Short & Sweet #8: NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA PIE

My younger brother came to me last week with an indirect request: "You know what would be good? A peanut butter pie. You know what would be better than that? A peanut butter banana pie. Yeah...that sounds amazing."

I took the hint. But unfortunately, it was 100+ degrees that day and had been for a couple days before that. I had zero desire to heat up my kitchen by turning my oven on to fulfill his request. So that got me thinking of an easy way to make that pie without the heat.

Thank goodness for the ice box pie! I took that classic recipe to make something that would make both my brother and myself happy. I personally think that the combination of ingredients is perfect... fluffy Cool Whip, rich cream cheese, creamy peanut butter, sweet banana. Mmmm... I'm salivating just thinking of that delectable finished pie that's sitting in my freezer right now. You and your friends and family will be salivating too when you make this pie! It's absolutely to die for.

No Bake Peanut Butter Banana Pie
1 prepared pie crust

4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 ripe banana (mashed)
1/2 cup peanut butter
8 oz. whipped topping (thawed)

1. Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.
2. Add mashed banana and peanut butter. Beat all ingredients until lighter in color and fluffy.
3. Gently fold in whipped topping with a spatula until completely incorporated.
4. Pour pie filling into prepared crust.
5. Cover and freeze for 4-5 hours or until firm.
6. Decorate or top if you please! Then cut yourself a slice and enjoy!

Sugar Rush #1: Matzah Caramel Crunch

Thus begins a brand new series! Even though I didn't have time to make a video, I still wanted to share a delicious recipe with everyone. With Sugar Rush, the recipes may not come with a full on tutorial, but that doesn't mean it won't still have that easy peasy, Short and Sweet touch. Moving on to what I have in store today!

Passover just started Monday evening, and that got me to thinking of matzah. Although I'm not Jewish, I have sat at quite a few Seder tables. The table is always set impeccably, the dining room overflowing with food and wine. And no Passover would be complete without a few raucous rounds of "Dayenu" and a viewing of The Prince of Egypt. It's a great holiday in my opinion, even if it does take about fifteen steps to get through dinner. But if there's one thing that's taken especially seriously, it's the matzo.

What's matzah (matzo, matzoh, matza)? It's a thin, unleavened bread. It's pretty much like crackers. Now, everyone has heard of matzah balls. Man, do I miss matzah balls... But what about matzah for dessert? If you're going to try anything this Passover, try this: Matzo Caramel Crunch. Goodness gracious. This stuff is like crack. It turns the bland matzo that tastes almost as good as the cardboard box it comes in into something addicting and irresistible.

Crunchy. Sweet. Chewy. Hint of saltiness. Caramel-y. Chocolatey. Oh, and did I mention that it's totally customizable? If you're a sea salt fiend like me, sprinkle some of that on top of the chocolate while it's still melty. Or throw some toasted almonds on there. Or some coconut flakes. Whatever you want!
Keep it all Kosher, of course ;)

Matzah Caramel Crunch
4-6 pieces of unsalted, unflavored Matzo
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Toppings (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line large cookie sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray, then place parchment paper on top of foil. It's gonna get sticky up in here.
3. Place matzo pieces corner to corner on tray. Break off smaller pieces so that every surface is covered.
4. In heavy bottomed saucepan, cook butter and brown sugar on medium heat until boiling (about 3 minutes). Stir, stir, stir.
5. Continue boiling for additional 3 minutes. Don't stop stirring!
6. Pour caramel over matzo until completely covered.
7. Place tray in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. If it looks like it's browning too quickly, reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips/pieces on top. Let the residual heat melt the chocolate. Spread evenly.
9. While still warm, break up the crunch into desired pieces. Place tray in freezer to set crunch completely.
10. Remove crunch pieces from tray. Store in airtight containers, or just watch as they disappear!