INDULGE | Holiday Peppermint Puffs

Sometimes you never know what to do with those pesky candy canes. 

Candy canes are great, and everyone indulges in a few around Christmas. But the problem is that you usually end up with boxes of them. Instead of throwing them away, why not try making something with them?

Enter my latest creation: Holiday Peppermint Puffs. As a member of Peanut Butter & Co.'s Yum Squad, I was asked to develop a recipe featuring their peanut butter & candy canes - an excellent way to use leftover candy canes {which were probably used to decorate your tree - am I right?}. And I think I've come up  with something pretty tasty.

You can make this in any shape you want, really. Puff pastry is pretty moldable. I made one giant rectangle, and then with the leftover dough I made a couple small "pies". I actually like the pie shape better because it holds all the sauce!

I used both White Chocolate Wonderful & Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter - but you could omit the Dark Chocolate Dreams sauce and just use melted chocolate instead.

You'll need:

1 box of puff pastry

1 c. white chocolate chips

1/4 c. White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter

6 T. Whipping Cream

3/4 c. dark chocolate chips

1 T. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter 

Candy canes

Directions:

.1 Allow pastry to thaw. Place pastry in desired baking sheet or pan and bake according to packaged directions.

2. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

3. In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, combine white chocolate chips, 3 T. whipping cream and White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter. Allow to melt, stirring so the chocolate doesn't burn. Remove from heat. 

4. In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, combine dark chocolate chips, 3 T. whipping cream and Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. Allow to melt, stirring so the chocolate doesn't burn. Remove from heat. 

5. Pour white chocolate sauce (as much as desired) over the puff pastry. 

6. Drizzle dark chocolate sauce over puff pastry. 

7. Crush candy canes and sprinkle over the top. Cut and serve!

Do you have any candy cane hacks? Share the tips with the hashtag #CandyCaneHacks. And if you're looking to buy some awesome peanut butter - PB&Co. is offering their products for 25% off ALL MONTH! Just use the code YUMSQUADLOVE (in all caps!) on their website.

Now... do you wanna win some PEANUT BUTTER?! Here's how you can win (1) jar of White Chocolate Wonderful and (1) jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams! Each of the following things counts as ONE entry, so you can use the Rafflecopter below to enter! The more you do, the more chances you have to win! Giveaway ends NEXT MONDAY (December 8).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*NOTE: Please LIKE us on Facebook when you visit! :)

Enjoy!

PB&J Revolution

Well, it's back to school time, once again. Even though I'm no longer a student, it's still back to school for me because I work in elementary schools. When I think of going back to school, I think of brown paper bags filled with lunches. Peanut butter & jelly, specifically.

Can you ever go wrong with peanut butter? 

The answer, of course, is no. So when Peanut Butter & Co. asked me, as part of the Yum Squad, to create a gourmet pb&j, I couldn't refuse. They sent me two jars of peanut butter and two jars of jelly, in the flavor of my choosing, to use for my recipe. 

I chose The Heat Is On (spicy peanut butter) and Mighty Maple, but I also had Dark Chocolate Dreams & The Bee's Knees in my cabinet. For jellies, I chose Awesome Apricot and Rip-Roaring Raspberry.

 

What I created: French Toast PB&J bites. 

 

The concept is simple: simply make a pb&j using the peanut butter & jelly of your choice,  cut it into four squares, and submerge the pieces in a mixture of egg & milk (2 eggs and 1 T. milk should work for two sandwiches). Then cook sandwich pieces in a HOT pan, covered in butter, until brown and toasted on both sides. 

Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with maple syrup for extra yumminess. Another way to think of this is as stuffed french toast!

 

Here are the combinations I used: 

The Heat Is On & Awesome Apricot

Dark Chocolate Dreams & Rip-Roaring Raspberry

Mighty Maple & Awesome Apricot

Delicious. I encourage you to try out some combinations of your own! I think fig butter or cranberry butter would also be a really good choice for jelly, and you could even make this using Nutella, Biscoff spread or cookie butter! How delicious would THAT be?! I think these bites would be great as a back to school breakfast or as a lunch item. I remember french toast sticks being a popular lunch item when I was in high school, and these remind me of french toast sticks... but better! 

Well, that's all for now. To see more gourmet pb&j recipes, check out the hashtag #PBJrevolution. Thanks Peanut Butter & Co!

Memories & Comfort Food

Some nights, I absolutely love simply reflecting on the craziness of life. Where we came from, and the journey we took to get to where we are now. 

