with the spices but with a different texture. My kitchen smelled amazing when I baked this! I have to make this again even if I have to buy expensive pumpkin puree. Or perhaps they'll go on sale after Halloween? :) 

The other great thing about this recipe is that I can enter it to multiple blog challenges this month. You know how much I love my blog challenges so here goes.... 

We Should cocoa was created by Choclette and Chocolate Teapot and this month is being guest hosted by Nat from Hungry Hinny. The special ingredient this month is pumpkin.

The One Ingredient Challenge is hosted by Nazima from Franglaiskitchen and Laura from How to Cook Good Food. The theme this month is pumpkin and squash. 

As pumpkin is a seasonal ingredient, I'm also entering this to Simple and in Season created by Ren from Fabulicious Food and is being guest hosted this month by Franglaiskitchen. 

As I mentioned earlier, this pumpkin puree came all the way from America and it's also a common American ingredient especially at this time of the year for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'm therefore entering it to United Bakes of America hosted by Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem.

Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes (this month's host) and Laura from Laura Loves Cakes have chosen Halloween as their theme for October. This would be the perfect Halloween treat. 

I bookmarked this recipe as soon as I saw it on reveal day as I knew I wanted to make it one day. I'm so pleased I didn't wait too long to try it out. I'm therefore entering this to Bookmarked recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

 My well travelled slightly squashed can of pumpkin puree 

 gorgeous colour! 

 ready to go in the oven 

 fresh from the oven 

Recipe adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy (I reduced the sugar amount and chocolate chips and it turned out beautifully) 

250g plain flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

225g butter

225g sugar

1 eff

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

300g chocolate chips 

• Preheat oven to 180C. 
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.  
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. 
• Add pumpkin puree. 
• The mixture will appear curdled - don't worry! 
• Reduce speed to low and add in dry ingredients. 
• Finally, stir in chocolate chips.
• Spread batter evenly in  a baking tray.
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares. 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I'm sure you can tell my love for banana and peanut butter on this blog. I wanted to make use of my Reese's peanut butter cups and came across this recipe online. It's a basic banana bread with peanut butter and peanut butter cups mixed in. The bread was slightly dry but the chocolate bits were really good. It's a quick, mix everything together recipe and kept well for a few days.  I think I'll add some yoghurt next time I make this.

I'm entering this to AlphaBakes, a monthly blogging challenge that I co-host with Caroline from Caroline Makes who is the host for September. The letter is P for peanut butter.

I'm also entering this to United Bakes of America hosted by Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem. These miniature peanut butter cups came all the way from America!

 peanut butter, peanut butter cups and brown bananas

 adding the peanut butter cups 

 

3 ripe bananas

150g peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

100g sugar

50g brown sugar

185g flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

225g Reese's miniature peanut butter cips (approximately 24 pieces)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients except the peanut butter cups.
• Do not over mix.
• Stir in the peanut butter cups by hand.
• Pour into a loaf tin and bake for approximately 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I have been wanting to make Hershey's thumbprint cookies for ages. I actually bought a pack of Hershey's kisses whilst I was in America earlier this year in anticipation and I finally got round to it many months later. The opportunity of course is for my AlphaBakes challenge as the letter is T for thumbprint cookies. AlphaBakes is co-hosted by myself and Caroline from Caroline Makes. This month we have a special prize so make sure you get your entries in on time for a chance to win!

I chose a cherry and almond flavoured cookie (even though it's not my favourite) so I could also enter it to We Should Cocoa where the theme this month is cherries.  We Should Cocoa is the brainchild of Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog and Chele from Chocolate Teapot. This month it is guest hosted by Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen. This is probably the first time I've not scoffed tried most of the cookies myself as I don't like the flavour combination but everyone else thought it was great! They do look really cute too :)

I'm also entering these to United Bakes of America hosted by Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem. She is baking her way through her book United Cakes of America and has asked us to join in either using an American recipe, ingredient or a recipe inspired by a state favourite. Hershey's of course are American so I think these cookies will fit the bill nicely.

 cherries and chocolate 

 lovely red cherries 

 made with lots of kisses :)

 making thumbprint cookies 

Recipe adapted from food.com

Makes approximately 50 cookies (can't quite remember now - sorry!)

225g butter
200g icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon milk
280g plain flour
200g glace cherries, chopped
50 Hershey's Kisses
optional : granulated sugar
optional : red food colouring to get red cookies - perfect for Christmas :)

• Preheat oven to 175C.
• Grease and line 2 baking trays.
• Cream the butter and sugar until creamy.
• Add the almond extract and milk.
• Stir in the flour.
• Finally fold in the chopped cherries.
• Use a small ice cream scoop to place round balls of dough spaced apart on your baking tray.
• Gently indent the cookie with your thumb as shown above.
• Sprinkle some granulated sugar before baking (this is optional)
• Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.
• As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, place 1 Hershey's kiss in the middle of each cookie where the indentation is.
• Allow to cool completely. 

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Happy 4th July to all those who are celebrating! My google reader is groaning with all sorts of red, white and blue delights so this is something different but still very American. One of my good friends was recently successful at a job interview - CONGRATULATIONS!  It's a job she has wanted for a long time and I'm so, so pleased for her. We went for a lovely celebratory dinner at Bistrot Bruno Loubet which I would recommend if you are in the area. I had the Beetroot ravioli which is in the Time Out Top 100 best dishes in London!

Doesn't it look amazing?

I wanted to bake something special for her to celebrate her success.  I remember her telling me that my Lemon Whoopie Pies were the best thing I've ever baked and she has tried a LOT of my baking! I decided to try the chocolate whoopie pies this time and use my jar of Marshmallow Fluff which I found in Asda. I used Dan Lepard's recipe again for the whoopie pies which turned out beautifully. I made a marshmallow fluff buttercream as fluff on its own is really, really sticky! 

The letter for this month's AlphaBakes is W which is perfect for Whoopie Pies!  AlphaBakes is a monthly baking/blogging challenge which is hosted this month by Caroline from Caroline Makes and on alternate months by myself.

As this is an American bake and it uses an American ingredient (Marhsmallow Fluff) I'm also entering this to United Bakes of America hosted by Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem. 

I'm also entering them to Tea Time Treats which is hosted by the fabulous Karen from Lavender and Lovage and co-hosted by the fantastic Kate from What Kate Baked.  Karen chose the theme of cake stall cakes & bakes. I think these would be perfect for a cake stall and I'm sure they would be very popular. PS Karen I hope you will enjoy these even though they are very American! ;)

 I finally got a chance to use my Whoopie Pie Pan from America. 

 Melt the butter...

 Add in chocolate and continue melting. Then add in eggs, flour, sour cream and milk

  Ready to go in the oven

 Freshly baked 

My first time using Marshmallow fluff - It was too sticky to use on its own so I mixed it with a little butter and icing sugar which gives it a better spreadable consistency and still tasted fabulous.

  Spread a generous portion of marshmallow fluff buttercream on one whoopie pie

 Sandwich them together

 And roll in pretty sprinkles

This is what it looks like using pure marshmallow fluff as the filling

  Boxed and ready to be gifted

Recipe for chocolate whoopie pie was from Dan Lepard's short and sweet
Recipe for marshmallow fluff buttercream was based loosely on this recipe from BBC Good Food
 - I didn't actually weigh the ingredients but just mixed about 3/4 jar of marshmallow fluff with a small amount of butter and icing sugar until I got the consistency I wanted.