Chocolate Rolls with Peanut Butter Glaze

Cinnamon rolls have always been one of my favorite sweet treats.  I could eat them every day.  And as a bonus, I can eat them for breakfast, I can eat them as a side dish with a bowl of chili, and I can eat them as a dessert.  They are basically socially acceptable to eat anytime, anywhere!

I have a great standard cinnamon roll recipe that I love.  It is so good and really easy to make.  But I am never satisfied with making the same thing over and over.  So I have been experimenting with different fillings, different icings, etc.  And while I have been working on these cinnamon rolls, I had an amazing idea.  What if instead of using cinnamon in the filling, I used cocoa powder?  It seemed just crazy enough to be awesome.  So I whipped up a few more batches of cinnamon roll dough in the name of experimenting (shucks!) and tried my hand at making chocolate rolls.  And I have a winner!

Hot Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal

This post is going to be short and sweet.  That's because this is one of the easiest recipes I have ever, and will ever, post.  Oatmeal is one of my go-to breakfasts when I eat at home during the week.  Usually I make it with skim milk, ground flax seed, and cinnamon.  Sometimes I don't have milk around (gasp!).  In that case, I use powdered milk.  I have been drinking hot chocolate in the evenings lately.  That has powdered milk in it.  Last night, it occurred to me that it might be really awesome to use hot chocolate mix to make oatmeal.  

So this morning, I tried it out.  And it was every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be!  Yummy, chocolaty, easy, and nutritious!  As I was eating it, I was thinking that I was the most brilliant person to ever live.   I made oatmeal with hot chocolate.  Take that, Einstein. Then I realized that it would be even better with peanut butter.  What's not?  So I took a tablespoon of peanut butter, heated it up in the microwave to thin it out, and stirred in into my remaining oatmeal.  Jackpot!

If you thought you didn't like oatmeal because it is boring, you must try this hot chocolate peanut butter oatmeal.  It is amazing!  And, for chocolate and peanut butter, it is quite healthy.  I used a packet of no-sugar-added hot chocolate mix that had 50 calories.  Add that to 150 calories from oatmeal and 100 calories from peanut butter, and you get 300 calories.  And you get a delicious, satisfying, and filling way to start your day!

Hot Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
8 oz (1 cup) water
1 packet no-sugar-added hot chocolate mix
1 Tbsp peanut butter
Directions:
Stir all ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave 1 minute and 30 seconds.  Stir.  Heat an additional 30 seconds if needed to achieve desired consistency.

Serves 1

Reese's Bars

Dear The Foodie RD followers,
Sadly, the hot weather is back.  Although it's hard to complain too much about 90 degrees when last summer it was over 100 degrees for the whole summer, it is still hot enough that I am back to my oven boycott.  So it's back to good ol' no bake desserts for me.  Oh well.

As much as I love a good chocolate chip cookie hot out of the oven, I have a bunch of yummy no bake dessert recipes that have more than satisfied my sweet tooth.  An added bonus of many of these no bake recipes is that they are are even easier than their baked counterparts.  And this one is definitely falls into this category.  As if it couldn't get better, this recipe copycats that delicious flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter you would find in one of the world's greatest candies, Reese's.

Makeover Monday: Double Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies

Everyone knows I think peanut butter and chocolate are the bee's knees.  The only thing better than peanut butter and chocolate is double peanut butter and chocolate.  Yum!  I had a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips that I bought for the heck of it just lying around my pantry.  I considered just tossing them into a batch of chocolate cookies (like I did with the Reese's Pieces in my Chocolate Reese's Pieces  Cookies).  Then I noticed a recipe for double peanut butter paisley brownies.  That changed my plans!

I had to make these.  But I had to make these my way.  And by my way, I mean with less fat, less sugar, and more fiber.  While these were lacking in calories, they were not lacking in taste!  These were super yummy, and as peanut butter-y as promised in the title!

Makeover Monday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

As it continues to be 100 degrees or more outside every day, my oven continues to be on strike.  And in this time, no bake pies are becoming a good friend of mine.  Not just the kind of friend that you add on Facebook and tolerate obnoxious status updates from.  I'm talking about the kind of friend that takes you out to dinner just because and calls you on your birthday.  I am tight with these summer-friendly pies!  They are very versatile, easy, quick, and most importantly, delicious.  


And my latest no-bake pie creation also has the distinction of being low in fat and sugar.  I would like to introduce you to my new BFF, chocolate peanut butter pie.  Who wouldn't want to befriend a pie with chocolate pudding over a chocolate graham cracker crust and a light peanut buttery cheese cake-ish topping, garnished with peanuts and chocolate syrup?  

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

No-bake cookies are one of my favorite cookies.  Ever.  There is nothing fancy about them, and I'm sure they've been around forever.  But they are just so good I had to include them in my blog.  I have always just called these "no-bake cookies."  But I thought I might make it a little clearer as to what kind of no-bake cookies these are.  Chocolate.  Peanut butter.  I think that says enough about why these are so good!  And don't forget about oatmeal, sugar, and butter!  These are a few of my favorite things.


