Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Pie

Sometimes the very best recipes come from the least expected places. This recipe came from one of those inserts in the newspaper and was directed at folks who cook with children. I probably wouldn't have even glanced at it except that I'm a sucker for peanut butter. It's not my fault. Growing up in an area where peanuts are plentiful and every fall smelling that wonderful smell of roasting peanuts. Well. I really didn't have a chance, did I?

Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Pie

1/4 butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups marshmallows
4 cups crisp rice cereal
1 (3.5 oz.) box of instant butterscotch pudding and pie filling
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup Cool Whip, thawed
Chocolate syrup for topping

Place butter, peanut butter and marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Don't skip the stirring part. When you are melting things in the microwave, sometimes they don't appear to be melting when they really are. This can cause you to overcook, or burn, your food.

Stir cereal in to the peanut butter mixture, mixing thoroughly.

Coat a pie pan with cooking spray. When the cereal mixture is cool enough to handle, press it along the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form a crust.

In a large bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk until the mixture thickens. Fold in the Cool Whip and pour it into the crust. Refrigerate at least two hours or until the pudding filling is set.

Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Salted Peanut Butterscotch Bars

Once every quarter or so, the Coffee County Extension Office hosts a Crafting on a Shoestring Budget event. It costs $10 per person and we go home with some wonderful items we've assembled, painted, etc. And they feed us a snack. Like a mini-meal type snack. Super good. Really. This recipe is one of those snack items. I went back for seconds. It wasn't my fault. The pieces were just too small. LOL

We also had hotdogs on skewers. They'd taken crescent rolls, cut them into strips, and wrapped the dough around the hot dogs. Then they baked them. They didn't stop there. A triangle piece of cheese went on the top and upside-down cupcake holders went on the bottom. They were stuck upright in Styrofoam covered in bright red paper. The result? Rockets. My youngest nephews would LOVE this! Super good to eat too! As were the strawberries, blueberries, and marshmallows. Yes. In case you doubted at all, I've already got my reservation in for the next craft event.

Salted-Peanut Butterscotch Bars

15 whole graham crackers, broken up
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
One 11-oz. package butterscotch morsels (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing ends to overhang by 2 inches.

Process graham crackers with sugar and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Pulse in butter until moistened. Transfer to lined pan and press crumbs down evenly and firmly.

Place butterscotch morsels in a large bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir until smooth and creamy. (Continue to microwave in 10-second intervals if morsels have not melted. Do not overheat or mixture will seize up and turn into a stiff mass.) Stir in peanut butter and peanuts. Blend well and spread evenly over graham-cracker crust. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.

Lift bars out and remove foil. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut into squares.

Makes about 36 1 1/2-inch squares

Butterscotch Brownies

Sometimes you just gotta use what you have. In my case, it was butterscotch morsels. It wasn't what I intended but, well, things rarely are. In this case, I'm glad it worked out like it did. This ended up being a wonderful recipe. So yummy!

As usual, I started with a recipe and changed it up. A little more of this and a little less of that and it comes out just right.

One big change is how I melted the butterscotch morsels. I'm a big believer in melting things in the microwave rather than getting out the double boiler. It's just faster and easier. The key is to do 1 minute in the microwave, then stir. Afterwards, do 30 seconds at a time until morsels are completely melted. It's super important to stir after each time. They can be melted and not look like it until you stir it. Really.

So here's my version. Hope you enjoy it.

Butterscotch Brownies

12-oz package butterscotch morsels
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Melt butterscotch morsels and butter in microwave. (See instructions above) Do NOT overcook.

Combine eggs and sugar, beating until light and fluffy. I just use a fork to do this but it's okay to get the mixer out if you'd rather.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add slowly to creamed mixture. Stir well. Stir in butterscotch mixture and pecans.

Pour into a greased 15x10x1-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into small pieces. Store in airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen.