Lightened Up Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Today is Chocolate Day so I've brought you some of these Lightened Up Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Bites. When I first saw Lark's Country Heart 's recipe for 3 Ingredient Brownies, I couldn't wait to try them. Boxed brownie mix + applesauce + pumpkin puree=Simple! As I started out to make them, I thought I had purchased pumpkin puree, but no such luck. So I went searching for other things to add and came up with peanut butter instead. LOVE these! Decadent without all of the added calories, what could be better than that?!  

Lightened Up Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Bites
Inspired by Larks Country Heart
1 pkg. Betty Crocker Triple Chunk Brownie Mix
1/3 c. Liquid Egg Whites
4oz. Unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 c. Creamy Peanut Butter
Cooking Spray

Directions:
1. In a bowl, add your brownie mix, egg whites, applesauce and peanut butter and mix well. 
2. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and add the batter to each cup, filling 3/4 of the way to the top. 
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes; let cool. Makes 4 dz. 

*Nutritional Information per Brownie: Calories 59, Carbs 10.1g, Fat 2g, Protein 1g, Fiber .5g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bombs

Remember how I said I don't make desserts often? Well, the last few weeks have been extremely hectic and stressful around here and I threw ALL notions of eating healthy out of the window. I know. It's the WORSE thing you can do, and trust me, I'm paying for it now. But I was craving peanut butter so badly and wanted a peanut butter cup and of course, I don't keep those in the house. I remembered seeing a recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts from Flour Me With Love back in February that sounded pretty easy to make and were adorable to boot! I found the recipe I had printed out and changed a few things (mainly the amount of sugar and used chunky peanut butter instead of creamy). 

I have to say, I had two of these and they were TO DIE FOR (do you hear the sing-songy tone in my voice?). After my craving was satisfied, I did share the rest of them by taking them to cheering practice and let me tell you, there were some pretty happy little girls that night (and Mom's too!) . The only problem was that they were all gone and when hubby came home from his business trip and I told him about them, he was very upset that I didn't save him any. (OOPS..don't want to deny a man peanut butter and chocolat who has just arrived home after a week overseas and is jetlagged!). So being the good wife that I am (heehee), I proceeded to make another batch of them at 10:30pm on a Friday night just for him. Sorry the picture isn't the greatest, it was hard prying them away from the kids long enough to get any shot of them at all! 

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bombs 
(adapted from Flour Me with Love)
2 tbsp. Salted Butter, melted
1 c. Peanut Butter (I used Skippy Chunky)
2 c. Confectioners Sugar
2 tbsp. Milk
6 oz. Dark Chocolate, melted (I used Dove Chocolate Discoveries)

Directions:
1. Add the butter, peanut butter, sugar and milk to a bowl and mix well until blended and crumbly. (I used my kitchen aid mixer)
2. Form into 1" round balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. 
3. Freeze the balls for at least 30 minutes. 
4. Next, melt your chocolate according to package directions. If it seems a little thick, add a drop or two of oil to help thin it out. 
5. Remove the peanut butter balls from the freezer and dip each one into the melted chocolate. 
6. Place them back onto the baking sheet until the chocolate has hardened. Makes 2 1/2-3 dozen. 

*Tastes best when stored in an airtight container in the freezer. 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Did you ever have one of those days (who are we kidding...weeks, months, years!) where you just can't handle the stress of other people putting demands on you and your personal time so you bake...I like to call it "stress baking". Well it's been a little stressful around here since I've come back from vacation. You see, I'm the ultimate planner, list writer, and schedule keeper. I hate to be late and I hate it even more when I make plans that I have to keep canceling or changing because Joe Blow from So and So company can only come on THAT particular day/time. Well isn't that convenient for you...hello, my name is CUSTOMER! Ok, I think I'm done ranting now.