Thursday was one of those nights. Apologies, by the way, for being so absent in the blogging world. I just recently left my nanny job, have been training for my new job (officially start DAY ONE on Monday!), and have been going through a whole bunch of other life changes - both beginnings and ends. So keeping up with the blog has been challenging. But know that from now on, whatever I post will typically be a high quality post. Lower quantity = higher quality, right?! :)

Also, one of the purposes of this blog was to connect memories to food (read the "about me" page if you haven't already to learn more!). So I'm going to work on doing that more often as well!

Anyways, back to Thursday. Do you ever get one of those feelings where all you wanna do is sit down and think about the past? I had that feeling - and it's a good feeling! I went to a house that I consider my second home, where four of my closest friends live. I would say from last fall up until a few months ago, I would be at their house nearly every day. There is a group of 7-8 friends who became extremely close over the past year and this house became the go-to whenever we wanted a place to hang out. 

Thursday was my first time back in that house (with about half of the group there) in a long time, and it's funny how it still feels so much like a second home to me. I'm comfortable there and I always feel happy and at peace when I leave. I would go pretty much anywhere as long as that group of 8 people would go with me.

When I left, I started thinking about all the changes we've been through since we've become close friends. Nearly half of the people in the group, originally all single, now have significant others. I'm planning on becoming roommates with 1-2 of them sometime in the winter. Huge job transitions. Heartbreak. Difficult conversations. Some have stepped up into leadership roles, and others have left leadership roles. 

It's always crazy to me to look back at who I was and who I am now. I am completely changed from the woman I was last year (a good thing), and I'm radically different from the woman I was two years ago (a really good thing!). Sometimes thinking back makes me sad and frustrated, but then I remember everything I overcame and how much stronger I am and I immediately feel better. Comforted. Happy. 

Just like how I feel when I eat a big 'ole bowl of ice cream. :) And speaking of ice cream...

 

Peanut Butter & Co. recently partnered with Turkey Hill to make a limited edition ice cream - banana with peanut butter. Delicious banana ice cream swirled with large strips of peanut butter. And, as a member of PB&Co.'s Yum Squad, I was sent a coupon for a free container of ice cream. Talk about YUM.

I mean, do you SEE all the peanut butter in there?! The peanut butter is crunchy, just like chocolate chips. SO GOOD. Amazing. 

I'll tell you an example of just how good this ice cream is.

My mom came home one day after I got the ice cream, and she was asking me all about it. Then she wanted to have her own, so went out and bought TWO half gallons of the stuff. I think I ate a mug of this cream nearly every day until it was all gone. I HIGHLY recommend running to your local grocery store & getting some!

And, before I forget - it's only available through September, and you can only buy it in stores EAST of Mississippi.

But it's amazing. So stock up!

Sometime in the next week or two I will post again, with more fun surprises from Peanut Butter & Co. (I'll give you a hint...it involves gourmet pb&j!). Talk to you soon!

The Bee's Knees Peanut Butter Power Balls

Peanut Butter. 

Honey.

Yum. 

Personally, it doesn't get much better than that. 

One of my favorite snacks to make recently has been peanut butter balls. I make them a lot with the girls I nanny, because I can call them "cookies." These guys are way healthier than cookies, but the kids don't know that. So, ssshhh.....don't tell them!

This is a pretty simple recipe. You can also add some powdered milk to make the balls hold together a little better when out of the fridge ... I just didn't have any on hand when I actually threw this recipe together. 

The secret ingredient to these little balls is in the peanut butter - The Bee's Knees from PB & Co. This peanut butter already has honey mixed in, so it's extra delicious! You could try making these balls with any type of nut butter, though - and I bet flavored nut butters (ie: chocolate peanut butter) would be delicious as well. 

These little power balls are great because you can put whatever you want in them - coconut, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips....or you could get a little crazy and throw in some candy, like M&Ms. Although then these wouldn't be power balls (power balls give you HEALTHY energy!)....they'd be more like cookies.... but that's okay too!

Peanut Butter Power Balls

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup The Bee's Knees peanut butter

1-2 Tablespoons honey

Handful each of mix-ins of choice (I used coconut, chocolate chips, raisins and walnut pieces)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Roll mixture into balls, using anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of dough, depending on how big you'd like them to be. 

Store in the fridge to keep firm.

Oh, did I mention... we are also having a giveaway for two jars of the Bee's Knees peanut butter! I love this stuff. Wanna win? Here's how!

