Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Cheesecake-Madeline Escolas in Columbus, Ohio(1st Prize, National Peanut Butter Festival Recipe Contest)

Crust:

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter

Peanut Butter Mixture:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cheese Filling:

2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs

Crust: Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar, add melted butter and press into 9-inch glass pie pan. Bake at 325° for 8 minutes.

Peanut butter mixture: Using a fork, cut in powdered sugar with peanut butter until balls form. Cut in brown sugar. Pour over crust. Save 2 tablespoons for garnish.

Cheese filling: Mix softened cream cheese with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and eggs. Beat 5 minutes. Pour over peanut butter mixture and garnish with remaining peanut butter mixture. Bake at 350° until done (approximately 35 minutes). Cool 3 hours.

Peanut Soup

Peanut Soup

2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons grated onion, 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons flour, 3 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons dry sherry, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons chopped dry roasted peanuts

In medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour and mix until well blended. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Stirring to keep mixture smooth, simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Return liquid to heat and stir in peanut butter, sherry, lemon juice and salt. Heat through and serve garnished with chopped peanuts.

Makes: 4-6 servings.

Peanut Butter Pie

Peanut Butter Pie

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 pie shell, 9-inch, baked

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk, scalded
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:
Combine peanut butter and confectioners' sugar; blend well. Spread all but 3 tablespoons over the bottom of the baked pie shell. Save remaining peanut butter mixture for topping.In a medium saucepan, blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

Slowly stir in scalded milk then place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth. Quickly stir about 1/3 of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the pan, along with the butter. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over peanut butter mixture.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Spread over filling. Sprinkle remaining peanut butter mixture over meringue. Place in 300° oven until meringue is lightly browned. Chill the peanut butter pie, or serve at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.Serves 8.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies-Everyone's Favorite!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Original recipe yield: 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
18 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine sugar, peanut butter, and egg.
Shape into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. NOTE: If dough is too sticky, refrigerate 1/2 hour or until easy to handle.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven. Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each warm cookie

March is National Peanut Month

Did you know that March is National Peanut Month? Peanut Butter Lover's Unite! National Peanut Month began back in 1941 and in 1974 became a month-long celebration.

Here are some fun facts about peanuts, courtesy PeanutButterLovers.com:

*Peanuts are not actually nuts at all! They are legumes, like beans, peas and lentils.
*Americans eat 3 pounds of peanut butter per person every year. That's about 700 million pounds, or enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon!
*Peanuts may be a favorite food, but we've found many uses for their shells too! You might find peanut shells in kitty litter, wallboard, fireplace logs, paper, animal feed and sometimes as fuel for power plants!
*Two peanut farmers have been elected President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
*One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

So enjoy a PB & J or check out some of the peanut butter recipes on Peanut Butter Planet.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

I still remember making these with my Mom when I was a little girl.

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup grape jelly

Directions
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter, sugars and Creamy Peanut Butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla, scraping sides occasionally. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and freeze at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°. On ungreased baking sheets, shape by tablespoonfuls into balls and arrange. With thumb or rounded 1/4 tsp. measure, make indentation in center of each cookie; fill each with 1/4 tsp. jelly.
Bake 5 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly golden. On wire rack, cool completely.

Makes: 4 dozen cookies
Preparation Time: 15 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 5 Minute(s)
Chill Time: 1 Hour(s)

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Squares

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY COOKIE SQUARES

Ingredients
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup strawberry, grape or raspberry jelly

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat all ingredients except jelly 2 minutes or until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup peanut butter mixture. Spread remaining peanut butter mixture into prepared pan. Spread on jelly, then crumble reserved peanut butter mixture on top.
Bake 35 minutes or until golden. On wire rack, cool completely. To serve, cut into squares.

Makes: about 1 dozen cookies
Preparation Time: 15 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 35 Minute(s)

PB & Jam Cake-A Comfort Food

PB & JAM CAKE

Ingredients
1 box (1 lb. 2.25 oz.) white or yellow cake mix
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup strawberry jam
1 can (16 oz.) creamy vanilla frosting

Directions
1. Prepare, bake and cool cake mix according to package directions for two 9-inch round cake pans.2. Spread top of one cake layer with 1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, then jam. Top with second cake layer.3. In medium bowl, blend remaining 1/2 cup Peanut Butter with frosting, then spread over entire cake.

Serves: 12
Preparation Time: 5 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 30 Minute(s)
Stand Time: 45 Minute(s)

NY-Style Cheesecake with Peanutty Crust

Can a person have enough cheesecake recipes? I think not!

NY-STYLE CHEESECAKE WITH PEANUTTY CRUST

Ingredients
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1-3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1-1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 packages (8 oz. ea.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°.
For crust, in mixing bowl, with electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg until smooth. In 10-inch springform pan, evenly press crust into bottom and 1-inch up the sides.
Meanwhile, in mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese, remaining 1 cup sugar, vanilla and sour cream until smooth. Add remaining 3 eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until fluffy. Pour into prepared crust.
Bake 1 hour or until center is almost set. On wire rack, cool 1 hour. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Just before serving, melt remaining 1/4 cup Peanut Butter and drizzle over cheesecake.

Serves: 24
Preparation Time: 20 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 1 Hour(s)

Island Ambrosia-A Taste of the Tropics

ISLAND AMBROSIA

Ingredients
1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup Creamy or Chunky Peanut Butter
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple in natural juice, drained
4 large bananas, sliced
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted (optional)
Ground cinnamon

Directions
In large bowl, with wire whisk, thoroughly blend whipped topping and Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter. Stir in oranges, pineapple and bananas. Top with coconut and sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill, if desired, until ready to serve.

Makes: 5 servings
Preparation Time: 10 Minute(s)