Showing posts with label Nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nostalgia. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The Peanut Butter Cup


The Reese Peanut Butter Cup has always been one of my favourite chocolate treats. Although not overly refined or sophisticated in its makeup - little scalloped chocolate cups of sweet and salty peanut butter - the humble peanut butter cup packs a mighty flavourful punch. I recall fondly those days of my childhood when my siblings and I would dress up in Hallowe'en costumes (I still remember the time I went as The Unknown Comic from The Gong Show in a tacky blazer and a paper bag on my head!) to go trick or treating around our neighbourhood. Back in the day (the mid to late 70's), the prized chocolate treats for our Hallowe'en loot bags were: 3 Musketeers, Crunchie, Coffee Crisp, Crispy Crunch, and Reese Peanut Butter Cups. Oh the joy on our faces whenever we discovered one of those in our bag.

So, with a craving for a homemade version of one of my favourite treats, I decided to 'pimp my peanut butter cup', and make it into a huge tart. The addition of graham cracker crumbs into the filling give it the distinct peanut butter cup texture, slightly rough, crunchy, yet smooth.


Peanut Butter Cup

1/2 cup Salted Butter
1 3/4 cup Icing Sugar
1 cup Unsalted Peanut Butter, smooth
3/4 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup Salted Butter
1/2 cup chocolate, milk and dark mixed

* Note: If you are using salted peanut butter, you can use unsalted butter. Saltiness is key to making the flavour taste right.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar. Add peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture into 10" tart pan, patting down with your fingers.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt 1/4 cup butter. Add chocolate and stir until incorporated. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Pour over peanut butter layer, spreading with a spatula to cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter or knife. Store in refrigerator.
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Green Comb

There are some things that one tends to hold onto - things that remind one of a simpler time, a gentler time. Such is the power of the green comb. It was something practical that was bought for me by my parents when I was a child, and has been in my keep for over 30 years. The green comb has an elevated place in the hierarchy of my possessions, and has traversed the globe with me on various adventures. With its sleek 70s ergonomic shape (well-suited for being slipped into a back pocket) and vibrant lime green hue, the green comb is both iconic and outlandishly dated. However, my love for this little piece of plastic, this slice of the past, will endure... Read more...

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Time to start again...

It has been far too long... Time has moved at such a speed that I often have to stop to think back on all the things that have happened since 2005. It was at the end of that amazing year that the most incredible little person entered my life - a person who has reshaped my entire being and my outlook on the universe.

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