To P.B or Not to P.B.
Peanut Butter. I love it spread into a rib of celery. I love it even more in an "Elvis" sandwich. I love it simply spread on a piece of warm, whole wheat toast. I DO NOT love it in desserts. In fact, I abhor desserts with peanut butter. If I see it on a dessert menu, I stay away. This being said, as a pastry chef, I understand that most everybody else can't get enough of the stuff. And who am I to deprive my public?! Although I still haven't made a proper peanut butter dessert per se, I've included a pair of spiced P.B. cookies alongside a caramel corn sundae; and hands down, the most popular part of our petit four tray is the "crunchy peanut butter cup"(shown), a dark chocolate shell filled with a salty p.b./milk chocolate ganache, topped with honey roasted peanuts. It's a Reese's times a thousand. And that's really as far as I've gone. I can't bring myself to concoct a p.b. & j. themed dessert, and a chocolate dessert paired with peanut butter would be much too heavy for my tastes. So what am I to do?
Gorgeous photo courtesy of Steve Legato.