Amy's Peanut Butter Cookies

Here's another recipe from the Politics and Pot Roasts cookbook that I shared with you on my previous post. This time the recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies is compliments of our former "first daughter", Amy Carter. Did you know that Amy was only 9 years old when her dad Jimmy, our 39th President was elected? A couple other tidbits taken from the book: "Amy occasionally roller skated in the White House and had a tree house built for her in the South Lawn." Pretty cool huh? Well, I'm not sure if Amy actually baked these cookies herself in that huge White House kitchen back then, but I'm pretty sure she must have shared them with her peanut-loving family. I personally loved the soft, delicate texture of the cookies which reminded me a lot of a butter cookie. Surprisingly though, they were a little weak on the peanutty flavor. Next time I think I'll use a full cup of peanut butter and maybe add some chopped up peanuts to the mixture as well. By the way, these taste wonderful with a cold glass of milk.

Amy Carter's Peanut Butter Cookies:
Ingredients---
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups sifted flour

Directions--
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening and peanut butter
2. Beat in the sugars and salt.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the warm water; add this to the large bowl and mix well.
5. Stir in the flour. Mix until dough is smooth.
6. Wrap plastic wrap over bowl and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
7. After 1 hour, preheat oven to 400 degrees F
8. Using a small ice cream scooper or a spoon, scoop dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten the ball using the tines of a fork; (create a criss cross pattern with the fork, if desired).
9. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown
10. Allow to stand for 10 minutes on the baking pan before transferring to cooling racks
(Makes about 4 dozen cookies)

Cookies To Make You Chipper

How do you like your chocolate chip cookies?
a) soft and chewy
b) thin and crispy
c) all of the above
Well, if you answered "c" then I think you will enjoy this cookie recipe by pastry chef Sherry Yard. She calls these her "quintessential chocolate chip cookies" and by the taste of them, the name is quite fitting. The cookies manage to possess crisp, delicate edges and a soft, chewy center. That's the perfect chocolate chip cookie in my book! Yard recommends the use of a high quality bittersweet chocolate that she cuts into 1-inch pieces versus the more traditional chocolate chips. I used a mixture of dark chocolate as well as mint chocolates in my cookies so feel free to experiment with whatever you like. The interesting step in this recipe was shaping the dough into a log and then popping it into the fridge to chill. I'm more used to the usual drop cookie method of making chocolate chip cookies which, by the way, is also an option with this recipe.
So grab a tall glass of milk, or whatever your poison might be and hope you will enjoy these delicious cookies. Bet you can't eat just one either!


Chocolate Chip Cookies (by Sherry Yard, Desserts By The Yard)
ingredients-
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch pieces


directions-(Prepare oven and cookie sheets once the cookie dough has already chilled for a minimum of one hour OR if skipping the chilling process, proceed as normal)
1. Place racks in the middle and lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter on medium speed until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Continue creaming the mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and free of lumps, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds or until the egg is fully incorporated. Do not over beat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. On low speed, add the sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all the flour is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix in.
6. Remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of one half of the dough from the bowl and center them along the bottom of a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, creating a log of 1 and 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold the parchment over, creating a sausage. Twist the ends over and wrap in plastic. Repeat with the remaining dough. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. You can freeze the dough, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks). When the dough has chilled, remove it from the paper and using a serrated knife, slice 1/3-inch-thick rounds off the log. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
**Note: if baking right away, skip step 6 and spoon heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
7. Bake, rotating the sheets from the top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking, for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment off the baking sheets onto a work surface. Cool the baking sheets between batches and allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.
Cookies will keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

This Was Crumby

We've all heard of crumb cake, right? Well, how about crumb biscotti? The difference here is to use any leftover cake that you might have tucked away in your freezer. Now I'm not a person who usually keeps leftover cake scraps or crumbs but it just so happened that I baked a chiffon cake a couple weeks ago and didn't end up using all of the cake. So, because I hate to waste perfectly good food, I sealed up the leftovers in a container and froze them. The cake actually came in handy a week later when I used some of it in a strawberry trifle, but even after that, I had quite a bit left over. This recipe helps take care of any leftover cake or even cookies, for that matter. It comes from what is becoming to be one of my favorite baking books, Nancy Silverton's Pastries From The La Brea Bakery. The biscotti came out very crispy and crunchy, though not too hard at all. Despite being made primarily from cake crumbs, it held together quite nicely and did not even crumble. Perfect for dunking! So make good use of your leftover cake and give this recipe a try. Let me know what you think.

