Peanut Butter Pecan Cookies with Chocolate Frosting

I'm not usually a fan of peanut butter cookies, but Jacob loves them. He loves any kind of cookie. So, fine. Peanut butter it is. I took a basic peanut butter cookie recipe and added pecans to the batter, and frosting to the cookies after they had baked and cooled. I LOVE them

For the Cookies:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
-1/2 cup chopped pecans
- granulated sugar, or sugar in the raw for dusting

Directions:
Cream together butter and peanut butter. Add granulated and brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in pecans and flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll into additional sugar to coat. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet flatten by making crisscross marks with the tings of a fork. Bake at 375 for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For Frosting:
- 1 cube butter
- 3 cups-ish of powdered sugar
- a little milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coco powder (to taste)

Directions:
Blend butter and powdered sugar together, add milk to desired consistency. Add vanilla and coco powder. Spread over cooled cookies.

1: Oven Puff Pancakes (or as my Aunt Cherri calls them, "German Pancakes")

Because I don't get to post as often as I'd like, I've decided to make my time on the computer count. Today I've posted six awesome breakfasts that, since making them the first time, I have craved over and over again. My favorite of the six has to be the breakfast puff pastry. It is super easy and delicious, and I probably make it twice a week because I love it so much. Enjoy!


I would credit this recipe to someone, but it's pretty basic and well known. I've seen almost identical recipes for oven puff pancakes in tons of cookbooks. I like to add a dash of vanilla to mine because it makes them taste less eggy...

These are the bomb with fresh fruit.

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- pinch of salt
- dash of vanilla

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Place your stick of butter in a 9 x 13 pan, or a dutch oven and place in your warm oven to melt while you mix the other ingredients.



In a blender, combine eggs, flour, milk, salt and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into your pan once the butter has completely melted.



Bake for 18-20 minutes. Pancakes will "fall" once cut into. Serve with your favorite fresh fruit and powdered sugaar! Yummm....

Cheddar Muffins

I have one week before I’m off with Finn to my in-law’s in California. I have nine dollars for one week of groceries. We have stuff in the freezer, but I may have to be a tad more creative. When Jacob offered to go to the grocery store for me today I only requested two things: nutella and chocolate chips. At least we won’t have to go without our chocolate chip nutella ice cream sandwiches for this last week… few!

Yesterday I set myself up for some baking. I made some basic dinner rolls, and while those were rising I made some cheddar muffins. I had never made these particular muffins before; I got the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. The recipe yields 12 muffins. There are only 2 left. Jacob has only had one, and he had to fight for it… I ate a few with chicken salad, I had some with chicken noodle soup, and I had one for breakfast with sugared strawberries and raspberries. These muffins are definitely going on my regular rotation.

For the Cheddar Muffins:
Cook time: about 25 minutes, Yield: 12 muffins

(This happens to be the first recipe in the “Breads” section of my Homes and Gardens Cook Book.)
- 1 and ¾ cup All-Purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 beaten egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Grease your muffin tins, or line with paper cups and set aside. In one of two bowls combine first 4 dry ingredients and set aside. In second bowl combine egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Add cheese and stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix, as this will make your muffins dense and tough. Spoon batter into muffin tin, and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, you know the drill. Allow them to cool for a few minutes, but they are the best warm, when you pull them apart and see the melty strings of gooey cheddar…yummmmm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies! (10/9/2009)

Prepping for my trip to Newbury Park semi-started today. Bleh. First thing that needed doing: my fridge was screaming for some Lysol. I had defrosted some pork that I didn’t end up cooking and it juiced all over the bottom shelf of my fridge. I may never ever eat pork again. No, I probably will. Lets be honest, it’s gonna take something way more disgusting than a little pink pork juice to scare me away from eating anything. I’m no wuss. I also had to give myself my customary pre-car trip mani-pedi. So, fridge – check, mani-pedi – check check. Last thing on my prep list was to bake off some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies for the drive. That, of course, will be the recipe I post for you today. Yay cookies!!
Tomorrow I will spend my entire morning planning out a weeks worth of outfits. I loath this part of travel. How in the heck am I supposed to know what I’m going to feel like wearing three days from now?! My sister-in-law Ashley I. knows what I’m talking about, we’ve had this discussion before. Were I a wealthy archaeologist’s wife (haha, this doesn’t exist) I would only pack my bathroom necessities. I would then buy all new outfits once I got to where I was going. Instead I will spend a couple hours looking through J. Crew and Anthropology catalogues just to get outfit ideas. And eating many many cookies.


For this recipe you will need:
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (I always add about a half teaspoon extra because I like the flavor)
- 2 and ½ cups all purpose flour
- 12 oz of your fav. chocolate chips (I ALWAYS use milk chocolate, semi-sweet gives me the gags!!! But to each his own…)

Now I have found that the secret to this particular recipe is to keep the butter pretty cold. You don’t want it rock hard, but not too far from…
Cream the butter and shortening together and add sugars and baking soda. Add eggs and vanilla until just combined, you don’t want to over mix, and you don’t want to let the butter get too soft. Add in flour until combined, then the chocolate chips. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 12 min.

Mine only usually take 8 min, and I make good sized cookies. I find that they taste better longer if you bake them only until the edges and crust are just firm but you can tell the center is still gooey. If you bake for too long then they get too hard, and while they may taste good on day one, day to you will feel like you are sucking on a rock. These cookies make the best ice cream sandwiches, with a little vanilla or mint chip ice cream, ummmmm!
I know most people have their own never fail go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, fine tuned and specific to them. This is mine, so if you haven’t found yours yet give this one a try. It took me three years to find and perfect it, but no two people -even using the same recipe- make cookies the same. Go forth and bake, and remember, COLD BUTTER!