Dessert of the Month

This may come as a huge shock, it was to me anyway, but I have not made a dessert in quite awhile. A few weeks ago I attempted a couple of batches of homemade ice cream, only to fail because my ice cream mixer bowl wasn't as chilled as it should have been (read: Mr. B keeps turning the freezer down to "save" on electricity). However, I was able to salvage the icy, clumpy mixtures by turning them into milkshakes. Waste not, want not. YUM.

This past weekend was Father's Day, and my hubby and I were treating my daddy to the best and biggest steak in his life. We were taking him to Henry Waghner's, a small German-American Pub located near my college Alma mater. And these steaks are ridiculous. I could.not.wait. Yet, I knew I couldn't have Daddy up without treating him to one of my homemade desserts. There's only two rules I must follow when making my father a dessert: 1) chocolate must be involved, and 2) the sweeter the better. (Daddy has a very strong sweet tooth.)

But I wanted to make something new, because y'all know that's how I roll. I love trying new recipes. So I skimmed through my cookbooks, realizing I wanted something simple, cold, and with peanut butter. (Because peanut butter and chocolate is a must.) I remembered one of my favorite bloggers, Katie at Dashing Dish, often features frozen pies and her recipes are on the healthier side. Once there I immediately knew which pie I was making: the Frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Pie. Absolutely. Annnnd I had all of the ingredients except for the mini Reese Cups. An easy fix.

However, I can't help it. I like putting my own twists on recipes, making them my own, using what I have on hand. It's one of the reasons I love being in the kitchen. Glancing at the recipe, I instantly knew my alterations. She has a love of baking with Stevia, a no calorie sugar replacement. I do, too, yet I can't stand the odd aftertaste Stevia often gives to desserts. I've made many desserts with Stevia and I'm just not fond of its taste. I have baking Stevia on hand and I still find ways to use it...just not so much at one time. Soooo....here are my adjustments:

• 8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese (1/3 less fat than regular)
• creamy peanut butter (of course)
• for the 1/2 c Stevia called for, I used a scant 1/4 c of Stevia + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• I used a plain graham cracker crust instead of Oreo (because I want a stronger peanut butter flavor than chocolate)
• for 1/4 c skim milk, I used 1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
• for the 3 Tbsp of chocolate syrup, I used 2 Tbsp hot fudge (mixed in the batter)
• and crushed mini Reese Cups only for the topping (when sliced, I then decorated each piece with a drizzle of melted fudge and peanut butter to make it pretty)

Blend until smooth, scoop mixture into crust, top, and chill for at least 6 hours, and TA DA!!!!! A beautiful, decadent, and healthier dessert! And Daddy never even noticed the missing sugar. I like to think it was the focus on the peanut butter flavor, the secret serving of vanilla extract, and the creaminess from the Cool Whip. I actually preferred to serve this straight from the freezer instead of letting it sit for 15 minutes. Straight out of the freezer it's more like ice cream. Delicioso.

Nutritional Information (my version): 243 calories, 11 fat, 11 sugar, 7 protein, 2 fiber
(My version is 28 calories more, but my calculation includes the crumbled Reese Cups on top...not sure if Katie's does...just in case you wanted to know specifics!)

Welp, Daddy went home (and since he has a two-hour drive and it was quite humid out) and couldn't take the leftovers, which meant I was stuck in a house with half a pie that I knew Mr. B wouldn't touch. What's a girl to do? All that peanut butter. All that cold creaminess. PLUS, I still have an almost full bag of mini Reese Cups in the fridge! It was calling my name every time I walked into the kitchen, "Brindi, there's peanut butter goodness in here!" Yes, I'm here! Ummm, yeah, thankfully my mother-in-law was stopping by and I gave the rest of the pie to her to give to my step father-in-law so he could share in this Father's Day dessert (his sweet tooth almost rivals Daddy's, but not quite).

At 8:30 last night I get a phone call from him telling me it was the best pie he's had in his life.

Like I say, it's the little things that make my blessed life so sweet.


*Stop by Dashing Dish for the original recipe!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi