Peanut Butter & Chocolate Flowers Recipe
Spring always
reminds me of flowers, as I'm sure it does for most people. I know we will be
seeing many more flowers incorporated into desserts and sweet treats starting
over the next few weeks. Lots of pastel colors will probably be making their
way into pictures too, I'm sure they will be beautiful. These little peanut
butter flowers are bite size and perfect for a small tray of sweet treats.
The flavor
combination is the same as the well known buckeyes but presented in a different
way that's perfect for Spring. You can pipe these into any size or shape that
you want to and they could also make a lovely decoration on a cake or cupcakes
that could be premade.
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Flowers
Ingredients:
- - 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- - 4 tablespoons peanut butter
- - ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- - 2 cups powdered sugar
- - 2-3 tablespoons milk
- - 3-4 tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate
Directions:
1. Line a sheet pan with non-stick foil (or use
a Silpat), set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, blend together the butter, peanut
butter, and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until blended together
completely.
2. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and blend on low
until mixed. Add 1 tablespoon of milk then blend again until smooth. Add an
additional cup of powdered sugar and mix, then add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk
until the mixture is smooth and able to be piped through a pastry bag but not
too soft so it won’t hold it’s shape (I used 2 ½ tablespoons total).
3. Transfer the peanut butter mixture to a
pastry bag fitted with a star tip (or a freezer zip top bag may work). Pipe
rosette style shapes onto the sheet pan (If you just try to dollop a star
shape it probably won’t stick to the foil or Silpat well enough). With the
back of a rounded spoon make an indentation in the middle of each rosette.
4. Put the sheet pan into the refrigerator for
the flowers to become more firm, for at least 30 minutes. While the flowers are
chilling, melt the chocolate in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, stir until as
smooth as possible, and if necessary for another 10-20 seconds. Be careful
not to overheat the chocolate or it will cease and become too thick to use.
5. Put the chocolate in a small pastry bag with
a small tip or a small zip top bag with the end snipped off. (I used
parchment paper that I made into a cone shape for a bag).
6. Pipe the chocolate into the indentations of
each rosette making the “center of the flower”. Chill the flowers until ready
to serve. (I used a small metal angled spatula to remove them from the foil
and transfer them to the cups and it worked really well).