Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Peanut Butter Chubby Hubby Bars

Desserts

Have you ever thought you didn’t like an ingredient and then suddenly realized that you’d actually been enjoying it for years? This recently happened to me. I never liked Whoppers growing up and remember being thoroughly confused about why someone would prefer a chocolate malt over a milkshake. But this all changed when the lovely Shannon announced she was hosting a Boston blogger cookie exchange. I decided it would be fun to come up with a cookie version of my very favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor, Chubby Hubby. Between the fudge covered peanut butter filled pretzels and streaks of fudge and peanut butter, I was completely hooked the first time I tried it! So you can imagine my surprise when the label of the pint I picked up for “baking research purposes” said the ice cream itself was vanilla malt! Huh, how come I never noticed this before? I was a bit flustered. I mean, how could I have been enjoying malt ice cream and turning my nose up at Whoppers over all these years? I think the answer is that the flavors of Chubby Hubby are perfectly balanced. I would have never thought to pair malt with pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate, but I am sure glad the geniuses at Ben and Jerry’s did!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any malted milk powder at the store, so I picked up some Whoppers and decided to use peanut butter cookie dough as the base instead. I sandwiched coarsely chopped pretzels and Whoppers between two layers of cookie dough and then baked the bars up and topped them with a chocolate ganache. The bars were very rich and I loved getting a bit of Whopper and pretzel in each bite!

All the cookies at the exchange were delicious and unique! Ready for your mouth to water? I got to pig out on Adrienne’s Lime Meltaways, Bridget’s Chocolate Almond Orange Macaroons, Elina’s Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Kelly’s Cookie Dough Truffles, Mary-Kate’s Black and White Cookies, Nicole’s Lemon Almond Cranberry Crescents, Shannon’s Maple Bacon Toffee Oatmeal Cookies, and Tina’s Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Bars! The event was so fun and I think Shannon wants to make it an annual tradition, so I am already looking forward to next year!

Peanut Butter Chubby Hubby Bars
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini pretzels, coarsely chopped
1 cup Whoppers candy (malted chocolate balls), coarsely chopped (I just cut mine each in half)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread half the dough in a greased 13×9-inch pan. Sprinkle pretzels and Whoppers evenly on top; drop remaining dough in chunks on top and spread evenly, until all the pretzels and candy pieces are covered. Bake at 350˚F for 23 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, microwave chocolate chips and heavy cream on High 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds; stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Spread ganache over cooled peanut butter bars and refrigerate for an hour or until ganache is set. Cut into 32 bars after the pan reaches room temperature (this makes it easier to cut the ganache). Makes 32 servings.

Nutrition:  288 calories, 15.4g fat, 1.4g fiber, 5.7g protein per serving
Cost:  $0.21 per serving

Christmas Dessert Sushi

If you’re having a bit of déjà vu, it’s because I posted a similar dessert sushi recipe back in March when I started my blog. But, I’ve since tweaked the original recipe after a few email requests and I think this version is definitely worth sharing! In all honestly,...

Nutella S’more Tart

Girl Scout cookie season has arrived! We scooped up five boxes from two troops selling boxes at the Davis and Harvard Square T stops. Despite our best attempts to ration the treats, one box of samoas has already disappeared...but they’re small, so you have to eat more...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart

We’ve started a fun tradition in lab this year where I try to bake something for each person’s birthday. You know I love having the excuse to try new dessert recipes! My only request when I started was that each person make a list of their favorite treats so that I...

Strawberry Cheesecake Filled Yellow Cake

Have you had any baking disasters? I’ve had my fair share, and naturally, they all tend to occur when I’m making a treat to share at a party. One time the pecan crust just fell off the sides of a cheesecake I had made for a lab birthday celebration. Another time a...

Pumpkin Puff Pastry Tarts

The countdown to our flight to Arizona has begun and we’re playing our favorite game of trying to finish up all the perishables in our fridge before we go. We got a little off track when Apolinaras brought a half gallon of milk home on Sunday and thawed six pork...

Tempura Banana Sundaes with Caramel Sauce

Man, ice cream is hard to photograph, especially when it’s smothered with warm tempura bananas and caramel sauce – major melt factor! I first swooned over tempura bananas in New Zealand at a Japanese restaurant in Auckland. They were crispy on the outside and gooey on...

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

Hmm, this is my third post in a row featuring pumpkin and I have a couple more pumpkin recipes all ready to go! Sorry for the lack of variety - I’ll try to mix it up and refrain from posting the others for awhile, but I have to get this one in before Halloween! For my...

Peppermint Brownie Torte

I’m proud to report that I finally squeezed in some holiday baking! I whipped up these gingerbread cookies and Emily’s soft buttery sugar cookies on Monday night and they were both a big hit at work. Two thumbs up for both recipes! Of course, I also couldn’t let the...