Please leave a separate comment below for each entry. 

1. Tweet about this giveaway, using the hashtag #peanutbutterbuzz and tagging @passingdaisies in the tweet. 

2.  Follow Passing Daisies on GFC or subscribe via email (new subscribers and followers only)

3. Tell me what mix-ins you would put in your peanut butter balls if you made this recipe.

That's it! Giveaway ends May 19th at 8pm EST. Good luck to everyone!

As a member of Peanut Butter & Co.'s Yum Squad, I received two free jars of peanut butter in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

GIVEAWAY: Dark Chocolate Dreams COOKBOOK!

Hey friends! Today we have something extra special for you! 

I was recently contacted by Adam from Peanut Butter & Co. about joining their Yum Squad. Um, absolutely, I want to join the Yum Squad! I have been fans of PB & Co. for a LONG time, and they make my all time favorite peanut butter - White Chocolate Wonderful! It tastes like a spoonful of heaven (or nutter butters). 

As a part of the Yum Squad, I was sent a copy of their new cookbook, 31 Days of Dark Chocolate Dreams, and a 28oz jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter to test recipes from the book. Pretty sweet (literally).

I got cooking right away, and made three recipes from the book. I made the pear tart, cake pops, and trail mix bars. I apologize in advance - I was a little pressed for time when I took the pictures!

Cake pops

Pear Tart

Trail Mix Bars - with extra PB drizzled on top!

All of the recipes were successful and very delicious! I have been eating a lot of the trail mix bars for breakfast recently, and the pear tart resembled a fudgy brownie with a crust. 

One lucky person has the chance to win a copy of the cookbook AND a 28 oz. jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter - just like the package I received!  Here's how to win. Each entry is a SEPARATE entry, so leave a SEPARATE comment below for each entry! 

PB & CO. COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

WAYS TO WIN

1. Tweet about this giveaway, and tag both @passingdaisies and @PeanutButterCo.

2. Pin this post on Pinterest (just mouse over an image and click the "Pin It" button!).

3. Follow Passing Daisies on Google Friend Connect or subscribe to our email list (new subscribers only!)

4. Comment below and tell me what flavor of PB & Co. peanut butter you'd want to try.

Giveaway ends FEBRUARY 27TH at 530PM. GET ENTERING! :)

21 Days of Giveaways: Peanut Butter & Co.

First thing's first - congratulations to the winner of 12 free bottle coupons from Honest Tea - Laura @ LaurafromOhio. You rock! Email me your address so I can get those coupons mailed out to you!

Today's giveaway comes from one of my favorite nut butter companies - Peanut Butter & Co. You can never go wrong with peanut butter (unless you're allergic...which would stink. I'm sorry! Come back tomorrow!). 

The thing I love about this company is all their crazy flavors of peanut butter, like dark chocolate, cinnamon raisin, and maple - they even have a spicy peanut butter! Woah! Today is all about my very favorite flavor, however... the White Chocolate Wonderful. 

No joke - this peanut butter tastes exactly like a Nutter Butter, but without all the hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Not to mention it is pure bliss on a spoon. I think I literally did eat it on a spoon most of the time, actually...

Anyways, one lucky winner will win a jar of White Chocolate Wonderful, shipped to them straight from Peanut Butter & Co. themselves. How awesome is that?

Here's how to enter for your chance to win...just a leave a separate comment below for each entry. Thanks!

MANDATORY: Follow Passing Daisies and Peanut Butter & Co. on Twitter and tweet the following: "I just entered to win PB from @PeanutButterCo on PassingDaisies.net. You should enter too! http://bit.ly/nQkq1N #21daysofgiveaways"

Want more chances to win? Who doesn't? Here are more ways to enter: 

1. Subscribe to Passing Daisies. If you subscribe, you get three extra entries!

2. Tell me something you would like to see more of on Passing Daisies. Recipes? Reviews? Workouts? Anything?

3. Be creative and write me a snazzy poem or song for my birthday. Bonus points if you make a YouTube video and sing it to me! :) I will feature your songs/poems on the blog if you do this! 

4. Follow me on Blogger.

5. Pin this post on Pinterest and mention PassingDaisies.net in the description.

THIS GIVEAWAY ENDS TONIGHT AT 11:59 EST.

That's it! Side note - don't forget to like us on our newly updated Facebook, if you don't already. Thanks kiddos and good luck! The winner will be posted tomorrow morning, along with the next giveaway!

Much love,