Ypsi Cooks

Some might say peanut butter is the food of the gods. Slather it on good bread with a little fruit preserve, mix it with some powdered sugar and dip it in chocolate and call it a “buckeye,” stir in some chilies, lime juice and a little soy sauce and toss it with rice noodles. Yup, peanut butter is delicious. In the past week we have enjoyed it in 2 delicious forms: “growing food” dip and crispy peanut butter bars.
“Growing food” is what the kids' daycare calls “healthy food.” It seems like a much more kid oriented term. Every kid wants to be “big.” In our house growing food means low sugar (especially corn syrup), and as whole as we can get it (whole grain, or better yet, sprouted grain, tomatoes not ketchup, etc.). A while ago we concocted a new dip sure to please little ones and adults alike:

Peanut butterlicious dip:
Approximately 2 parts peanut butter mixed with 1 part apple sauce (no sugar added, of course). Add a healthy dose of cinnamon, stir vigorously and you're good to go. Serve with apple slices, whole grain crackers or pretzels, or, if feeling decadent, ginger cat cookies (a cross between graham crackers and gingersnaps). This would probably be great on pancakes, waffles or french toast.

Our Labor Day celebration called for a little less “growing food” and a little more decadence. Tom's family is known for loving peanut butter and chocolate, so when I saw Nigella Lawson's peanut butter bar recipe, I knew this was for them. Then there's my soon-to-be sister-in-law who is a calorie conscientious (and fantastic) gal. How could I make it a little less calorie dense and still have all that goodness? What if I add crisp rice? As I was stirring I thought I had made a huge mistake, but the responses I got as I cut the bars and people snatched the crumbs told me it was a success.

Best natural peanut butter tip ever: store it upside down before opening; it's MUCH easier to stir in the oil!

Crispy Peanut Butter Bars (adapted from Nigella Lawson)
1 scant cup creamy peanut butter (we use the natural style)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 c unpacked dark brown sugar
3 cups crisp rice cereal (we made it with 2 cups the second time, because that was all we had left, and it was still good)

10-12 ounces chocolate, chopped. I use dark, but a blend of dark and milk would be good if it suits your fancy.
1 tbsp butter

9×9 or 7×11 pan, buttered

Mix the peanut butter, butter & sugars until rather smooth. With a spatula “cut” the peanut butter mix into large pea sized chunks. This will make mixing in the rice MUCH easier. Cut in the rice. This will take a bit of time and care, but it's worth it. Once most of the cereal is mostly blended in, pat into the pan and press the top so it is as level as reasonable.
Melt the chocolate & butter (1 min in the microwave, stir and repeat, or in a double boiler). Spread onto the peanut butter mixture. Refridgerate. Cut into small bars (approx. 40) Let it sit out for about 5 min. for easier cutting.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Things we Made. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.