Baked Sunday Mornings: Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread & Monkey Bubble Bread

Catching up...Got the Monkey Bread Baked...DELISH!

I might make this one again in the morning!!!    Double Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

This week my kitchen took me to heaven.  I needed, badly needed, chocolate.  Rich, luscious, dark, moist chocolate.  And I have been fixed.  It was one of “those” weeks at our house...too many stressers all at once, things out of my control.  Too many days with no sleep due to business requirements, employee issues, IRS requirements, a damaging office break-in and stolen property, and deadlines.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread...It was Perfect!

Chocolate is my out.  The darker the better.  It is my quick relief.  Within only a moment it soothes my tired mind, revives my body and banishes all my woes.  Chocolate is way up high on my gratitude list.  Baking with chocolate transmits a lingering aroma, offers more than one bite, renders enough to share, and gives deep satisfaction.  It is quite literally, the best ingredient on earth.  It is one of God’s gifts and I need my daily dose.  I suppose I am addicted, but I have come to know that for me, chocolate is a “health food.”

This Photo does not do this Loaf Justice!  It is a double length and it actually looked quite nice!  This Loaf has just come out of the oven.

When life presented just too much, I escaped to my kitchen where I baked the Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread.  I have been revived!  I baked a large double size loaf for my family and friends, and a regular loaf to hide away for my own medication.  There are 3 or 4 pieces remaining and they continue to bring joy even three days later.  The loaf is moist and wonderful even as it ages a bit.

This Loaf, Just out of the Oven is too Warm to Cut...but...We Could Not Wait!

 I'm not usually in love with chocolate in combination with peanut butter...I give away all my Reeses Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups, but for some reason, the peanut butter spread in this recipe was very appealing with this chocolate loaf.  It was creamy, not overpowering, and added a pleasing topping that was not necessary, but that was an extra special touch.

I have a 4" X 14" loaf pan that I chose to use as I mixed 1.5 the recipe.  It fit perfectly into my pan and baked beautifully until at the end as I kept checking and opening the oven to test for doneness, on the last test the loaf fell down in the middle and no longer held its perfect shape.  (Or it could have been when I went a little crazy and added an additional cup of chunked chocolate?)  Oh well, it was the chocolate today that counted, and not the looks.  And then, we could not wait for it to cool...we just started slicing and tasting...and the poor loaf tried hard to keep some shape, but we could not leave it alone.  Yes, we were in heaven.  Some of my kids popped in just as the baking was finishing, and they couldn’t wait either.


After eating our fill, the remaining loaf portion cooled properly and was then sliced into lovely pieces, showing its chocolate chunks, and was enjoyed at the office, by some neighbors, and by everyone who entered our house.  And the verdict: DELICIOUS!  RICH!  MOIST!  WANT-THE-RECIPE!  LOVE THE SPREAD!  WHAT IS IN THE SPREAD THAT MAKES IT SO GOOOOOOD?  WANT MORE!  WHEN ARE YOU BAKING THIS AGAIN? LUSCIOUS!

All good reports for every tasting person.  This is a great recipe.  This is a recipe I guarantee will be made over and over, and...it was quick and easy, not too sweet, wonderful at any time of the day, and would make a perfect gift for a friend who might also need to find a little stress reducing heaven too.

TOTALLY DELISH!

The Dough has Risen and is Ready for the Oven

Also Ready for the Oven...But this is Definitely NOT the Right Pan!

I also caught up on one recipe while I was in Idaho cooking for my new-mother-daughter...Monkey Bubble Bread.  We 4X this recipe, enjoyed it with hot chocolate, shared with my kids college friends, and kept it out on the table for nibbling where it was good to the very last bite.  The caramely goodness covering each section was fabulous.  It was pretty, and we’ll be making this one again soon also.  Our only mistake: For one batch we used the Bundt pan which worked great, but while looking for another pan we found an angel food cake pan, thinking that this would also work well.  We put foil around the bottom to catch any leakage...but...somehow the oven bottom was oozing with melted butter, brown sugar and spices that leaked despite our efforts from that pan...so I advise, don’t use a removable bottom pan for this recipe!!!   It was a big time mess clean-up project for the next day.  But it was all worth it.  The Monkey Bread was terrific!  We could not leave it alone.

Just A Nibble---YUM

Kinda Like A Big Gooey Cinnamon Roll in a Big Pretty Shape