FROSTED PEANUT BUTTER CHIP SQUARES

FROSTED PEANUT BUTTER CHIP SQUARES

These are delightful at room temperature and great cold as well. They have slightly crunchy edges like you would expect when baking with sugar. Sometimes squares are even nicer than cookies because they are so very easy to prepare - no fuss or bother! Our lives are busy and few of us have time to fuss these days. If you have friends coming over and you have a dozen other things to do, it's great if dessert can be simple and quick. Talking about that I have friends coming over for supper tonight. They are vegetarians, but I think they eat fish (does that make them pescaterians?), however, to be on the safe side I'll have plenty of veggie dishes and rice (they are not low-carbers) as well. I made a white chocolate cheesecake with strawberry sauce and I have these squares and some chocolate chip blondies. I'm all set! It is rainy and cool on our mountain today again (been this way for a week now and it is our dry season!). It's hard to believe that one gets such wintry weather in the tropics, however, it is very refreshing as the lowlands are almost always hot and humid. I like to feel cozy at times too and cuddle up under a comforter at night or reach for a sweater during the day. This morning I started my day with a square and a cup of hot tea. Aaah, bliss! :-) I wish I always had something sweet in the house, but I try to pace myself. The neat thing with low-carbing is that our desserts typically can be eaten while dieting, but I would never suggest eating dessert every single day, unless you have a particularly easy time of losing weight or if you run or walk several miles a day (Ha! not for this older gal!). The reason is sweet treats may still call our name and encourage us to eat more calories as a result. So keep desserts for once a week or a couple of times a month. How great though that we can still have our low-carb cake and eat it too!

These are like cookie bars. The dough is dense and delicious. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. I would be inclined to line the baking dish with parchment paper for easier removal. You can use natural peanut butter in this recipe. You can make it a peanut butter frosting by adding some peanut butter to the frosting for these peanut butter bars. I hope you will try these bars with peanut butter flavor. Usually quick oats or old fashioned oats are included in this sort of recipe, but that is way too carby. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate.

NOTE: Lately I'm using less gelatin to produce lighter baked goods - see the update to my bake mix using gelatin.

RECIPE TO BE FOUND IN VOLUME 4 OF LOW-CARBING AMONG FRIENDS

INGREDIENTS:

1¹/₄cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, OR (300 mL)

Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR 1 1/2 cups Keto Bake Mix (375 mL)

1 tsp baking powder (5 mL)

¹/₄tsp salt (1 mL)

2 eggs

¹/₂cup creamy peanut butter (125 mL)

¹/₃cup butter, softened (75 mL)

Liquid sweetener to equal 3/4 cup sugar (175 mL)

¹/₄cup allulose, OR allulose blend (60 mL)

1 tsp unflavored gelatin (5 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (250 mL)

Better than Betty Frosting (recipe below)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, OR Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR Keto Bake Mix, baking powder and salt.

In food processor, process eggs. Add peanut butter, butter, liquid sweetener, OR granular sweetener equivalent, erythritol, gelatin and vanilla extract. Process 2 minutes. Let it rest 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Add dry ingredients and process until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread evenly in greased 8-inch (20 cm) square cake pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until turning brown at the edges and cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool and frost with Better than Betty Frosting. Cut into squares.

Yield: 25 squares

1 square with/without frost.

132.5/113.7 calories

3.1/2.8 g protein

10.5/8.8 g fat

2.8/2.3 g net carbs

BETTER THAN BETTY FROSTING

This frosting is reminiscent of Betty Crocker^® Frosting, but I think it is nicer.

3 tbsp butter, melted (45 mL)

2 tbsp sugar-free pancake syrup (30 mL)

Liquid sweetener to equal ¹/₂ cup sugar (125 mL)

¹/₄cup allulose (60 mL)

¹/₄cup whole milk powder* (60 mL)

¹/₂ tsp cornstarch (2 mL)

In blender, combine butter, sugar-free pancake syrup, liquid sweetener, OR granular sweetener equivalent, powdered erythritol, whole milk powder and cornstarch. Blend until smooth. If it is too thick, add a tsp (5 mL) of water at a time and blend again. If the frosting is too soft, let it sit for half an hour and it will thicken up.

Helpful Hint: Use skim milk powder if you can't find whole milk powder, but blend it finely in a blender first. You can also use heavy cream powder now available on Amazon or coconut milk powder.

Yield: 1 batch (I usually double the recipe as I'm naughty that way!)

1 batch

469.2 calories

8.8 g protein

43.1 g fat

13.5 g net carbs

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