My Chocolate Fantasy

Who doesn’t have a sweet tooth from time to time?  Sometimes we just crave something sweet and it is usually at a time when we don’t have a lot of time for baking.  Here are a couple of recipes to the rescue.  Both are easy enough for beginners to make, they are tasty, and they are economical.  Peanut Butter Caramel Bars start with a cake mix, how easy is that!  And Ten Minute Fudge proves that making candy doesn’t have to be complicated.

PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL BARS

1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) yellow cake mix1/2 cup butter, softened1 egg20 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped2 tbsps cornstarch1 jar (12 1/4 oz) caramel ice cream topping1/4 cup peanut butter1/2 cup salted nutsTOPPING:1 can (16 oz) milk chocolate frosting1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine the dry cake mix, butter and egg; beat until no longer crumbly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter cups. Press into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine cornstarch, caramel topping, and peanut butter until smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil, about 25 minutes. Cook and stir one to two minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanuts. Spread evenly over the warm crust. Bake 6 to 7 minutes longer or until almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Spread with frosting and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

TEN MINUTE FUDGE

3 cups (18 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate, if you prefer)1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milkdash of salt1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, optional1 1/2 tsps vanilla extractIn a heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the milk and salt. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, if desired. Stir in the vanilla. Spread evenly into a waxed paper lined square pan. Chill two hours or until firm. Turn out onto a cutting board, remove the waxed papper and cut into squares. Store covered in the refrigerator.Variation: You can make Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Fudge by replacing the nuts with 3/4 cup peanut butter chips.

Enjoy these sweet treats and eat some for me.  Now that I am diabetic, I am trying to wean myself off these wonderful sweets.

Reese’s Peanut butter chocolate was first manufactured in America in the 1920s when H. B. Reese’s Candy Company introduced a specially processed peanut butter filling with Hershey’s chocolate. The peanut butter cups were the first to be produced, a popular item that has now grown to become a well-known and loved confectionary product enjoyed by people across the globe.

The Reese’s name has a unique heritage. Harry Burnett Reese was born in 1879 on a farm in Frosty Hill, Pensylvania. He was a former dairy employee working for Milton S. Hershey, founder of the Hershey’s Food Corporation. Inspired by Hershey’s success, H. B. Reese left the dairy started his own confectionery business.

Although H. B. Reese’s decision led to the introduction of a now world-famous product that still represents something unique in the candy industry, he experienced much adversity before building a company that thrived on a single product – his peanut butter blend.

1879 H. B. Reese is born in Frosty Hill. Pennsylvania 1917 H. B. Reese moves to Hershey, Pennsylvania Early 1920s Reese introduces Johnny Bars (caramel-like molasses) and Lizzie Bars (Coconut Candy) with some success Mid 1920s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups introduced and sold in bulk for use in chocolate assortments Mid 1930s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold individually for a penny a piece to the assortment line 1939 – 1945 H. B. Reese discontinued other Reese’s lines to concentrate on peanut butter cups 1940s & 1950s Reese’s Cups gains distribution through wholesalers, vending machine operators and syndicated stores 1957 100,000 sq. ft. Reese’s factory built in Hershey, PA 1963 Hershey purchases H. B. Reese Candy Company 2004 D&D Snacks selected as distributor to Hershey’s Reese’s in the United Kingdom selling Reese’s Cups and Nutrageous into all major UK trade and retail outlets 2008 Reese’s Pieces introduced to the United Kingdom with great success

H. B. Reese was not very fond of farming when he was young, in spite of his family heritage. As a youth, he took a variety of jobs including a country butcher and oil burner selling before moving to the town of Hershey in 1917.

He started working at the dairy owned by Milton S. Hershey. Here Reese became inspired by Hershey’s confectionery range and decided to enter the market himself.

After a short time he left the dairy, moving to Hummelstown and Palmyra, where he started a number of new ventures. He enjoyed some success with Johnny Bars and Lizzie Bars, but eventually moved back to Hershey, living just a few blocks from the Hershey’s manufacturing facility.

Reese sold his peanut butter cups in bulk in the mid 1920s, selling them to the trade in five-pound boxes for use in chocolate assortment boxes. By the mid 1930s, Reese Cups were being sold individually for a penny a piece to the assortment line.

During World War II conditions prompted Reese to discontinue other lines in favour of peanut butter cups, supported by consumer advertising.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s Reese’s distributed their peanut butter chocolate lines to wholesalers, vending machine operators and syndicated stores. During this time the peanut butter cups gained in popularity across the United States supported in part by their highly recognisable orange and yellow packaging.

The success of Reese’s in the post-war period meant they required a much larger manufacturing facility by the mid 1950s. Reese acquired a tract of land on the western edge of Hershey where they built a state-of-the-art fully automated 100,000 square-foot manufacturing facility. The factory, located on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania, opened in August 1957.

Six years later, in 1963, the Hershey Chocolate Company, which was formerly known as the Hershey Food Company, bought it’s neighbour, H.B. Reese’s Candy Company for $23.5 million.

Hershey’s Reese’s peanut butter chocolate is distributed in the United Kingdom by D&D Snacks UK Ltd. They won the import and distribution contract in 2004 selling Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Reese’s Nutrageous bars into all major trade and retail outlets.

Reese’s Pieces was introduced to the UK in 2008. The product has quickly grown to become a consumer favourite and Reese’s Cups, Nutrageous and Pieces now have a growing consumer fan-base in the United Kingdom.

I have always loved the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. I used to love the commercials of the kids running into each other, one child with the Hershey chocolate bar, and the other child with a jar of peanut butter.

The first time I tried these cookies, I was hooked. The recipe is a very simple peanut butter dough, with a Hershey’s kiss in the middle:

1 cup butter2/3 cup creamy peanut butter1 cup white sugar1 cup brown sugar2 eggs2 teaspoons vanilla2 2/3 cups flour2 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar in a bowl for rollingChocolate Kisses

Combine butter, peanut butter and sugars; blend until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; blend. Mix flour, salt and soda, add to cream mixture; stir well. Roll dough into quarter size balls. Roll ball in bowl of sugar. Bake dough at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Immediately place chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Bake an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.

You can add food coloring to the dough to create any color you’d like. We have made these cookies in red, green and blue. You can also divide the batter and make multiple colors for one batch of cookies.

Experiment with the many flavors of Hershey’s kisses. They make a kiss that has peanut butter right in the middle. These are a wonderful addition to the peanut butter cookie. Hershey’s also makes kisses with nuts in the middle. This is a fun kiss to put in the middle of the cookies. If you make a red dough, try the chocolate kisses that are part white and part brown.

We have also added peanut M&M’s in the middle, instead of Hershey’s Kisses. Follow the same recipe adding the M&M’s at the very end and baking 2 additional minutes.

If you find the cookies a little sweet for your taste, cut out some of the brown sugar. Try cutting the brown sugar down to 3/4 of a cup.