Peanut Blossom Cookies

There are times when I am doing well with daily meditation and finding inner peace.  In a world gone mad, focusing on my breath calms me more than anything else I have ever tried.

That is, until the streets of Oak Park became a scene out of Mad Max in the early morning hours as I drove home from my morning ass-kicking, better know as Pilates.  As I was savoring the worn out but feeling stronger aura that ones gets from Pilates, some jerk swerved out from behind me, almost hit me and then swerved in front of me.  Inner peace flew out the window and I laid on my horn.  So, I am annoyed that the peace and inner calm vibe I had going was shattered and that I allowed a crazy driver to disrupt my zen state.  Should have reacted like this guy.

Buckeyes

Buckeyes

I never had a Buckeye before I went to college in Ohio and when I tasted them for the first time, I realized I had definitely been missing out.  Then again, I had never tasted Mac n' Cheese or Tater Tots before college so clearly I was a sheltered child.  Perhaps a little too sheltered because I promptly gained not 15 but about 20 pounds freshmen year.  College: a time to gain copious amounts of knowledge with a big side of weight at an exorbitant cost.

Peanut Butter Dip

Have you ever been ravenously hungry and there is nothing in the fridge? Lately, this has been happening to me more and more with my crazy schedule.

Sometimes I roll back the clock and do I like I did in middle school; make treats for myself that do not always make sense but they use up the ingredients that I have and are very tasty. My parents both worked so more times than not, my brother and I would come home hungry and dinner was a long way off. We had to make our own little creations because I lived in one of those houses that did not believe in having "junk" in the house. Ding Dongs, Fruit Roll-Ups, Mini-Muffins, sugary cereal, chips, dip, candy, cookies, all out, out and out.

This is not a total sob story though. My parents did have fruit and vegetables. Back then I would have just dipped apples and celery in peanut butter. Now, with a little bit more knowledge and the internet at my fingertips, I can doctor peanut butter up a little bit. Not that there is anything wrong with peanut butter, as we all know that this wonderful ingredient can definitely hold its own, on its own. It's fun to mix it up though and I had a brick of cream cheese that was begging to be used. Enter, peanut butter dip! Feel free to add or subtract ingredients to your heart's desire. Enjoy! AJ

Ingredients:

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk, buttermilk, cream or whatever you have around
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Serve with apples or celery. Store in refrigerator.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

Not so long ago, that wonderfully discreet young man with an amazing voice and even more amazing words, John Mayer, made some headlines when he said that Jessica Simpson was "sexual napalm". Poor Jessica was so upset by his comment that she had to grab some couch time...with Oprah. Question; can someone please explain to me why it is so horribly upsetting to be called sexual napalm? If John Mayer or anyone else described me in such a manner, I would rip that article out and have it framed. Ok, granted I can be pretty tasteless about this sort of thing but going on Oprah to cry about something like that seems like a pathetic ploy to give her flailing career a jump start.

Anyway, I digress. My point in my little diatribe above is to say that if Jessica Simpson is sexual napalm, these cupcakes are chocolate and peanut butter napalm. Yes my darlings, they are that good. They are also rich, very, very rich so consider yourself warned. I went through many recipes to put these cupcakes together and modified them ever so slightly to produce deep chocolate flavor mixed with creamy peanut butter, cream cheese, sour cream, cocoa and espresso.

If you choose to make these please be sure to use Dutch process cocoa powder as anything less will produce a cupcake that is not as heartily robust as this one. Also, please watch the baking times. I have received a few comments that other cupcakes from this site were not as moist as the ones they tasted from me. Whenever I hear that I always ask if the person has a gas oven and 9.9 times out of 10, the answer is yes. Please remember that I have an electric oven which tends to cook slower than a gas oven. If you have a gas oven, check the cupcakes with a toothpick after 15 minutes to see how they are coming along. When the toothpick comes out clean, take them out immediately. Enjoy!

Chocolate cupcake recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten. Filling recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

For the filling:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

To make the filling, combine the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, sour cream and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (at least 24) and set aside on a baking sheet.

For the cupcakes:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
Peanut butter cups or peanut M&M's, to decorate, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Spoon a tablespoon or two of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Place a ball of the peanut butter filling in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and add the heavy whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Add in the vanilla extract and mix until blended. Switch to a paddle attachment and add the cream cheese, sour cream, butter and peanut butter and whip until smooth and shiny. Slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth and well blended.

Peanut Butter Cookies

So, I received a request...ok, maybe not so much a request as a complaint. I volunteer at a homeless shelter one to two days a month and during the holidays, one of the patrons looked at the holiday cookie dessert display and remarked that they he could never find good peanut butter cookies. This was a guy who was already clearly down on his luck and among the hard knocks in life, would it be so much to ask to have a decent peanut butter cookie? I think not. I told him that I would be back on New Year's and that I would bring him the best Peanut Butter Cookies that I could find a recipe for.

Despite my promise to the gentleman at the shelter, I am not usually a fan of peanut butter cookies but I think that's because I never had a homemade version before I made these. Tragic I know but I have to say that these cookies seriously made up for the lack of homemade in my life. These gems pack some serious peanut punch; they were soft in the middle with a light crunch on the outside and they melt like butter in your mouth. Once again, it is a miracle that these even made it into the oven. Along those lines let me just say that I consider my myself a batter (cake, cookies, cupcakes, etc.) connoisseur and among all of the wonderful batters of the world, this one ranks near the top. xoxo - AJ

Recipe adapted from "The New Best Recipe", from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Skippy extra-crunchy peanut butter
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts, ground in a food processor to resemble bread crumbs

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl; set aside.

Beat the butter in an electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugars, beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorporated, then the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture. Add the ground peanuts and stir gently until incorporated.

Roll tablespoon size pieces of batter into balls and place them on the cookie sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart. Press each dough down with a fork to make a crisscross design. Be sure to dip the fork into cold water before pressing on the dough to prevent sticking.

Bake 10-12 minutes until puffed and slightly browned around the edges but not on top. Cool on sheet for about a few minutes and transfer to newspaper or wire rack to cool completely.

Homemade Nutter Butters

Here I go again with the cookie aisle making an appearance on my blog under the premise that I can make the familiar favorites into prodigious caricatures of themselves. See the Adult Oreos post from November for reference.

I blame my unusual obsession with what I call snack food aisle cookies on my childhood. I grew up in a house that was perpetually on a diet which meant that all forms of junk food were not allowed through the front door except on special occasions. That said, a part of me is actually glad that sweets were not in the house because frankly, I am not crazy about them as I think they taste processed and artificial. However, I do love the concept; a creamy peanut butter filling between two peanut butter cookies, what's not to like? So, like chocolate chip cookies which I truly believe should only be homemade with lots of love, I believe these types of cookies should also be homemade with lots of love.

This recipe make a lot of cookies so this is fair warning. Half the recipe if you are not feeding an army. xoxo - enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Thomas Keller of Bouchon Bakery

Cookie Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts
2 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Filling

1/4 pound (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
1 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar sifted

Make the cookie dough: preheat over to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together with a fork the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times.

At low speed, add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Fold in peanuts and oats and until completely combined with a rubber spatula.

Place tablespoon sized balls onto a baking sheet about three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and are light golden brown, about 11 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet at least 15 minutes before transferring to a rack or newspaper to cool completely before adding filling.

For the filling; cream together butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar using an electric mixer until completely smooth.

To assemble, spread a thin layer of the filling an underside of a cookie and sandwich with another cookie.