Chocolate P&B Squares

I've been out of action for a while. Between moving houses, buying appliances and painting walls, life just caught up with me. I got a brand new KitchenAid, but now I also have a tiny kitchen with absolutely no shelves. Get the joke?

Cooking and baking in a makeshift kitchen is a real challenge. But these Peanut Butter & Chocolate bars are almost too easy to be true. With just 5 ingredients, it's no bake, no cook and absolutely no fuss. All you need is a bowl. Obviously it helps to use a grinder to get biscuit crumbs, but elbow grease and a rolling pin don't disappoint either. And obviously it helps having a microwave to melt chocolate or butter, but Indian summers are just as effective.



Adapted from Buzzfeed

100 gms melted butter

400 gms digestive biscuits crumbed

2 cups creamy peanut butter + 2tbsps

50 gms powdered sugar

300 gms dark chocolate 

Line a pan (preferably 9"x9") with aluminium foil and set aside.

In a bowl, combine melted butter, peanut butter, sugar and biscuit crumbs. Stir till well combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the lined pan and refrigerate. While the peanut butter mix is chilling, melt the chocolate. Once melted, stir in 2tbsps peanut butter and mix till smooth. Spread evenly over the refrigerated P&B mixture. Chill until firm (approx. 1hr). Cut and serve!

For a vegan version of these bars, just substitute the butter for 2 tbsps of a neutral oil.

Tip: When the chocolate is melted, sprinkle a pinch of salt. Salt brings out the inherent sweetness of chocolate :)

Note: I've used very little sugar because I didn't want these bars to be overly sweet. Obviously, if you have a huge sweet tooth, feel free to add between 100-150gms sugar.

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

There is nothing like being able to satisfy a sweet tooth craving on a moment's notice. In less time than it take for the oven to preheat, you can have these ready and waiting on the baking tray.



(Adapted from www.barefeetinthekitchen.com)

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius. In a bowl, stir all ingredients till smooth. Scoop into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also roll into balls with your hands and press down on the sheet. The dough isn't runny so you can really mould it as you like. Bake for 15mins and then let it cool. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!



If you choose to add an extra egg (like I did), the cookie dough will not be firm enough to roll in your hands. You will have to use a scooper. They will also need a bit of time to settle as they cool and will be gooier.



Tip: You can also experiment with different flavourings like sea salt, chocolate chips or even rum.

And my favourite way to eat these are either sandwiched with jam or cream cheese. Yum!