Hello everyone, Katy here from Her Cup of Joy, as you all might know by now, I love to bake! Recently, I wanted to create a treat to share with my friends at a party. Peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect combination, there are thousands on recipes online featuring the duo, remember these peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough bars I shared a few months ago? They were a success! It was the perfect recipe, no baking required and very quick to whip together. But some days I crave longer baking sessions, it is a form of stress relief, some of you may agree with me. There’s nothing better than being able to turn on some great music and spend time baking up a sugary and delicious treat in the kitchen.

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest made by Inspired by Charm and knew I had to attempt to make these tarts. I brought these mini peanut butter chocolate tarts to a party and everyone raved about how cute and tiny they were. The crust is so tender and flaky, it is very similar to a pie crust and the whipped peanut butter filling is just heavenly, I could eat it straight from the bowl.

I was so surprised that I did not need any special tartelette pans or molds, the crust is rolled out and cut out with a flower cookie shape, or a circle shaped cookie cutter, as seen on this post. You could even just cut out the shape with a small glass cup. The flower cookie cutter gives it those cute scalloped edges. The crusts are then placed in a mini cupcake pan, you don’t need to press them in much either, just gently push the crust in with your finger, they will sink down during the baking process. After they bake, a delicious fluffy peanut butter filling is piped into the tarts, then they are drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts. Doesn’t that sound amazing!?

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Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Tarts

A perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate, this dessert will certainly wow all of your guests.

Course Dessert

Servings 48 mini tarts

Ingredients

• Chocolate Crust:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter cold
• 4 tablespoons shortening
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 – 8 tablespoons cold water
• Peanut Butter Filling:
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 package 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 package 8 ounce Cool Whip, thawed
• Chocolate Drizzle:
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• Chopped peanuts optional

Instructions

• To make the chocolate crust shells:
• Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt in a food processor until blended. Add the butter and shortening and blend until coarse crumbles form. Add the egg yolks and cold water and process with slow pulses until the dough forms a ball. Start with about 5 tablespoons of cold water, carefully keep adding a tablespoon at a time.
• Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
• Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out your dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Then cut out the dough using a flour shaped cookie cutter. Once your first set of flowers or circles are cut, gently press the flowers into an ungreased mini muffin pan. Once your pan is full, bake for 12-15 minutes.Repeat until you have used as much of the dough cut out as possible.
• Allow the shells to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the crusts.
• To make the peanut butter filling:
• Beat peanut butter, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Then add the powdered sugar, beating again until smooth. Add in the Cool Whip and mix until well combined.
• Place the filling into a piping bag or plastic bag, then pipe into the shells.
• For the drizzle, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a microwavable bowl (or in a double broiler). Allow the mixture to cool a few minutes, then transfer to a piping bag. Snip off a tiny portion of one corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate onto the filled tart shells. Top with chopped peanuts.

I appreciate the wonderful opportunity of being a guest contributor at this awesome blog! For more recipe ideas be sure to visit me at Her Cup of Joy | Instagram |Pinterest | Facebook  | Twitter

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White Chocolate Fruit Tart

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Hello everyone, Katy here from Her Cup of Joy, I am excited to be back with yet another dessert recipe! Last month, I shared these indulgent cookie dough bars which were so rich and delicious. As much as I loved devouring those bars, it’s finally summertime, the best time for refreshing light desserts. Lately, I have turned to no-bake recipes for satisfying my sweet tooth, especially since my house needs to stay cool in the summer. I even created a Pinterest board dedicated to no-bake desserts.

Today, I am sharing these delicious and clean-eating key lime bars which can be whipped up in no time, they are an easy treat to make for unbearably hot summer days. The best part of the bars is that they contain no sugar, only maple syrup or honey to sweeten, they also do not contain any dairy and are naturally gluten-free.

I pinned this Clean-Eating No Bake Key Lime Squares recipe to my Delicious No-Bake Desserts board, Olena, from iFoodreal.com created these simple bars that contain a lot of flavor. If you haven’t visited her blog you must as soon as you can, she has so many unique and healthy recipes, plus her food photos always look amazing!

