Chocolate & Peanut Butter Dessert Pizza

When Mama Mary's sent me some products to review, two of them were dessert pizzas - apple cinnamon & cherry. Well, I got a little caught up in living & forgot to blog when I made them (sometimes I like when that happens). My friend's three year old daughter (this cutie) came over and we had fun making them. We topped the apple with chocolate chips, cut them up, put them in a ziploc bag and she proudly tucked them under her arm to take home. They were a great activity, even for a kid as young as her, but they didn't turn out very photo worthy.

So, I ran to Walmart to pick up a replacement to make. Walmart only had cherry on hand, and since we had already made that flavor, I decided to make my own. The kit comes with the crust, fruit topping and a vanilla icing pack. And they're ready in 5 minutes if you make them as directed. And I think they're under $3 (I should have paid attention to that).

What flavors did I pick? Chocolate and peanut butter, of course.

Source: Persnickety Plates original
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients
Mama Mary's Gourmet Dessert Crust kit
butter for brushing the crust
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup peanut butter chips

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the crust out.

Brush the crust with a little butter then sprinkle on the sugar.

Top with the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it - you want your chips to get melty, but not burn. Cooking time will depend on your oven.

Remove from oven and drizzle with the vanilla icing.

Slice it up & enjoy!

Disclaimer: Mama Mary's sent me the crust to review but the opinions are my own and honest. 

I was not otherwise compensated for this post. 

Mexican Wedding Cake

I asked my mom what kind of dessert she wanted for Mother's Day, since I have the tendency to make chocolate+peanut butter everything and that's not her favorite. She picked this Mexican Wedding Cake and it couldn't have been easier. I'm lucky she's easy to please. The crushed pineapple and juice in this cake make it super moist and the cream cheese frosting tops it off nicely. The frosting called for half a stick of butter but I skipped that. Up to you. 

I'm not one to do much posing/use props with my food pics, but I tried to get the gerber daisy plant my husband got her into a shot. Also, the star sprinkles I used that are my favorite. 

Source: My mom. ha. I don't know where she got it.
Makes: 9" x 13" cake so I'd say it serves around 16

Ingredients
For the cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
16 oz can crushed pineapple & its juice

For the frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
(4 Tablespoons butter, optional. I skipped it this time.)

Directions
For the cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, add all "cake" ingredients and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting
Add cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and butter (if you're including it) to a large bowl. Beat well with a hand mixer until fully combined.

Frost cake when cooled.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie {Surprise Recipe Swap}

I'll start this by saying I had just finished typing this post and the entire thing just disappeared. Just went to a blank post screen. It's making me want to cry. So, here we go again.

This month for Surprise Recipe Swap I got Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures. I first "met" Christie when she was one of the winners of the Klondike potato giveaway I hosted last month. I spent a lot of time stalking her blog because she has a huge collection. If I had an ice cream maker, I would have tried her Pomegranate Tequila Sorbet, but I don't. I do have an unhealthy obsession with chocolate and peanut butter (see the majority of my "things I want to eat/drink" Pinterest board) so I picked this Frozen Peanut Butter Pie.

I didn't even think I liked frozen pies, since I don't usually like Cool Whip, but I'm glad I tried this recipe. The chocolate and peanut butter combo can't go wrong in my book and it was creamy and cool. It was especially nice for the warmer days we had this weekend in Detroit.

It's originally a Cooking Light recipe but I fattened it up a little bit. I have a tendency to do that. I made my graham cracker crust of choice. You can skinny it down by using their crust recipe and using low-fat/no fat milk, cream cheese, and peanut butter. I did use low fat Cool Whip.

I had fun taking its picture, so there's more than usual. I thought it was pretty.

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light via A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Makes: a 9" pie

Ingredients

For the crust
8 graham crackers, broken into pieces
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 Tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt

For the filling
1 1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural Extra Crunchy)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz frozen fat free whipped topping, thawed (I used Cool Whip)
~1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, for topping
~1/4 cup crushed dry roasted peanuts, for topping

Directions
For the crust
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9" pie plate and set aside.

Break up your graham crackers and put into the food processor. Pulse until you have fine crumbs.

Pour in the melted butter, sugar, and pinch of salt. Pulse about 6 times until it comes together and your mixture looks like wet sand.

Pour the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pie plate and press into an even layer. I used the bottom of a measuring cup to help press it down evenly.

Bake the crust for 13-16 minutes then remove. Cool on a wire rack.


For the filling
In a small saucepan, add the milk and sugar and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, for about 2 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. 

Transfer to a medium bowl. Add peanut butter and vanilla and stir with a whisk until fully combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. 

In a large bowl, add your softened cream cheese. Beat with a mixer, on medium speed, until light and fluffy.

Add the milk mixture and beat on low until combined. 

Using a wooden spoon, fold in the thawed whipped topping until fully mixed.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. 

Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and mini chocolate chips over the top.

Place in the freezer, uncovered, for 8 hours (I left mine overnight) or until hard.

Transfer the pie to the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you're ready to serve it. I always slice it with a knife that I've run under hot water so it's easier to cut.