Peanut Butter Cookies 3 Ways

I wanted to make an easy treat for my husband today, so I thought about what I haven't made yet and what ingredients on hand.  With a little searching I decided on Peanut Butter cookies, which surprisingly, I can't ever recall making....ever!  This recipe was so easy, the dough really came together beautifully and turned out amazing.

I began with this recipe below and then added 2 other types of ingredient toppings to make 2 other varieties of dynamite cookies!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Recipe courtesy of All Recipes


Ingredients
1 c. smooth peanut butter
1 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Jam/preserves of your choice (I used raspberry preserves)


Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, mix together peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well blended. 
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, I used a small cookie scoop.
• Use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on the top. 
• Make a small hole in the top of each cookie using the back of an 1/8th tsp. measuring spoon.
• Fill the holes with preserves.
• Bake for 8 to 11 minutes in preheated oven. 
• Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. 

In some of the cookies, I substituted the jelly with nutella:

And in some other of the cookies, I substituted the jelly with chopped Heath candy bar:

Baby Shower Cookies

For my cousin Kelly's baby shower, I wanted to contribute something special, though the shower was thrown by my mom and her sisters.  I found the adorable onesie cookie cutter at one of my most FAVORITE baking sites, Bake It Pretty and decided to decorate them in honor of my soon-to-be new baby second cousin, Alec Joseph, a bouncing baby boy!! 

I used the sugar cookie recipe that I previously used for Halloween and Christmas cookies along with the same Royal Icing recipe as well.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Being more conscious about what I bake and cook at home is part of my New Year's plan, but that doesn't mean that some tasty treats can't be made every now and then...especially when they are made with whole wheat flour, rolled oats and cranberries!  These tasty treats were delicious and will also make a great treat for my co-workers on a very snowy Friday!  Not overly sweet, a bit of tang and hint of orange in every bite, these came out wonderfully.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. orange extract
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

 Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a bowl, cream together the butter & brown sugar fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Add in vanilla and orange extract.
• Combine oats, flours, salt, & baking soda; stir into butter mixture one cup at a time, mix well after each cup. 
• Stir in dried cranberries & white chocolate. 
• Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Pat each mound down with your fingers a bit to flatten.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Yields about 36 cookies.

Christmas Cookies

Christmas goody boxes would not be complete without sugar cookies!  I used this sugar cookie recipe and royal icing recipe previously for Halloween cookies, which you can find here!  So good!

Candy Cane Biscotti

Christmas baking is such a wonderful tradition and it feels so good to share the treats with those around us.  I have been a busy baker this weekend, making up some treat boxes for my friends/co-workers.  This recipe just jumped out at me as "Christmas-sy" and I had to include it.  These are delicious and are wonderful dipped in coffee or tea!

Candy Cane Biscotti

Recipe courtesy of Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes
• 14 ounces fine quality white chocolate, melted
• extra crushed candy canes to sprinkle on top

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder & salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter & sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add dry ingredients & mix until combined & stir in crushed candy.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Shape each piece into 9″ x 1 1/2″ round log. Place logs 3 inches apart onto baking sheet with a silpat or parchment.
• Bake until tops are cracked & ends just start to turn light brown, about 18-20 min. Remove from oven & reduce temperature to 325. Cool logs 10 minutes on cookie sheet.
• Cut each log diagonally into 1/2″ slices with sharp serrated knife. Arrange pieces standing up back onto the baking sheet.
• Bake until cookies are light golden brown & crisp on both sides, about 12-15 min. The centers may still be a little soft but will firm up as they cool. Place onto cool rack & cool completely.
• Dip half of each biscotti into melted chocolate & shake off excess. Immediately sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes & set on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set.
• Make about 4 dozen.

Halloween Cookies

I have been itching to try royal icing for some time now and never seemed to have the time.  I finally found the time (and the courage) to try this.  I think with time, the process would get simpler, but I was happy with my first attempt.  There are a lot of steps, but I was just mainly concerned with the icing drying out, but had no real issues.  Honestly, it was easier than I imagined and with more practice, I can see finding many excuses to use royal icing for cookies all the time!  The results were definitely so pretty and worth the effort...and it tasted wonderful too!

Sugar Cookies

Recipe courtesy of Annie at Annie's Eats

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 ½ cup flour

 Directions

• Cream butter.
• Add powdered sugar.
• Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour.
• Chill dough until firm. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface.
• Cut with cookie cutters.
• Place on greased cookie sheets or use a Silpat.
• Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should not get browned at all.
• Decorate when cooled completely.