The crust is made out of cornflakes instead of the usual graham cracker crumb crust. It adds a little twist to the flavor, more salty and crunchy. Then the crust is topped with a whipped coconut milk based filling and kept frozen until ready to serve. Most no-bake desserts contain whipped cream or cream cheese, but these bars are remarkable in that they contain the fat/creamy portion of a can of coconut milk, giving them a more tropical taste. Also, the best part is that they contain only about 130 calories per bar, so you can enjoy your evening treat without feeling guilty. Once the bars set, they can be cut up and placed in an airtight container for future consumption.

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Healthy No Bake Key Lime Bars

Course Dessert

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 3 cups corn Flakes fruit juice sweetened
• 4 tbsp coconut oil melted
• 3 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Filling:
• 14 oz can coconut milk full fat*
• 1 lime zest of
• 4 tbsp lime juice 1-2 limes
• 3 tbsp honey or maple syrup

Instructions

• Place the coconut milk in the fridge overnight.
• Prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper.
• Place corn flakes into a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. In a bowl, add the corn flake crumbs, coconut oil, honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined, then press the crust mixture into the baking dish. Place the baking dish into the freezer to set while you make the filling.
• Remove the coconut milk can from the fridge making sure not to flip the can over or shake it. Open the can and scoop out the white cream that has settled to the top, try to get as little liquid as possible. Place the cream into a chilled bowl and beat on high speed until fluffy. Add in the lime zest, lime juice and honey or maple syrup. The mixture will not be as fluffy as whipped cream, it will be slightly pourable.
• Evenly spread the cream mixture over the chilled crust and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. After freezing, remove the bars from the baking dish (this will be easy because of the parchment paper in step 2.) and cut into 16 bars. Serve the bars frozen or thawed for up to 15 minutes. Keep the leftovers frozen in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer.

Notes

Olena from iFoodreal.com recommends using Thai Kitchen, Trader Joe's Coconut Cream or Compliments canned coconut milk with creamy consistency. I wouldn't use Asian brands, it is grainy and does not mix well.

I appreciate the wonderful opportunity of being a guest contributor at this awesome blog! For more recipe ideas be sure to visit me at Her Cup of Joy | Instagram |Pinterest | Facebook  | Twitter

 You may also like these featured favorite recipes from my blog:

Glazed Fresh Strawberry Fritters

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z

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Hello MadeFromPinterest readers! It’s Katy here from Her Cup of Joy and today I am sharing a lovely recipe that you need to make ASAP. All cookie dough lovers will rush to snatch a few or these bite sized bars. They taste exactly like cookie dough that you stuff in your mouth, you know what I’m talking about, I know you love to sneak a few spoons of cookie dough in your mouth before baking. I am not judging you if you eat raw cookie dough because I do it all the time! In fact, I would rather eat the cookie dough instead of baking actual cookies. Except, then I would feel too guilty of eating all of that dough. Which is why these bars were created, they are a perfect portion for a quick pop in your mouth, and the best part about these bars, no raw eggs :). Last month I shared this funfetti cookie cake with my coworkers, this month I brought in these cookie dough bars. Aren’t I spoiling them a bit? There were some exciting changes at work and I wanted to bring something in the next day as a mini celebration. Any reason to bring goodies to work is always great. Plus I knew I had to share the bars with everyone, or else I would eat them if they stayed in my house. They always appreciate any treats, and adored these little bites of fudgey dough.
I found this recipe in my Pinterest feed and knew I had to make them. I checked out the ingredients list and saw that everything was already stocked in my pantry, except for the mini chocolate chips. These bars are too easy to make. I came home from work and picking up my daughter around 5:00 pm, quickly whipped up the cookie dough batter, topped with a delicious peanut butter chocolate ganache and had the bars chilling in the fridge by 5:20 pm. My husband came home and didn’t suspect a thing, though, I caught him red-handed trying to eat the bars out of the pan with a spoon.

After tasting a bar, I knew I had to quickly hide them in the fridge and “dispose” of them at work the next day. Don’t think that I eat cookies all day every day, (although it would be great!) I actually am watching what I eat most of the time, but every once in a while we all need a sweet treat. That night, while my husband was watching the basketball game I ran on the treadmill to burn off a few cookie dough calories, and to be a healthy mom/wife, of course. Who knew basketball games could drag on so long, my goal was to run the whole second half of the game, but after 50 minutes of running I stopped midway through the last quarter.

