Recipes Posted by Jessie Oleson:

Want to really show off with your next dessert offering? Well then, you’ll definitely want to make this cake. It looks like a pretty normal cake on the serving plate, but once cut into, the amazing interior is exposed. Composed of 10 thin stacked cakes, each sandwiched with a layer of White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter frosting, this is “frosting with the cake,” a delightful treat that begs for a glass of milk. It’s a peanut butter-ized version of a famous cake from Maryland (actually, if you want to get technical, it’s the Official State Dessert!) called Smith Island Cake, which is given out as the prize during community events. But no need to sing and dance when you’ve got this recipe–everyone’s a winner!

Easter Candy has come a long way. When I was young, it seemed as if it was a matter of chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and your choice of creme eggs or mini eggs in terms of treats. Then…along came the peanut butter egg. A delectable nugget of sweetened peanut butter coated in rich chocolate, it rocked my Easter basket and my world. Here’s a homemade version of a store-bought treat, made yet awesomer by incorporating peanut butter in the filling and the topping. A word of advice? If you’re creating these confections for a crowd, please make a double batch. They’re seriously that simple, that addictive, and that good.

I’m not saying that you should totally ignore chocolate on Valentine’s Day. But…why not also include a cake that is more fun to make with a partner: the Peanut Butter and Jelly Roll! If you’ve ever made a Jelly Roll cake at home, you know that it can be hard to handle the rolling of the cake while baking solo–so why not employ your Valentine with this most delicious task? You’ll be rewarded with a delicately spongy cake which gives way to a rich, deliciously smooth white chocolate peanut butter filling, beautifully paired with sweet strawberry jelly. Bonus points if you roll it into the shape of a heart! This is an adaptation of a classic Jelly Roll recipe I discovered in Taste of Home.

Millionaire’s shortbread pretty much rules. I mean, it’s shortbread, already buttery bliss all by itself, rendered awesomer by topping it with caramel and chocolate for what amounts to a triple-threat of delicious. It makes for a treat so rich you can kind of see where it gets its name.

But of course, with inflation being what it is, why stop at a million when you can have a billion? And so I present Peanut Butter Billionaire’s Shortbread, wherein two types of peanut butter is added to it and its awesome quotient is upped exponentially.

First off: how do you say the name of these cookies? I say it “alf-a-hore-ay” and nobody’s ever looked at me funny, so go ahead and use my method. The alfajor (alfajores, plural) is a delectable type of crumbly cookie, commonly sandwiched with indulgent dulce de leche, which is very popular in South America. But like most things, it gets even better with a little peanut butter! This version includes peanut butter both in the cookie dough and mixed with the dulce de leche filling, making for a delectably addictive caramel peanut buttery treat.

Recipe notes: you are welcome to make your own dulce de leche (in fact, I applaud you if you do), but I found that the store-bought kind works just fine. Also, traditionally these cookies are dusted with confectioners’ sugar before serving, but I didn’t like what it did to the cookies’ texture, so I went without.

If you’re like me, two words generally come to mind when faced with recipes for Parisian macarons: “Too hard.”

But really, they need not be so scary. This unfussy version is easy as can be, and doesn’t require piping or weighing your ingredients. The result might be a bit more homespun than Pierre Herme, but they’re decidedly delicious nonetheless, with cloudlike cookies which give way to a substantial smear of comforting, creamy white chocolate peanut butter and sweet preserves. Perhaps Santa would like these on his plate instead of the usual (just a thought)!

Gooey Butter Cake is the pride of St. Louis, MO and proof that sometimes a mistake in baking can lead to a beautiful new invention. Now, for a long time I held the belief that “Gooey Butter Cake” was the most beautiful cake-name in the world, but now I know that it’s not true–the best one is Gooey Peanut Butter Cake. It’s also proof that a classic can sometimes get even better: adding White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter to both the crust and the filling adds a beautifully nutty note to this sweet, rich, and utterly indulgent treat.

Everyone knows that chips and salsa are a delicious precursor to a Mexican meal.
But what about giving them a sweet and spicy and rich peanut butter makeover to continue the party post-dinner?

It’s time to introduce Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter Dessert Chips with Fruit Salsa, a dish wherein plain flour tortillas are brushed with a decadent peanut butter, brown sugar and butter mixture and baked until crispy, then served with jam or preserves. It’s a snap to prepare and makes for some sweetly addictive eating.

Looking for cookies to serve during your July 4 festivities? Bake this cookie that creates an explosion of flavors in your mouth, of the sweet-savory kind. The sweet drop cookies are nicely contrasted by the saltiness of the chips, but get a fascinating flavor dimension from the nutty Smooth Operator peanut butter. One bite and even doubters will be singing a new story.

Oh, I’m sorry. Are you still eating regular pasta, like a jerk?

Time to get with the program: I’m talking chocolate pasta. It’s readily available online, and it’s well worth the investment.

But even an inherently perfect product like this can stand to become slightly awesomer, and so I propose Chocolate Pasta served with peanut butter cookie “meatballs” and a rich, crunchy peanut butter buttercream sauce. It may not be pretty, but it tastes like heaven on a plate. In fact, the only thing that might make it better is a thick slice of buttered pound cake on the side.

Lastly, this makes a swell April Fools’ dessert for someone or some people you love to have fun with!