Peter Greweling

Peanut Butter Goodness Bars

banner

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Complex

  • Yield:

    120

    Bars

Appears in

top 1000Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

Chocolates and Confections

By Peter Greweling

Published 2007

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Nougat

Milk powder, crushed 80 g 3 oz 4%
Confectioners’ sugar 80 g 3 oz 4%
Peanut butter 350 g 12 oz 16%
Glucose syrup 100 g 4 oz 5%
Egg whites 60 g 2 oz 3%
Vanilla extract 20 g 1 oz 1%
Sugar 580 g 21 oz 27%
Glucose syrup 450 g 16 oz 21%
Molasses 220 g 8 oz 11%
Water 180 g 6 oz 8%
Batch Size 2120 g 76 oz 100%

Caramel

Sugar 680 g 24 oz 21%
Evaporated milk 680 g 24 oz 21%
Heavy cream 280 g 10 oz 8%
Vanilla bean, split and scraped 1 bean 1 bean
Glucose syrup 570 g 20 oz 18%
Butter 40 g 1.5 oz <1%
Salt 1 tsp 1 tsp <1%
Peanuts, toasted 970 g 34 oz 30%
Batch Size 3220 g 113.5 oz 100%
Milk chocolate, melted, tempered, for precoating and enrobing as needed
Peanuts, toasted, chopped, for finishing as needed

Method

To Make the Peanut Butter Nougat

  1. Sift together the milk powder and confectioners’ sugar.
  2. Heat the peanut butter over a water bath until it is hot and fluid.
  3. Combine the 100 g of glucose syrup, egg whites, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a 5-qt planetary mixer with a whip attachment. Mix until just combined, but do not begin whipping.
  4. Combine the 580 g of sugar, the 450 g of glucose syrup, molasses, and water in a saucepan. Cook the mixture to 112°C/234°F.
  5. Begin whipping the egg white mixture on high speed. When the sugar mixture reaches 122°C/252°F, remove from the heat.
  6. Stream the hot syrup into the whipping whites. Continue whipping on high speed for 4 minutes.
  7. Remove the whipped whites from the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the dry ingredients.
  8. Add the melted peanut butter and mix well.
  9. Spread the nougat into a frame 12 × 24 × ⅜ in set on oiled parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.
  10. Place another frame 12 × 24 × ⅜ in on top of the one containing the nougat.

To Make the Caramel

  1. Combine the 680 g of sugar, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla bean and its seeds in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  2. Add the 570 g of glucose syrup and continue cooking over medium heat, while stirring, until the mixture reaches 110°C/230°F. Add the butter.
  3. Cook while stirring until the mixture reaches 115°C/239°F (see Note). Add the salt, remove from the heat, remove the vanilla bean, and add the peanuts. Stir to combine.
  4. Spread the mixture immediately into the frame on top of the peanut butter nougat. Allow to cool to room temperature.

To Complete the Peanut Butter Goodness Bars

  1. Precoat the caramel side of the slab with the tempered milk chocolate. Cut into bars 19 mm × 8 cm/¾ × 3 in, using a chef’s knife.
  2. Enrobe each bar in the tempered milk chocolate. Before the chocolate sets, use a 3-prong dipping fork to make diagonal waves on each bar. Garnish with chopped toasted peanuts.

© 2007 All rights reserved. Published by Wiley.