Back to talking about the amazing bars, although I should have waited a few more hours to cut into the bars, I knew the sun was starting to set (food photography problems) and I didn’t want to wait until the next day after work to try them out. This is the best I could do at cutting them, but they taste delicious either way you cut them! These bars have been floating around Pinterest, I used Shugary Sweet’s recipe, although do not compare her perfect cut with mine!

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Irresistable Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bars

Course Dessert

Servings 48

Ingredients

• For the Cookie Dough:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 can 14oz sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups mini chocolate chip morsels
• For the frosting:
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels

Instructions

• To make the cookie dough base:
• With mixer set to high speed, beat butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add vanilla, peanut butter, and condensed milk, mix until combined.
• Slowly, add in the flour until combined. Then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
• Line a 8x8 baking dish with plastic wrap or foil. Press the cookie dough mixture into the baking dish.
• To make the chocolate peanut butter ganache topping:
• Add chocolate chips and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir until all chocolate has melted. Heat in increments of 15 seconds if the chocolate hasn't melted.
• Pour the topping over the cookie dough and spread with a spatula.
• Place the baking dish in the fridge for 3 hours, or overnight, until fully set. Then, cut into mini bite sized bars.
• Keep any left over bars refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

I appreciate the wonderful opportunity of being a guest contributor at this awesome blog! For more recipe ideas be sure to visit me at Her Cup of Joy | Instagram |Pinterest | Facebook  | Twitter

You may also like these featured favorite recipes:

Chia Seed Protein Pudding Cups

Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Potatoes

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 This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z and Living Well Spending Less

The post Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bars appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Hello MadeFromPinterest readers! Let me introduce myself to you all, my name is Katy from Her Cup of Joy. I recently agreed to the wonderful opportunity of becoming a guest contributor at this awesome blog. Pinterest is a great way to be inspired by many ideas and a way to connect with other people who share similar creative brains. After reading many blogs over the years, I was inspired to finally try my hand at this whole blogging thing, and a couple months ago I launched my own site. To get to the point, I love the creativity involved in having a blog. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that my ideas can inspire or at least entertain other people.

One of my favorite dessert blogger is Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Her recipes are always amazing and mouthwatering. This past week, I created her Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake that I pinned on Pinterest for a coworkers surprise birthday party.  Our department loves parties, especially food related ones; every work related event that has food, you can find us all there. We are all major foodies, every few months we have themed potlucks where we bring in our favorite dishes; recently we had a bake-off which was success. Our workplace has been on a health “kick”, trying to promote healthy habits by giving out points (that lead to awesome prizes!) for different health goals such as eating 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day.  But some days we all just need to indulge! I mean who can resist a delicious looking sprinkle cookie cake with a dollop of rich butter cream frosting!?

This cake was amazing! I will admit, it’s a high calorie dessert, but that should not be a surprise knowing that most desserts are very rich. I sliced the cake into 14 pieces which made it a better option for those tracking what they eat, ahem…me most days ;). Those that don’t care what they eat can go for two slices, though I will get jealous.

Recipe source, Sallys Baking Addiction.

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Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake

Course Dessert

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles not nonpareils
• For the Frosting;
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 1 and 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or half & half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
• salt to taste
• extra sprinkles for decorating on top

Instructions

• Place softened butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl and mix on medium/high speed with a mixer until combined and creamy.
• Then, add the vanilla and eggs, mix again to combine.
• Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 2 increments, add the dry ingredients to the cookie batter and mix slowly until just combined.
• Add in the sprinkles (not nonpareils) and the white chocolate chips. Mix slowly with a spatula until combined.
• Spread the batter into a well greased pie dish or cake pan. Place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees F.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Allow the cookie cake to cool completely before frosting.
• For the frosting:
• Combine softened butter with powdered sugar and beat on high until fluffy, start at low speed first so you don't get powdered sugar all over the place.
• Add in the vanilla, almond extract (optional), heavy cream and salt. Beat on high until well combined and fluffy, about two minutes.
• Place the frosting in a piping bag with a Wilton 1M piping tip and pipe along the edge to create a pretty border. Sprinkle some of the confetti sprinkles on top.

Notes

Keep the cookie cake refrigerated, covered in plastic wrap, for up to five days. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving so it comes to room temperature.

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You may also like some of my favorite dessert recipes:

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