Peanut Butter Pie

Happy Father's Day to my dad, my father-in-law and my husband.  They are all great fathers and tremendous examples of love, commitment and godly leadership to their families.  I love you all!

My favorite gifts to give to each of them for Father's Day comes from my kitchen - homemade treats for each of them.  One of my dad's favorite is Strawberry Pie, which this is the perfect time of year to indulge in the abundance of sweet strawberries readily available.  My father in law loves my chocolate turtles, so it is a treat when he gets them on Father's Day.  He hides them from the rest of the family and ever so slowly savors them a little at a time to make them last.  He usually drops me some hints when he begins to run a little low!!  For Thomas, I usually like to experiment with a new recipe.  He likes just about everything that I make and doesn't really have a particular favorite when it comes to sweets.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the dentist office flipping through a Southern Living magazine and I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie.  It looked delicious and in this summer heat, I tend to look for recipes that are light and cool and don't require much baking.  This was perfect.  Instead of ripping out the recipe in the magazine (that would be rude, then no one else could see and try this amazing pie!), I came home and looked it up online.  I found the recipe on the Southern Living website.  Here is the recipe link for Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie that you must try.

This pie was just the right amount of peanut butter, with a slight hint of cinnamon in the crust and the perfect consistency.  Drizzle with a little chocolate syrup and a top with a dollop of whipped cream and you are in heaven!  I made a few changes to the original recipe to lighten it calorie wise, but it still was pretty high in calories.  Since tasting it, I have a few more changes to make that will help it out a little without affecting the taste, that I will try next time.

Sharla's recipe changes:

1. I used regular graham cracker crumbs and added 1 tsp of cinnamon
2. I did not use the chopped honey roasted peanuts (which saved a few calories)
3. I used light butter (saving 400 calories) - light butter is usually not a good option in baked goods but it worked great in this recipe.
4. I used milk chocolate chips in place of semisweet chocolate. 
5. I used light cream cheese (saving 240 calories)
6. I left out the bananas, because I didn't want them turning brown and getting mushy before we were able to finish eating the pie.

Slicing this pie into 10 slices, each slice weighed in at 585 calories, plus the whipped topping and chocolate syrup.  Definitely a once in a while treat!  But is was a great treat for Father's Day and Thomas loved it!

A few changes that I will make next time are:

1. Make the crust a little thinner.
2. Leave out the chocolate layer on bottom - I liked the peanut butter filling on it's own
3. Use less whipping cream.  Half and half can be used for some of the cream.

Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake

Last week, I was going through my pantry and noticed I had a couple of bags of Hersheys cinnamon chips that were about to expire.  What a waste if I had to throw them out, so I got on the Hersheys website to see if they had any recipes posted that I could try out using the cinnamon chips.  My go to recipe for the chips is an Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip cookie that is absolutely delicious.  I was not really in the mood to make individual cookies. 

I came across a recipe for Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake.  First of all, it was a bundt cake - their is nothing easier to bake than a bundt cake.  Second, you know it will be moist when there is sour cream in the title. My initial observations turned out to be spot on correct.  The mix was very easy to put together, with minimal mess.  Pour into a bundt pan and pop it in the oven!

This cake was so moist and cinnamon-y delicious.  It tasted like a coffee cake - I didn't even top it with powdered sugar or a glaze.  It was delicious on it's own - especially warm from the oven.

I still have half a bag of cinnamon chips left over that I anticipate using in a new recipe this week (Snickerdoodle blondies).  Stay tuned for that.  :)


Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake
From: Hershey's website
Yield: 16 servings (450 calories per slice)


Ingredients:

• 3 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 oz sour cream (I used light)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 10 oz pkg Hershey's Cinnamon chips

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350 deg.  Generously grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.
2. Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Whisk sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.
3. Add butter and 1 cup sour cream mixture to flour mixture. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined. Beat one more minute on high speed.
4. Add remaining sour cream mixture and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Stir together cinnamon chips and 2 tbsp flour until chips are coated; gently stir into batter.  Pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake 60-70 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes then remove from pan to wire rack to cool.