peanut butter chocolate cups

These peanut butter cups were made last week ago or so when I was jonesin' bad for a treat. The recipe is with mailorder #8 (over on the sidebar there to the left) and unfortunately uses ingredients that I have all the time and requires no cooking (well, melting chocolate) so, it's bad news. I wanted to make them smaller—so I busted out the mini-muffin tins.

I think I like them this way better than in the bar shape.

Unrelated, I am researching pressure cookers and pressure cooker cookbooks and information about cooking beans in pressure cookers and pressure cooker/canning type things. I have a stack of books in hold at the library right now. Excitement!

Comments

[sizzle]

I want one. Right now! :)

[Alissia]

First of all, I am very jealous you are getting a pressure cooker. Secondly, I don't know if you watch Food Network at all, but Alton Brown from Good Eats has a book on kitchen gear he recommends. It's called Gear For Your Kitchen. We LOVE AB because of the awesome science-y explanations he gives in layman's terms (not to mention the great food). My husband and I are dying to get the book, but we know we'd be setting ourselves up to want to buy everything in it. If anything, it might be something to check out at the library or the local bookstore.

[Cristina]

I love my Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker. Steel cut oats in ten minutes, no soaking, no kidding!

[tanaya]

Oh my gosh, be careful! I remember being about 6 years old and running into the kitchen after I heard an explosion and a scream.

My mom was making split pea soup in a pressure cooker.

I'm sure that you can imagine the cleanup that ensued afterwards. I swear, we were finding tiny dried green bits for the next 3 years.

[Kim]

Seriously?!?! First Key Lime bars, and now this??? You're going to make me FAT lady!!! I love it. those look amazing. When my husband gives me a hard time about it, I'll tell him it's all your fault ;)

[Amy]

those look alot like these...
http://myzoebug.blogspot.com/2007/12/peanut-butter-squares.html
if they are anything like them....yuuuuuuuuuuuuum!

[Alisha]

When I read that you were researching pressure cookers I thought, wow, that's so weird because I just started researching pressure cookers a day or two ago. Then I remembered that I started looking into them after reading a comment on your blog about cooking beans with a pressure cooker. Haha. I guess it's not so weird after all.

[Melissa H]

so, speaking of beans (sort of anyway), I had bought a bag of black beans a while ago based on your last bean post and this weekend finally cooked them with surprisingly excellent results. I used a crockpot and tossed in most of a big bag of black beans, one chopped onion, a few smashed garlic cloves, about 2 tsp salt and 6-8 cups water, and put it on high for 5ish hours. They were just perfect for burritos and I've got lots in the freezer. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration!!

[christie]

I love love love my pressure cooker. I got one with 2 sized pots and one lid, and that is a great, not to be overlooked feature. Did you put Lorna Sass on hold? My favorite is Pressure Perfect.

[Natasha]

I am a loooooooooooooooong time lurker but when I saw you were contemplating one of my favorite things in the world I felt compelled to comment. I Love love love my Pressure cooker. My MIL gave it to me shortly after the wedding (that was some time ago). Mine is actually circa 1960 or so and very heavy duty but I love it. You can go from frozen to finished in no time. I can do a roast to a fork tender state in less then an hour. You are going to love it. This is not to say I don't fight the urge to leave the room when the familiar swoosh swoosh starts, I do I just do it causually and with an air of confidence.:)

[Leslie]

I love the oldy but goody, Stocking Up. It's a book all about "putting up" food. It's my bible in the summer! Good luck!

[Leslie]

I love the oldy but goody, Stocking Up. It's a book all about "putting up" food. It's my bible in the summer! Good luck!

[Rachel]

I have a pressure cooker that a good friend brought back to the States for me from Morocco. It is definitely an old-school one, but I've had no bad experiences (i.e., explosions) in the year and a half that I've been using it. I just make sure to put enough liquid in when I'm using it, and to let the pressure escape through the release valve for a good 5 minutes before opening it fully.

[therisa]

i love peanut butter and chocolate. it's like a piece of heaven...oh, right, all things chocolate is a piece of heaven! i love my pressure cooker, but it scares the dickens out of me. i got a wmf pressure cooker and highly recommend it. as for a book i bought, don't tell my husband, lorna sass's pressure perfect. cheesecake made in a pressure cooker? can it get any better?

[Emily]

Pressure cooker! Pressure cooker! Mark Bittman's _How to Cook Everything_ got me to cook dried beans in a pressure cooker, and there is no way you could convince me to cook them the long way ever again. Also, he has a nice tip about how you should cool the lid under cold running water before you release the pressure - helps the pot release the pressure much more quickly so you don't have to let it steam off for a long time before opening.

That said, as a vegetarian I don't think I've ever actually used the pressure cooker for anything else...

[Amy]

I second the Kuhn Rikon - it is wonderful! We use it all the time for beans.

[Sue]

Let us know what the pressure cooker results are. I've been curious about one that has a plug instead of sitting on the stove. Yay beans!

[kelli]

Kuhn Rikon Pressure Cooker + Lorna Sass = LOVE

[beth]

Kuhn-Rikon 8L pressure cooker. Most favorite thing in my kitchen-- EVER. Beans-brilliant, but more brilliant Risotto (6 min-no stirring, no kidding). Polenta also may be as brilliant (again-no stirring, so awesome). Lorna Sass is the superhero of pressure cookers. Although big bucks, totally worth it as I use mine several times a week and have for the past 5 years.

[Mike]

I'm all about beans, but I've heard that beans + pressure cooker = trouble. I'm sure there's a safe way to cook them. And I *know* you'll figure it out.

[Collette]

Ooh, I have a Kuhn Rikon too. My husband's firm has some case about seals or something and had about 6 pressure cookers so we got the best one free. (Yay free!) I love it. Especially since I tried it with beans after reading about yours. No soaking, 20 minutes under pressure, 20 minutes on the stove. Same time it takes to make brown rice. Rice and beans, yum! (Have you tried Rancho Gordo beans? I can't remember. Who knew fresher beans would make such a huge difference.)

[shelle]

I have had a fagor pressure cooker for years and love it. It does reduce cooking time but my new rice cooker (fuzzy logic) does a better job. I like the way it cooks brown rice, steams and slow cooks and cooks beans. The rice cooker stops itself when it runs out of water, keeps food warm so just turn it on and forget about it. (both purchased at williams and sonoma so if you don't like it at any time it is returnable to a store-even years later!)

[Alice]

And pressure cookers are great for making shiori style organza scarves - two for one sounds good too me!

[Alice]

SHIBORI that is

[silver]

@tanaya,
Modern pressure cookers have safety mechanisms that prevent explosions.

I just made beans for the first time in my pressure cooker this weekend. Dry to cooked in 30 minutes. I was amazed!

And cheesecake in a pressure cooker is divine. The hot, moist heat is great for cooking cheesecake--no cracking!

[melissa Crowe]

I hope you will forgive this potential breach of craft blog etiquette if I say that I think the photos of those peanut butter / chocolate beauties sent me into simultaneous fits of diabetes and near-sexual desire. I wondered if I stared long enough if I could intuit the recipe instead of having to order and wait for it. Then I wondered how many I could eat (having ordered and waited) before throwing up or stroking out. It all comes down to this: YUM.

I need them now. Now. (PMS? I think so.)

[Holly]

One word.... YUMMMMMMM!!!! I so want one of those right now... any kind of peanut butter-y chocolate stuff, I am THERE. :) Might have to whip those up soon! Love your blog!!!

[Toña]

My husband got me a pressure cooker for Christmas. At first I thought, "not very romantic honey", but after using it A LOT these past four months, I must say it is one of the best gifts he's ever given me. I do black beans often - I throw in a piece of kombu and a whole onion. After they are done I take out the onion and use it in a stock for a yummy soup.

[Toña]

My husband got me a pressure cooker for Christmas. At first I thought, "not very romantic honey", but after using it A LOT these past four months, I must say it is one of the best gifts he's ever given me. I do black beans often - I throw in a piece of kombu and a whole onion. After they are done I take out the onion and use it in a stock for a yummy soup.

[Linnea]

Oh my...those peanutbutter cups look so deliciously wonderful!!!! Mmmmmmm :o) I have never used a pressure cooker... my mom used to make pinto beans in the pressure cooker, though... good luck with your research. It's always fun picking up a new stack of books at the library!!

[greeblygreebly]

Put a bit of oil in the cooking water when you cook beans in a pressure cooker to prevent foaming (which is what causes old-school pressure cookers to blow up occationally when cooking beans.) Oh man I miss my pressure cooker (I got it on clearance and they stopped making the rubber gaskets for it, once my gasket wore out the cooker was no good.) It was THE BEST way to cook beans they were so fast the the texture was silky and perfect.

[the pesky bombolino]

I had to look up jonesin in the urban dictionary, this is one of the examples it gives for it's use:
'BIIIIIAAAAAAATCH, i bin jonesing fo yo tite asss all monin, so ya bes' paid dat mudda pukka fo all tree rox dis time'
Thanks for the education!!!

[jesica]

I am curious if there is a safe pressure cooker to use around kids as I have heard way to many stories of them exploding. Please report back if you discover one. I would love to use one but am a bit wary due to the safety factor.

[Stephanie]

I have a Fagor too and love love love it. I've been thinking about doing beans in there too but have yet to get around to it. Let us know how it goes.

[coffeechris]

You go girl! After your post yesterday, I so wanted to research pressure cookers, then I thought mmmm maybe I'll leave a comment and "The Chicken" will. You must have received my thoughts through space, as I forgot to leave the comment - read the post today and here you are a researching! Thanks -- I will so look forward to your feedback. Love your blog, your writing and spirit of going for it!

[Heather]

Yeah, yeah, pressure cooker info! I just posted something on my own blog about needing to learn to use mine! You rock. I am terrified of blowing a hole in my ceiling, but I am so interested in cooking beans well and quick. I can't wait to hear what you found out! (Note: my mother gave me a gorgeous vintage one that she scored on ebay for a steal.)

[jam]

Please don't cook beans in the pressure cooker. The skins come off and can plug up the steam hole.
Although I have a pressure cooker it scares me to death. I never use it as a pressure cooker any more, but the nice heavy pot is great for all kinds of cooking w/o the cover fastened.

[ames]

you are a woman after my own heart :)

[jules]

I know that Jacque Pepin loves using the pressure cooker and has great recipes for that. He has PBS cooking shows "fast food my way". I love his recipes, you should check them out!

[susan]

my mom used a pressure cooker all the time...i remember the stew on the ceiling...that was quite an event and pretty scarry. i like the fist fist fist it makes as the little thingy on top of the release valve moves...i am totally into live steam locomotives...i guess the only issue is making sure there is plenty of room in the pot so the port doesnt get clogged or else some really law of physics takes over. i mean its okay if you are showing your kids a science project...i dont know, maybe they have improved the design so they dont blow the lid off now. my dh uses a slow cooker...maybe i will have to check out pressure cookers. i never know if i am going to see cloth or food...but the food is always interesting.

[susaninfrance]

just bought a great one, along with a great p.c. cookbook. Fagor in a buy one get one free deal on Amazon or a package deal of sorts, you get a large one and a smaller one (the lid fits both) and several extras, including a glass top for when you want to use it normally--it's been great!

[Liz]

YUM! unfortunately, i have all those ingredients too so i guess i'll just have to make them. :)

[Heather]

I have a pressure cooker, but for beans, the crockpot is the best (well, for me) Throw a pound of beans in (no soaking required), (I use 1/2#black and 1/2# pinto) some garlic, cumin, and a chopped onion. Add 6-8 cups of water and cook on high for about 6 hours.
Good luck!

[norissa]

I had to comment because I love my pressure cooker, too. I got mine as a poor grad student four years ago anticipating cooking lots of beans. Just made the best pot of pintos yesterday: added in leeks, mild chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper after they were done and simmered about 20 minutes more. I've started freezing beans since I saw your blog on it. Also, the pressure cooker is wonderful for fresh steamed artichokes, our fave.

[laura]

Somehow the mini muffin shape makes the whole thing seem more "treaty" than a bar!

I have limited pressure cooker experience...but when I was a kid, my mom was cooking beans and the lids blew off and beans were all over the galley of our boat...in all the nooks and crannies you can imagine...what a mess! My brother and I were enlisted to help find every single one. :)

[Marissa]

oh those look so delicious...I wish I had more room in my kitchen for new fun toys, so jealous

[amybpardo]

I get excited when I have a stack of books on hold at the library! It is like Christmas to me! I currently have the book that you talked about- the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I love it and might have to buy it! I also might have to buy it for a present for a friend because she liked it soooo much!

I love your blog. Thanks!

[Nevis]

Woot! Those look SOOOO delicious!

[Dyan]

Cupcakes look yummy and gooey and yummy. I have a pressure cooker but I don't use it too much, I think I'm afraid of the little thingie on the top popping off, but they're really good at getting your stuff tender. For beans I ususally just soak them overnight and cook them in a pot...super slowly so they're tender but not falling apart.

[katie]

cool...i grew up with pressure cooked meals. my mom used to show all of her girlfriends how to use it....i'm still afraid! i'm pretty sure that after you go 'representin' the pc, i'll want one too!