Royal Icing

Recipe adapted from Good Things Catered, as seen on Annie's Eats

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp. meringue powder
• 5 tbsp. water 

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until the icing is no longer shiny (about 7-10 min).
• Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container.  This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, at this point it is still too stiff to use. 
• Add water a very small amount at a time & stir by hand until fully mixed.  Continue until the icing has reached a piping consistency.
• Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie.  Let stand so the icing will set and dry.
• Be sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use or it will begin to dry.
• Once all the cookies have been edged, spoon some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. 
• Thin out by mixing in a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted & smooths back into the icing fairly quickly.  
• Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle or drizzle a bit from the spoon to the area & flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie.  If it doesn't completely spread, use a toothpick to spread.  
• Allow to dry completely.
• Use the remaining thicker icing for piping decoration.  
• Gel icing color is the best type of coloring to use, as it doesn't affect the consistency of the icing and provides a more vivid color.   Mix in a little at a time and stir to combine completely, a toothpick works well for adding the gel to the frosting. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's not often I make cookies these days or bake in general...much to my husbands displeasure. With new prospects on the horizon of him going back to school for some training, I decided to surprise him with some chocolate chip cookies to celebrate!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy of The Way the Cookie Crumbles

*I used the bread flour recommendation that Bridget gave and thought these turned out so fabulous!*

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups (10.8 ounces) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
• 1¼ cups (8.75 ounces) brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Heat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt & baking soda.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars & beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs, one a time, mixing for one minute after each addition. Add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low & add flour, mixing just until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips & pulse the mixer on low speed until the chips are dispersed & the flour is incorporated.
• Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the lined baking pan, spaced an inch or two apart. Bake the cookies for 7-10 min., until slightly browned around the edges & just set in the middle. Cool the cookies for at least 2 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
  

A true labor of love...

My dear husband has been wanting cookies lately...we do not normally buy or make cookies, so I'm not sure where these said cookies would come from. But, because I love him, I decided to surprise him and make homemade "Oreo" cookies. I heard about a recipe for these through my lovely friend Karen over at Lovestoeat Weblog (check it out) and how wonderful they were...so bingo! these were the cookies I would try.

The recipe did call for a lot of chilling time, so I was prepared for that, however, our house must be super warm, because I only got part way through cutting the first sheet of dough before they started "melting" and falling apart on me...frustrated, I gave up...then decided to try again with the second sheet and made smaller cookies out of them. I ended up with a lot of extra filling for these since I didn't make the full amount of dough's worth, however, the ones that did come out were FABULOUS...richer than store-bought cream-filled cookies and just better all around. I decided that I will likely make these again, however, on a day when our heat isn't on (it's freezing here in MI in case you didn't know!) quite so high.

Homemade "Oreos"
Recipe courtesy of Food Network

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 11/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare the dough: Sift together the cocoa powder, flour and salt in a large bowl.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, incorporating each ingredient before adding the next. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces; place one piece between 2 lightly floured sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Refrigerate both rectangles, covered with the parchment sheets, until firm, at least 1 hour or up to several days.

Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut the dough into 64 circles. (You can reroll the scraps once.) Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets and chill for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325.

Bake the cookies until they are set and slightly darker around the edges, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter and shortening until fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.

Flip half of the cookies upside down and top each with 1 level tablespoon of filling. Press the remaining cookies on top to make sandwiches.

Where have these cookies been all my life?

YUM - YUM- YUM!

I am not usually a big cookie-maker...ask Paul! So when these cookies were discussed on The Nest What's Cooking? message board, I thought they sounded delicious...and let me tell you, these do NOT disappoint. If you are a fan of fall and pumpkin - these are made for you!! I was skeptical as I put them together, but they baked up perfectly and are not a scary orange color, but nice and golden...and sooooooooo fluffy. I've never had cookies turn out like this before, most of mine fall flat! You need (yes, NEED) to try these in your fall baking this year!

I got this recipe and followed the changes of LivingInsanity on The Nest's blog...she has a beautiful cooking blog - be sure to check it out!

P.S. How on earth did I live without my Silpat? This is the best cooking-related gift I have gotten
thus far...thanks again fdcritt76!!!

My cookies came off so easy and they weren't all dented!!!

Pumpkin Choc chip cookies
allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 egg
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon milk
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


DIRECTIONS
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in.


Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.


2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.


3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.


**LivingInsanity's changes** - which I followed as well.
I did 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead of 2 teaspoons cinnamon
I put all liquid ingredients together in my mixer, including the milk and vanilla before I added my dry ingredients
I baked at 365 for 12 minutes because one of the recipe comments suggested it.

Cookie Time!

YUM...what's better than fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies? Not much! My mom makes the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie Recipe and though I tried to duplicate her results, these fell flat...hers are much fluffier...must be a mom secret. However, I still got rave reviews on these from Paul because they were thin and crispy on the edges and still slightly chewy in the middle. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and to these cookies, I added white chocolate chips and Heath bits.

Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Very Best Baking

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels (I used 1 cup of milk chocolate AND 1 cup of white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup Heath Toffee Bits) and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.