Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Bars

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes where I am sharing a delicious, moist little peanut butter bar with a cooked chocolate frosting.  This recipe makes a lot of bars and it whips up so quickly!  Sometimes this peanut butter cake is served with a peanut butter frosting, but I have a daughter who isn't fond of peanut butter frosting so I switched it up and made it with the cooked chocolate frosting, which I adore, that was served on my Groom's cake at my wedding.

 

Recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Bars

 

 

Peanut Butter Cake Recipe

 

 2 cups flour

2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.  Combine the water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove mixture from heat and stir in peanut butter and vegetable oil and mix until well blended.  Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients.  Combine the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended.  Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake for 18 to 24 minutes.  Make the frosting below while the cake is baking and spread the frosting on the cake when the cake is still warm.

 

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients and Instructions

 

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons milk

3-3/4 cups powdered sugar

 

Melt the butter, milk and cocoa together in a small sauce pan.  Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Ice cake with frosting as soon as cake is out of the oven.  Wait until frosting sets before serving.

 

The Peanut Butter Cake recipe is from All Recipes and the Cooked Chocolate Frosting is a recipe that my mother-in-law Geniel has used for years.
 

 Hope you make this recipe!  Thanks for dropping by The Couch.

 



Silver and White Winter Wonderland Tablescape

 

 

Today I am celebrating the wonderful world of winterland and snow with a Silver and White Winter Wonderland Tablescape.  I love snow!  I really do, and that is a good thing because when we get snow, it stays forever because our temperatures don't rise above freezing during the winter.  I love how snow blankets the earth during the winter!

 

Let's start by looking at the dinner dishes.  It's an all white showing in honor of snow!

 

 

 

 

For flatware, we will use the Damash Rose, by Oneida, sterling silver pattern.

 

 

The stack.

 

 

 

We will have a crisp white napkin enrobed by a pewter-colored napkin ring and an icicle tucked in the napkin ring.

 

 

At each placesetting will be a little silver snowflake candle holder.

 

 

Snowflakes grace the table in their various forms and shapes.

 

 

 

 

The centerpiece focuses on two silver snowflake hurricane lamps.

 

 

Another view here.

 

 

The snowflake glasses to the right of the photo are perfect for this table.

 

 

Just a few more favorite views.  You can see the mercury glass tree in the background of this shot.

 

 

Thank you soooo much for dropping by Red Couch Recipes to view my Silver and White Winter Wonderland Tablescape!

 

 

 Table Information

 

Wal-Mart:  Silver chargers, Napkin Rings, Mercury Glass Tree, Silver Snowflake Hurricane Lamps (this year on clearance)

Tai Pan Trading:  White Chargers and Salad Plates, Bubble Glasses

Dinner Plates:  Gibson

Flatware:  Damask Rose Sterling Silver -- Wedding Present

Silver Snowflake Candle Holders:  Jo Anne Fabrics (awhile ago)

 

I will leave you with a funny picture of the downside of snow.  This is a photo of a pile of old, dirty snow piled up in a parking lot.  I myself prefer the pristine white snow! 

 

 

 Have a great day!!!

 

I am linking with Kathleen's Let's Dish Party where she is hosting a winter tablescape party and also with Tablescape Thursday.

 

Rooster Rendezvous Tablescape

 

 

Well, today was ONLY negative three when I drove my daughter to school --- a veritable heat wave--because that is much better than the negative 8 on Tuesday and the negative 12 on Monday!

 

 

 So today we are crowing here at Red Couch Recipes with these new Rooster dishes!  This is the salad plate.

 

 

 

 

This is the dinner plate.  I first saw the black version on Debbie's wonderful blog, Mountain Breaths, and had admired them -- I also love her blog :).   This week she provided us a fun glimpse of her 2012 life -- in tablescapes, and she is sporting a new wonderful looking header.  Unless I am colorblind, these are her plates in a  navy blue version, not black. I keep on holding them up to black items and comparing. I found them at a Marshall's on clearance.  When we were first married, we lived about a block away from a Marshall's store.  I hadn't been to a Marshall's in many years.

 

 

We have two hens, no rooster, so it is fun to have some chicken dishes.  Our hens won't mind if roosters take the stage today.

 

Proof of the price of the salad plate!

 

 

A view of the stack.  The red hob-nail bowls are from Michael's Arts and Crafts, maybe two years ago.  We use them all the time; they are great for little casseroles and soups.

 

 

 

I added napkins, Country Living, that I found at K-Mart on clearance in the fall. The napkin rings I purchased from the Style Sisters blog, a couple of years ago.

 

 

This picture provides a better view of the table setting.

 

 

 

The flatware is from World Market.  It is very affordable and nice looking, but use caution when washing.  I think it should be only hand washed because the metal part on flatware darkened, on some, but not all, of the pieces. 

 

 

 

Before I knew it, Rocco, the Red Couch Rooster decided to hop up on the table.  He said, Roosters, roosters, I am in!  He usually resides in the red living room.  I won him in a giveaway from Renee, Singing With Birds,  two years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

I like to see my tablescape through a bubbly glass.

\

 

 

Just a few more shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We actually didn't eat at this table, like the many times that I set the table for my blog :).  I had the table set, and the dinner made, and it was one of "THOSE" nights.  My son was working, and my oldest girl Tati had a high school swim meet that my youngest daughter and I attended.

 

We did make some delicious creamy chicken noodle soup for dinner.  I hope you don't think I am macabre for serving chicken noodle soup with the Rooster dishes. 

 

 

 

It is really a delicious recipe.  I will share it with you later in the week.  Wow, who put sooo much pepper on the soup?

 

 

 

We also had some homemade potato rolls.  I also want to add this recipe to my collection.

 

 

On another note, as it has been so cold, the weather has been good for ice skating.  The chair can help you learn how to skate better.

 

 

 

Or you can just use your sister...

 

 

 

NOTE TO BLOGGERS:  If you are having trouble uploading photos onto your blog, Blogger is experiencing trouble when you use Internet Explorer as your browser.  You can add photos, not as easily in HTML instead of compose mode.  I had to do this for this post.

 

Once again, thanks for stopping by my little Red Couch.  I really do look forward to your visits.   Blogging, without visitors, wouldn't be fun, would it?

 

Posted with Let's Dish at Kathleen's, and Tablescape Thursday.

  

 

Top 10 Tablescapes for 2012

 

 

 

  

Dear Readers, I am back from a long blogging break and am excited to begin blogging again.  Yesterday I sent back my husband to Virginia --- I took a blogging break so I could spend time with him and our children during the holidays.  I hope you had a great holiday season.

 

 

Today I am highlighting the most viewed tablescapes of 2012.  I have always enjoyed setting a nice table, and was able to entertain and set a nice table during the holidays.

 

Number 1 Most Viewed Post -- Christmas Home or Home for Christmas

 

I set the table for Christmas Eve with these dishes.

Number 2 Most Viewed Post -- The Naughty Table

 

 

I loved coming up with the concept of this table.  Do you know of anyone who should have sat here this year?

 

 

Number 3 Most Viewed Post -- Easter

 

I did a short segment on tablescaping for the local cable television station using this table.

 

 

Number 4 Most Viewed Post -- Let It Snow




Last year I couldn't get enough of snow!
 

 

Number 5 Most Viewed Post -- Candy Corn Craze

 

I loved the look of plastic dishes with fancy dishes on this table.

 

 

Number 6 Most Viewed Post -- An Invitation to Sit at the Nice Table

Where did you belong this year ...at the Nice or Naughty Table?

 

Number 7 Most Viewed Post -- Favorite Colors Tablescape

 

It is no surprise that I am a lover of red, but I also think red and turquoise look smashing together!

 

Number 8 Most Viewed Post -- Love is in the Air!

 

 

 

Just love all the red going on here!

 

Number 9 Most Viewed Post -- Prom Tablescape

 

My son and his date, and another couple had their Prom dinner at our home.  Our girls and Danielle, our family friend helped pull it all together.  We used the elephant plates that my son had given me for my birthday!

 

 

Number 10 Most Viewed Post -- Pumpkins Elevated

 

Around the fall season, pumpkins take on a high role in my love!  I am just crazy about pumpkins!

 

Tablescaping has been a bit of a challenge as all of my dishes are in boxes as I was prepared to move.  I look forward to another fun year of tablescaping, blogging, and visiting your blogs.

 

Posted with the following:  Let's Dish and Tablescape Thursday