April 17, 2013 by cindy

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags: baking, chocolate chip, cookie, peanut butter, pretzel, recipe, sweet and salty

Heeeeeey, guys! I totally missed you AND I made cookies!

There’s nothing like getting out of a cooking/baking/life-rut than an indulgent cookie. Many ailments of life can be cured via the humble cookie. It’s just a fact.

These cookies combine the ultimate sweet-tooth trifecta — salty-crunch, peanut butter, AND chocolate. Only good things can happen with this trio, believe it! These cookies are thick, dense, and chewy. They’re the kind of cookie that holds it shape and has a little heft — not the daintiest, these cookies mean serious crave-curing business.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies.

(highly) Adapted from THIS recipe.

Go ahead and use crunchy OR smooth peanut butter, baker’s choice! I used a natural, peanut-only, peanut butter with great results (THIS brand). It was unsalted, so you may need to dial back the salt if you use a salted brand.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups crushed, salted pretzels

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

30 mini pretzel twists (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

In bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing completely before adding the next and scraping the bowl after each. Add the vanilla. Dump in all of the flour mixture and pulse to combine. Fold in the pretzels and chocolate chips.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough, place on baking sheets 1 inch apart, and press a pretzel (if using) into the top of each cookie and flatten with gentle pressure. Bake cookies one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 4 days.

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July 14, 2011 by cindy

Recipe: Peanut Butter and Flax Dog Treats

Tags: baking, dog treats, dogs, flax, homemade, peanut butter, pets, recipe

If you know Sean and I at all, you know that we love our two dogs.

Our first dog, Jezebel, is a Queensland Heeler rescue. She’s serious, smart, loyal, and has serious separation anxiety due to being abandoned (twice!) in the past. We have had her for a little over 5 years, and despite her tendency to try to deafen you with her bark and lick your flesh off with her incessant licking, we love her.

Luxe came to us from my best friend’s parents. We picked her up when she was 6 weeks old, a little over 3 years ago. She’s a chihuahua/poodle/jack russel mix. She is goofy, a stealth cuddler, has the ability to turn Sean into a serious mushball, and is totally oblivious. Her goal in life is to torment Jezebel.

It kind of goes without saying that they are sort of spoiled. We allow them on the furniture (though this requires that I vacuum everything at least once a week) and they often end up in our bed most mornings. We take them on lots of walks, to the dog park, and always consider them when planning trips. We buy them fancy dog food (we’re not big on table scraps), and sometimes I make them treats.

From scratch.

I’m a nice dog mom.

We usually make them do a trick before getting a treat. We are easily entertained. Luxe is pretty good at “dancing”, she’ll stand on her hind legs and do a little spin, she also plays dead and shakes. Jezebel knows a number of tricks and will run through them all without being commanded if she knows it’s treat time. Laying in the sun is not one of their tricks…it’s just their default mode.

Peanut Butter and Flax Dog Treats

This recipe is adapted from White on Rice Couple and from the treats I made at the bakery I used to work for.

The best thing about these treats are the fact that they are made out of real ingredients…ones that you might even eat. The second best thing, they don’t smell crazy-gross like a lot of treats out there (like those meaty ones…sick), which means I don’t feel the need to scrub the stench off my hands immediately. These ones smell like peanut butter and whole wheat….cause that’s what they are made of. Duh. I cut out two sizes because we have two different sizes of dog. Get crazy, cut them out however you like.

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

3 Tablespoons flax seeds

3 eggs

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl whisk together oats, flours, salt, sugar, and flax seeds. Set aside while you gather the wet ingredients.

In a large measuring cup whisk together eggs, peanut butter, oil, and water. Combine wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined well. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times. The dough should be stiff, but workable, if it is still sticky add a little more whole wheat flour and knead into the dough. Do not fear over mixing, it’s okay if the treats are tough. Your dogs won’t mind.

Split the dough into 2 or 3 pieces and roll out. I like to roll it to 1/4-1/8 of an inch. Cut out with desired cutters and repeat with remaining dough. Place cut treats onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake until dry and crunchy–25 to 35 minutes. Cool completely before giving to your pups. Store in an airtight container. These will last quite a while (a few weeks) and also make great gifts for dog friends.

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June 14, 2011 by cindy

Recipe: Peanut Butter “Ninjas”

Tags: baking, chocolate, cookie, filled cookie, peanut butter, recipe

This week I turn 27, celebrate my 1st wedding anniversary, and I got a Lowe’s card. All of these things make me feel adult-ish…especially having a card solely for the use of home improvements and not for random shoes/clothes/jewels/dishware I want.

It’s kind of a big, weird week.

When I’m feeling weirded out and I don’t know what to do with myself, I default to the kitchen. I know what to do in there.

It’s my spot.

When I’m not sure what to bake, I usually go for cookies. They are hand held, portable, diverse little bites of goodness. When I’m not sure what I want I usually go for peanut butter or chocolate. In this case, I went for both.

Before I give you the recipe and send you running into the kitchen, let me tell you about the dough.

It be mad sticky yo.

For reals.

Mad sticky.

Since you have to roll it into balls and subsequently flatten and wrap them around the peanut butter filling, I suggest a bit of chillin’ in the refrigerator. A half an hour or more and things will be much more workable. The peanut butter guts, however, are pretty dry. No worries there.

You may be thinking, too much effort. It’s not. I promise. These cookies are so worth the (multiple!) chillings and the extra tender, loving, care.

Trust me. For serious.

Imagine this, brownie meets peanut butter. Brownie loves little old PB so much. Brownie give pb a hug and never lets go. Ever.

That’s what these cookies are. A tasty, chocolatey, peanut buttery hug.

Peanut Butter filled Chocolate Cookies aka Peanut Butter Ninjas

I saw this recipe a few months back and it was entitled Peanut Butter Ninjas–because of the secret PB middles. I bookmarked them and went about my life, but today I decided to make them. So, I dug up the link only to find it defunct. Double Damn. So, I did a quick search and found this recipe, after a little tweaking I came up with this. If you make these I implore you to not skip the chilling process, it will save you some stress and possible gray hairs. Also, when rolling I suggest having some flour or powdered sugar on hand to keep the stickiness to a minimum.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

granulated sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer cream butter on medium speed. Add sugars and mix until creamy and incorporated. Add egg and vanilla and mix well, making sure to scrape the bowl.

Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture and pulse mixer in short bursts until dough just comes together. Cover the bowl and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together peanut butter and confectioners sugar to combine. I find that gently microwaving the peanut butter (30 seconds or less) a little helps with incorporating the sugar. You should have a fairly firm peanut butter dough. Using a teaspoon, roll genrous spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture into balls. Place on a plate and put in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Once the cookie dough is chilled and workable, taking heaping tablespoons full of dough and roll into balls. Place on a plate and put in the freezer for 5-10 minutes until firm, but not frozen.

Remove cookie dough balls from freezer and peanut butter balls from refrigerator. Flatten cookie dough into disks and place a ball of peanut butter in the center. Wrap the edges of the cookie dough around the peanut butter filling and seal, and roll it into a uniform-ish ball. Place cookies on sheet pans and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand, sprinkle with granulated sugar if you like. Place the finished cookies on their pans back into the freezer for 5-10 more minutes–this will keep the cookies from spreading too much.

Remove cookies from freezer and bake for 10-12 minutes. the tops and edges should crackle a bit and dough will still be soft but dry to the touch, dough should not be overly gooey. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for a few minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.

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