flourless peanut butter cookies..

simplest cookies ever

Two weeks ago, I had a couple friends over and we were just kicking back with a couple beers and a bag of chips on a Thursday night. We were chilling and catching up because we hadn’t seen each other in a while. And then randomly, my friend Suzie says, “Hey, you bake a lot, right? Can’t you just take peanut butter straight out of the jar and bake it into cookies?”

The rest of us just stared at her and started cracking up because we all thought she was being ridiculous (as usual).

I said, “Suzie. That is craziness. You need flour, butter, etc. for cookies. You can’t just bake peanut butter, DUH!”

Well, Suzie, my friend, this post is dedicated to you because turns out, you can! Sort of..

cooling

A couple of days ago, I saw this post on Joy the Baker’s website. And normally, I DETEST peanut butter cookies but I had to make these and give them to Suzie K. And voila, when they came out of the oven, I thought they were pretty good!

I can’t explain why I don’t like peanut butter cookies.. I love peanut butter. Love peanut M&Ms. Who knows.. I guess I just don’t like the combination of cookie dough and peanut butter. Guess I found a peanut butter cookie recipe I like though!
Who knew I could like a version of a cookie without flour or butter better than the original.. \

I was going to give them all to Suzie, but I ended up giving some away to other people because I was so fascinated by them.
“Here! Taste this! What do you think? Guess what! No flour! No butter! Isn’t that amazing?”
I don’t think they shared my enthusiasm though.

ready to snack on

These were perfectly crispy around the edges but nice and chewy inside… Mmmmmmm. I should put some chocolate on it next time. Or jam?

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
The Gourmet Cookbook

Yield: About two dozen cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes.

Roll into walnut sized balls and create a cris-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, add a few chocolate pieces to the top of the cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to… your mouth.

Reflection. Happy Easter.

The school year is coming to an end, and I feel like I haven’t done that much in the ten months I’ve spent as a sophomore.

I wonder why.

Why do I pass each year feeling like an unaccomplished sack?
Sometimes I wonder if its because my ambition outreaches my ability.

I want so much but so many times I feel like I shouldn’t try to get it because every time I’ve tried really hard for something, I’ve never gotten it.

Never.
I shouldn’t be such an emo punk right now but this is what Springtime does to me. I hate Spring. It’s my least favorite season. -__-
For some people its equivalent to leaves, bunnies, baby chicks, and flowers.
All I see is pollen, disgusting wind, bipolar weather, and allergies galore.

Back to the point.
Sophomore year has been quite a ride.
Some good things have happened this year. That I cannot recall presently in my pensive state and also because I refuse to while I’m feeling emo. I’ve become more disillusioned with college.

I feel like the things I said at the end of freshman year about university life were so naive.
Looking back, I feel like that 19-year-old me was so young, stupid, and trusting. I know it sounds ridiculous to say “Oh, I’m so much older now at 20 than I was at 19″ but I feel older. Less… happy. Less excited about each day in the morning. Not that I haven’t always been a cynic. Hopefully, summer vacation will be a good reflective period for me, so I can figure out what it is I want from life.

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37:3-4

On the plus side of things, I think I might take a trip to Sprinkles on Friday.
I’m excited. Really. Imagine that sentence in size 36 capital letters, bolded, italicized, and me screaming and jumping up and down.
Friday is the only day that they have two of my favorite flavors at the same time. Pumpkin and chai latte.
I’m kind of bummed that I missed the Easter flavors though. Well, there’s always next year. And pumpkin and chai latte will TOTALLY make up for it.

My friend, Jennifer, bought me a box of Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake mix. I need some introspective baking time to myself soon. How awesome. It’s like getting a box of Sprinkles for free.

double post, say what?? mm cookies..

Two posts in one day!

Aren’t I crazy?

:)

Haha.

My sister and I actually went on a baking spree yesterday.

After we finished making our cheddar scones, we decided to make something sweet to balance out the savory.

flat as heck

We took an awesome basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and replaced the chocolate chips with toffee bits and white and milk chocolate swirled chips. DELICIOSO! oooo baby.

These were seriously a labor of love. While I was checking on the scones in the oven, I forgot to measure out the rest of the flour, and we ended up only putting in one cup instead of two, but realized after the first batch went in! Haha. It was hilarious. They spread like crazy and we ended up throwing them away. Then, we added some more flour to the watery dough and they ended up being fine.

