Big super nutty peanut butter cookies(CI)......

We all know by now that Robin is a peanut butter freak, a title she wears happily. My friend J is also a lover of all things peanut butter. I'm off to Ann Arbor to visit J and her partner for a few days so I thought I'd whip these up. The recipe came to me in the America's Test Kitchen newsletter and as per usual, Cook's Illustrated didnt dissapoint. These were very peanutty, thanks to a dose of chopped nuts. I actually halved the recipe but while mixing I realized I added the full amount of peanut butter. I didnt have another full stick of butter softened, but I did have 2 tbls so I used that and proceeded with the recipe( but I did use only half the amount of chopped nuts). They're still really good, next time I make them I'll use the correct amount of butter. I used the ridged side of my meat pounder to make the marks( spray it with pam first).



Big, Super-Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies Add to Favorites Shopping List
Bringing the butter, peanut butter, and eggs to room temperature makes it easier to blend the ingredients. Be sure to grind the peanuts, since whole, and even chopped peanuts tend to slip out of the dough. If using unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Keep finished cookies refrigerated in airtight container. To restore just-baked chewiness, wrap a cookie in a sheet of paper towel and microwave for approximately 25 seconds. Cool before serving.
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), salted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter , preferably Jif
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup roasted salted peanuts , ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (about 1 cup, packed)




1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.

3. Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time (see illustration 1 below), roll into large balls, placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Following illustration 2, press each dough ball with back of dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 7 days.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies......

I love making a trip to Port Huron, MI the day after a major candy holiday( ya know the day after Halloween, Xmas, Vday or Easter). I fill my cart with half price candy for baking, because chocolate is so much more expensive over here( and I can't find mini reeces pb cups in my town). I was perusing Anna's blog and came across this recipe. She got it from Lara who got it from Allrecipes. Like Anna, I probably wouldnt have come across it on my own. This recipe came at a perfect time because I'm donating some refreshments for a charity event on Friday. I took the advice of some of the reviewers and used half butter and half shortening. I used to be anti shortening anything, but I've come to find out that I prefer it in some recipes. I dont think this is one of them though!! Some of the reviews said " This is the best cookie I've ever had". Me, I didnt think that. Maybe because I always prefer cake!! I didnt think the cocoa added anything to the mix. I also didnt have enough PB chips, nor did I have any reeces pieces. Robin loved them however!! I'll try them again when I have all the proper ingredients and with all butter.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie( Emeril)...

I really do NOT like Emeril. I think its the screaming and how he takes forever to garnish food. I especially hate The Bam!! Nevertheless, I saw this pie on someone's blog( I can't remember now) and thought it looked good enough for me to make for my Robin. Poor, Poor Robin. She ate like crap when I was in Florida so I wanted to make her a dessert using her favorite ingredient peanut butter. When I make her a peanut butter pie, I usually make the one that has a nutter butter crust(Nutter Butter's arent sold in Canada so I have to bring them back from MI) and cool whip. Like the aformentioned blogger, I used Nabisco Famous wafers because I had them. I also used bittersweet chocolate and I skipped the Sauce. I used some of the Hot Fudge sauce I made a couple months ago.

Verdict: Robin liked it but she said she likes a pure peanut butter pie better. Maybe next time I'll make the Nutter Butter pie, but use whipped cream instead of the cool whip.

Source: Emeril's Potluck: Comfort Food with a Kicked-Up Attitude, by Emeril Lagasse

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (I used 1/2 cup and would use all chocolate next time)
1 cup finely ground Oreo cookies (cream filling removed) (I used 2 cups of Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used 1/3-less fat cream cheese)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
4 ounces melted semisweet chocolate (I used bittersweet)
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup toasted chopped peanuts
Rich Chocolate Sauce (recipe below) (I skipped)


Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, Oreo cookie crumbs, butter, and 4 tablespoons of the granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Stir to throughly combine. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, let the crust cool completely, then wrap it with plastic wrap and place the pan in the freezer for at least 1 hour and for up to 2 weeks. Allow the crust to come to room temperature before filling.

Combine the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and milk in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended and smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the melted chocolate and the peanut butter and continue to blend for another minute on medium speed. Combine the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in another medium bowl. Beat with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and peanut butter mixture until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Pour the filling into the piecrust. Smooth the top of the pie with a spatula, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve, use a hot wet knife to slice the pie into 8 portions. Garnish with the peanuts and drizzle with the Rich Chocolate Sauce.

Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 servings
Rich Chocolate Sauce

3/4 cup half-and-half
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a small heavy saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat.

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Whisk the half-and-half slowly into the chocolate. Add the vanilla and butter to the sauce and whisk until the butter is completely incorporated. The sauce can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for several days, but it must be returned to room temperature before serving.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Choc. Cupcakes w/peanut butter frosting....( Ina Garten)

Yesterday, the weather was horrible. We had major snowsqualls and most of the roads were closed. My neighbor has a snow plow attatched to his truck and he always plows our driveway. I usually always give them some sort of baked goods in return. I have the new Ina Garten( barefoot contessa) cookbook out of the library and these cupcakes looked good. I cut the recipe in half and I still came out with 12 cupcakes.

My go to chocolate cake/cupcake recipe is Hershey's Black Magic, its supereasy to make, uses one bowl and oil instead of butter. Ina's recipe used butter with less sugar and more cocoa. Funny though, I didnt think the choc. flavor was that pronounced, but the crumb was very tender. The cake was the perfect foil for this lucious Peanut butter frosting( As I was making it, I remembered Paula's MIL's recipe), I'll have to make that next time. It's interesting to note though, that this PB frosting recipe isnt really Ina's( as most of the recipes in the book are credited to someone else).

I didnt measure the PB so I might have used less than I needed, but it still had a great PB flavor( I used Jiff, btw). Robin and I enjoyed one or two with a big glass of cold milk.

On Thursday, I cook for the Seniors again. Its going to be a labor intensive meal. Roast Chicken, mashed spuds, spinach salad with bacon, sauteed zucchini and bread pudding w/ vanilla sauce for dessert.

This weekend I plan on baking more challah and lots of hamantashen to take to Florida( we leave on Tuesday) with us. My grandpa loves cookies and since he isnt eating much these days, I figure I'd make him what he likes. This might be the last time I see him.

Nutty for Oats Cookies( KA flour whole grain baking)...

I gave Robin the KA flour whole grain baking cookbook and asked her to pick something out. Big surprise that she picked out something with peanutbutter. She did also pick out a pear hazelnut cobbler, but my pears were not ripe. So, yesterday I made these cookies. There is actually no flour in these cookies. They do have whole oats and oats that you grind up into flour. They also contain peanutbutter and choc. chips. The recipe calls for 2 cups of chips, but next time I'd knock that back to one cup. Robin and I both felt there were too many chips. Nevertheless, these cookies are good, they have a really earthy texture and they arent too sweet. I used Hershey's special dark choc. chips that are from Canada.