CHOCOLATE CAKE & PEANUT COOKIES

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup shortening
3 eggs, seperated
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 TBSP baking powder
3 TBSP cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 375F. Cream butter and add sugar and egg yolks, mixing until well combined. Add graham craker crumbs, baking powder, cocoa, salt, milk, vanilla extract, and nuts; mix well. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture. pour batter into two greased and floured 9 inch round pans. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Sauce
1 cup Whipping cream
2 tablespoons Sugar
4 ounces Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
Combine the cream and sugar in a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
Strain through a fine wire mesh strainer into a serving bowl. Serve warm.

Mom’s Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat Oven to 350F. Grease a sheet pan and set aside.
Place the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a mixer and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs and vanilla, then add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth.
Using a 9 X 13 spread the cookie dough evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. If you want a less doughy cookie, bake for 10 minutes longer.
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Layer
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
milk(for thinning)
In a mixer combine the cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar. Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the milk slowly until it becomes a spreadable consistency.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganach
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup peanut butter
Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a bowl. Heat the cream up to a boil. Once it starts to boil, pour it over the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
Assemble: Once the cookie dough layer is out of the oven, let it cool completely. Spread the cream cheese layer. Then follow up with the ganache layer.