Another great thing about chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies is that they are incredibly fast and easy to make.  I made these for a coworker over my lunch hour one day.  I mixed it all up in one saucepan, so I had only one dish to clean.  And because they are no-bake, you don't even have to turn on the oven.  That makes them fast, easy, delicious, and eco-friendly!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Every now and then I make a dessert so delicious that I dream about it, long for it, and just want to eat it every day. And I almost regret that I ever made it for fear that it will be the death of my self control. These chocolate sandwich cookies are one of those things. These are chocolate cookies made out of cake mix that are used to make a sandwich with some cream cheese frosting. And they are amazing!

They are similar in concept to an Oreo cookie, but about 1,000 times more delicious. They are what Oreos wish they tasted like. My mama spoiled me with too many yummy homemade cookies for me to ever really enjoy store-bought cookies so I have never been a huge fan of Oreos. But these homemade chocolate sandwich cookies (mostly homemade anyway!) are right up my alley.

Makeover Monday: Low Fat Silky Chocolate Pie

I've featured a few "secret ingredient" recipes on Makeover Monday so far.  I started with using pumpkin to boost the creaminess in my Skinny Potato Soup, and I also lightened up mashed potatoes by swapping some of the spuds for cauliflower in my Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  Today I'm doing dessert.  Chocolate pie without the guilt?  Yes please!

This was not my idea.  I found this recipe (and a whole bunch more I really, really want to try!) in an issue of Diabetic Living magazine that featured diabetes-friendly chocolate dessert.  When I saw this issue I felt like I had won the lottery!  I now have quite the arsenal of better-for-me, sweet-tooth-satisfying desserts that are tested and proven, and I didn't even have to pull a brain muscle coming up with them.  And they're all chocolatey.  I guess good things do happen to good people!

Health Tips: How To Make a Lowfat Fudge-Like Chocolate Cake!

Disclaimer: I did not make or decorate this lovely cake!

This week I have been enjoying this beautiful chocolate cake a coworker made for me.  And I am enjoying it even more now that I know her secret for a low fat cake that has a nice dense texture!  She made a chocolate cake from a box mix and used applesauce instead of oil.  And while it was hot out of the oven she placed cardboard over it and gently pressed down to compress it. 

It has a great chocolate flavor and a bit of a fudge-like texture.  This cake was so good I never would have guessed it was low fat!  I thought it was a great trick I should share with you all.  What a great looking cake!

Thanks Kathy!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Romeo and Juliet.  Cleopatra and Mark Anthony.  Pocahontas and John Smith.  Bella and Edward.  Lady and the Tramp.  All classic couples (although the last one seems kind of mean).  As we approach Valentine's Day I think it is about time we acknowledge the world's greatest couple--chocolate and peanut butter.  I am definitely glad these two found each other so long ago.  To say I am a fan of the combo is an understatement!

Peanut butter cookies have always been one of my favorite cookies.  When I added chocolate to the equation in these cookies, it jetted up even higher on my list!  Double chocolate peanut butter cookies are like peanut butter cookies with cocoa powder added to the other dry ingredients and chocolate chips stirred in.  And just for good measure, peanuts joined the fun as well.  It is chocolate and peanut butter bliss!  

Chocolate Waffles (Two Ways!)

Well folks, I've done it again.  Chocolate for breakfast.  Isn't that the dream?  And what better way to start your Valentine's Day than with some chocolate waffles?  Trust me, the way to a man's heart is chocolate.  And waffles.  Hence, chocolate waffles!

The Belgian waffle maker I got for Christmas came with a few recipes.  I hadn't tried any of them yet, but I had my eye on a chocolate waffle recipe.  It's brilliant.  They suggested serving it as a dessert with ice cream.  I wanted it for breakfast.  So I used whole wheat and Splenda to make myself feel better about having chocolate for breakfast.

Now that I had decided I was going to make chocolate waffles for breakfast happen, I had some serious decisions to make.  What was I going to use as my topping?  I sometimes have donuts for breakfast.  I sometimes have coffee cake for breakfast.  But ice cream seemed like going a little too far.  I thought that for Valentine's Day, whipped topping and strawberries with strawberry syrup would be great.  But at the same time, peanut butter is chocolate's true valentine.  I remembered the peanut butter glaze I used on my Elvis cake and thought a thinned out version of that would be amazing on a chocolate waffle.  

Makeover Monday: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

There is something about chocolate covered strawberries that just screams romance.  Or maybe, whispers it seductively in your ear.  They would be the perfect end to a delicious Valentine's Day dinner.  Except that it's February and strawberries are a few months from being in season.  I'm not even sure my little small town grocery store has fresh strawberries right now!  If I could find them, I bet I wouldn't like them. 

So when I saw a recipe for strawberry cake in a summer issue of Cook's Country that called for frozen strawberries I thought it would actually be perfect for winter.  Frozen strawberries are fresh year round!  However, I'm still trying to be a good girl and eat fewer calories from fat and sugar.  The cup and a half of butter (132 grams of fat) and 1 3/4 cups of sugar weren't jiving with that resolution.  But I knew I had to have this cake.  I remembered I successfully substituted margarine for butter in the cranberry upside down cake I made last fall.  So I used it again, which cut out half the fat.  And I used my favorite sugar stand in, Splenda, instead of the sugar.