These cookies are more thin and crispy with a chewy center. I looooove. If you like cake-like, soft cookies.. Yeah, this cookie is not for you. There’s a lot of sugar and melted butter that guarantees a yummy crisp instead of a soft-baked cookie.

I need a name for these cookies. What should we call them??? Help me think of a name!

toffee chewies?

Chewy Toffee Crisps

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup toffee bits
1 cup white&milk chocolate swirled chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended and stir in the chocolate chips/toffee bits/whatever you like.

Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart (Trust me these will spread a lot!) Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

savory cheddar cheesey scones!

cheesey scones

I think the best thing a girl can have is a sister. :)

Especially an older sister.

I think I’m so amazingly lucky to have an older sister who goes to the same school as me and is practically my best friend!

Haha, enough sap and back to the point of this post. My sister, Lynn (Check out her blog!) called me randomly last night and asked me if I wanted to come over to her apartment and bake scones with her and of course I said yes.

I’ve been running out of food in my apartment lately, so I was hoping to get some free little goodies and maybe a free dinner. I’m getting sick of the school muffins that I always buy on my way to class. Too greasy and commercial tasting… Yuck -___-

beautiful sister

So, we decided to try out Martha Stewart’s recipe for cheddar chive scones but then realized we were missing two ingredients! Haha… We messed up quite a few times measuring out flour and sugar and butter because we were getting distracted while jiving to some music in the kitchen, but the scones turned out buttery, cheesey, flaky and SO DELICOUS!

Next time, we’ll just be better prepared and not forget to buy chives and paprika.

Although, if you don’t like chives or paprika, feel free to exclude them because the scones are still delicious without them! Almost like a really light flaky biscuit. I just posted the recipe as is though, so whichever you like! I’ll definitely make this again with my sister with all the ingredients.

Martha Stewart’s Cheddar Chive Scones

4 ounces extra-sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated
6 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3 large eggs, beaten lightly, plus 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, roughly chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and set aside.

cheddar and flour

Place the cheddar cheese, chives, and 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl, and toss to combine; set mixture aside.
In a small bowl, combine the 3 lightly beaten eggs and the cream, and set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, paprika, and salt. Add butter; mix on low speed until butter is in pea-size pieces, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg-and cream mixture; mix on low speed until just blended. Add cheese mixture; mix until just combined.

dough prep

very uneven scones

5. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface, and pat into a 9-inch circle. Using a sharp knife dipped in flour, cut circle into 12 wedges.

Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet; brush tops with egg wash. Place in oven; bake, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking, until outside is crusty and inside is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy for breakfast on the go! Perfect to grab and eat on the way to class.

hehe. odd looking but good.

If you have a sister, go grab her and make these scones together right NOW!

pumpkin dilemma

joe's pumpkin

I have a can of pumpkin puree that I don’t know what to do with.
Pumpkin is one of my favorite ingredients, but I love it in almost everything which makes it hard to pick what to make.
I have a folder of saved recipes dedicated purely to pumpkin baked goods, and almost all of them are calling out my name!!

a. Pumpkin brioche.
b. Pumpkin scones.
c. Downeast Maine pumpkin bread.
d. Soft pumpkin cookies.
e. Pumpkin gingerbread bars.

What a conundrum.

Here’s something from the archives though…
I made a pumpkin cake with buttercream frosting for a friend on her birthday a couple months ago because we both love pumpkin like crazy! I made two single-layer cakes. One for myself and my roommates to keep and taste. Haha.
I’ve also made this for my dad on his birthday also.
It’s a bit of a favorite because it’s spicy, moist, and chock-full of pumpkin flavor.
I love that it takes the entire can of pumpkin so I don’t have to “save” it for later. I always end up tossing anything that I “save.”

It was well-received. :)

You can make it into a layered cake using 2 8-inch pans or even pour it into a 9×13 pan and cut it into bars.

happy birthday!

Pumpkin Cake with Buttercream Frosting

For the cake:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not the spiced kind.)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup walnuts

For the buttercream frosting:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Stir in walnuts.

Spread the batter into 2 8-inch greased baking pans. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again.

Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

If you really like nuts, you can do what I did and crush an extra half-cup of walnuts and use them for decorating the edges of the cake.