Peanut Butter Cookies

My family & I went sledding this past weekend and when we came in I made some hot chocolate and these cookies. Nothing is better than coming inside from the cold to have a nice cup of hot chocolate, Swiss Miss, of course!

The recipe is adapted slightly from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (I like smooth better, but you can use chunky too)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.

Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion.

Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Milano Cookies

I came across the Daring Baker challenge, albeit from July, to make homemade Milano cookies and I stopped in place. I knew immediately that these must be made and eaten within hours. Alas, I had to wait one day before making them since it was a busy weekend helping family move. Once the moving was over, the baking began. The recipe I originally used failed; it made basically weird looking cookies that were as flat as paper. I modified it a little and I think they were really successful, or at least that's what everyone told me.

Ingredients & Directions:

12 T butter, softened
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
7/8 C egg whites (from about 7 eggs)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon juice
2 C flour
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and then mix in the sugar. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon juice. Add the flour in thirds and mix thoroughly. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a cookie sheet (you could line it with parchment paper if you have it), spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.





Cookie Filling: Melt chocolate in either a double boiler or in the microwave. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools). Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.



I am so excited that I tried this and can't wait to try it again, but this time I want to try making Mint Milano Cookies.

Lime Infused Sugar Cookies

I was reading pinch my salt and came across the recipe for lime infused sugar cookies and knew instantly I had to eat these. I was going to just copy their recipe, but unfortunately I didn't have cream of tartar. No big deal. I went to my recipe book, also know as google, and found something that I could modify for my needs.


I was making these cookies at my mother's house, she likes to bring extra dessert to work and tell people I made it (I know you're reading this Mom...hi), but she doesn't have a juicer or a zester, so I improvised. A fork makes a decent zester in a pinch; it's not as pretty, but the zest just gets mixed in with the dough anyway.




Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
• zest of one lime
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix in the dry ingredients in to the wet in thirds. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.