My Take On The Take 5 Candy Bar

Y'all!! These little, peanut buttery caramelicious, chocolate covered, salty pretzel bites!

They are my take on the Take 5 candy bar, and they are so yummy! 😋

For me, it doesn't get much better than Peanut Butter Caramels.

But when you add pretzels, peanuts and chocolate, well let's just say, it got better!

Try them and I think you'll agree!

At the core of these magic little squares are the aforementioned Peanut Butter Caramels. Yes they do take a little more time, but the taste far outweighs the extra effort..at least it does in my sweet book!

Wanna make some candy?

Instead of spreading peanut butter on the pretzels, we are incorporating it into the caramel.

Let's get crackin'!

 Prepare a 13x9 pan for our Peanut Butter Caramels. Spray with cooking spray, line it with parchment paper, and spray this as well.

Have your peanuts ready to sprinkle on top of the caramel.

 To make the Peanut Butter Caramels, click on my link for the recipe.

Pour up this beautiful candy and resist the urge to lick the spoon.
I've done it! Ouch!😳

Sprinkle peanuts over candy. Let caramels cool for a few hours till set. I usually let mine sit loosely covered overnight.

Now we're ready to unmold our candy. Remove from pan by lifting from the edges of parchment paper and set onto a cutting surface lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Cut caramels with a long, sharp, lightly oiled knife. I thought I was cutting mine into one inch squares, but when I counted them, I only had 95 pieces.
And I'm okay with that!😉

You will need 95 pretzel squares..or more if you're a better caramel cutter than me!😜

Gently press caramels onto pretzels.

Oh my, but I'm ready to try one now!

No! I can wait! I think I can! I think I can!

Dip candies in melted chocolate and place on parchment lined pan to set.

Yum!

Don't they look irresistible?!!

This cross-section is just plain eye candy!

My Take On The Take 5 Candy Bar Recipe

You will need:
One batch of Peanut Butter Caramels
95 (or so) pretzel snaps
One heaping cup of your favorite peanuts
1 1/2 pounds chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark melting wafers)

Prepare caramel, sprinkle with peanuts and let cool to set.

Cut caramels with long, sharp, lightly oiled knife into approximately 95 pieces, then gently press onto pretzels.

Melt chocolate, dip candies and place on parchment lined pan.

And there you have it! My take on the Take 5 bars! I hope y'all like 'em!

Have a sweet day, Karen 😊

Banana Bread Muffins

Do you like Banana Bread..'cause I am convinced that I have the best Banana Bread recipe ever!

It all started many years ago at Calvary Heights Baptist Church. The church is long since gone, and the pastor and his wife live back home in Alabama now. 

We sure did make some sweet memories with some sweet folks there, and here is one of my favorites!  Our dear, sweet pastor's wife, Martha Sue Harralson, would bring in a freshly baked Banana Bread to church nearly every Sunday morning. And while we didn't fight over it, we also didn't waste any time getting in line for a slice. It was heavenly I tell ya! She also brought it to our many "covered dish" dinner get-togethers. Let me say, there was never a crumb left. No, nary a one!

So, how thrilled was I when she shared her recipe with me!

There is no way I could ever count how many loaves of this yummy bread I have made over the years. We love it so much, that recently I decided to try turning them into muffins! My husband absolutely loves them. Plus they were a huge hit at our Easter family picnic. And now, I'm sharing this golden recipe with you!

This easy banana bread contains nine ingredients.

Flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and overripe bananas.

Combine all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

I measure my oil in a liquid measuring cup. 

Next, I add my buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, and stir it all together.

 Add wet ingredients to the dry.

Stir to combine.

Mash bananas with a fork until creamy.

Add bananas to mixture stirring to combine.

 Prepare 18 regular size muffin tins with baking spray.

Fill tins 3/4 full. I use a cookie scoop to get uniform sized muffins.

Bake @ 350 for 28 minutes.
Don't everbake!
You can do the toothpick test. Just insert toothpick into the cake center, if it comes out clean it's done.

When these start baking, the smell is crazy wonderful!

I know you're gonna love them!

Banana Bread Muffins 

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 cups sugar               

1/2 teaspoon salt              

1 teaspoon baking soda     

1/2 cup canola oil             

2 slightly beaten eggs       

             1/4 cup plus 1 Tbls buttermilk        

   1 teaspoon vanilla               

          3 bananas-very ripe                   

Stir together all dry ingredients in large bowl.

      In a separate bowl, add oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, stirring to combine. Incorporate the wet mixture into the dry, and stir in mashed bananas.

Spray muffin tins with Pam baking spray. Fill tins 3/4 full with batter.  

Bake @ 350 for 28 minutes. 
If a toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
Don't overbake.  

**If making regular Banana Bread, bake in a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan, Bake @ 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

Below is a page from the first family cookbook that my baby sister put together for Christmas 2004. Since then, she has created two more. As an avid lifetime cookbook collector, I treasure these more every day. 💗  

This is the original recipe for Banana Bread that my sweet friend gave to me back in 1994. 

Have a sweet day, Karen 😊