Crumb Biscotti (from Pastries From The La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton)

ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached AP flour (I used a combination of each)

1 and 1/4 cups dry cake crumbs (or cookie crumbs)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 extra-large egg

1 extra-large egg yolk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 extra-large egg white, slightly beaten, for brushing the tops of the biscotti

directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, crumbs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger and mix on low to combine.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the whole egg and egg yolk together. Slowly whisk in the melted butter.

4. Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour in the butter mixture, mixing just until combined.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, flatten it into a rectangle and fold the dough over onto itself, packing it into a completely solid brick. Keep patting the dough and dropping it against the surface to compress it and eliminate all the air holes. Using both hands, roll the brick back and forth to round the edges. Continue rolling the dough until you have a log about 15 inches long.

6. Transfer the log to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten it slightly to form a loaf, brush the top with the egg white and sprinkle with the extra crumbs to cover.

7. Bake the loaf until firm to the touch, about 35 minutes; allow to cool completely.

8. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Using a serrated knife, slice the loaf into cookies, about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the biscotti on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake until dry, about 20-30 minutes.

**notes about drying your cake crumbs: I basically laid the cake scraps out on a baking sheet and placed it in the oven at around 300 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Check on your cake often though because you don't want it to burn. Once the cake is nice and dry, take it out and allow to cool before using the crumbs in the biscotti recipe.

Pre-holiday Baking: Snickerdoodles

With Thanksgiving and Christmas (yikes!) just around the corner, I've been thinking more and more about baking cookies and which ones I'd like to make and give away as gifts. So today I tested out a Snickerdoodle recipe. Now I've tasted this cookie before but this was the first time I've ever actually made Snickerdoodles. The recipe, which I found in a cookbook called Simple Joys of Friendship is quite simple and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and bake. The end result is a cookie that is soft, slightly chewy, slightly sweet, and one that goes perfectly with a hot cup of tea. The cinnamon flavor of the cookie made my boyfriend think of Apple Jacks Cereal when he tasted it. Though not the most exciting cookie appearance-wise, the Snickerdoodle is quickly becoming one of my favorite tasting cookies and I'm definitely going to include this one for my holiday baking.
Snickerdoodles (yields 3 dozen cookies)
ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 and 1/2 cup plus 2 T. sugar divided
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 cup AP flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
2 T. cinnamon

directions: (preheat oven to 400 degrees F)
1. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla.
2. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
3. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls.
4. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
5. Roll balls of dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
7. Remove immediately from baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.

One Good Cookie

The first time I ever made these cookies, my boyfriend told me they were “the best” cookies I’ve ever baked for him. Wow. That’s a pretty powerful statement, isn’t it? Well, while I do agree that these World Peace Cookies from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets cookbook are quite high on the delicious- rating-scale, I don’t know if I agree that they are the “best” I’ve baked him. I mean, what about those chocolate chip ones that he raved about, or the oversized oatmeal raisins? Okay, a compliment’s a compliment and I will take them when I can! The bottom line is, these are indeed wonderful cookies. I made the dough early yesterday morning before work and baked up a batch later on that evening.
I hope you’ll like them as much as my boyfriend (and I) do.
Peace. (recipe here).

Thank-you, Mrs.Fields

Chocolate chip cookies are high up there on my list of comforting foods. Make that chewy, chocolate chip cookies with a mug of hot cocoa on the side, please. I've tried a couple different recipes including one called "The Chewy" by Alton Brown. I wasn't too pleased with the texture of this one however and renamed it "The Cakey." Sorry, Alton. I also tried a recipe from the William Sonoma website which was a little better but still, didn't have that mouth-watering-crispy-on-the-edges-chewy-in-the-center texture I was wanting. I came across this recipe on the back of a Mrs. Fields milk chocolate chip bag recently and wouldn't you know it? My search for the best chewy chocolate chip cookie came to a screeching halt. Chewy they are! And mouth-watering, and luscious, and...well, you get the picture. My boyfriend loved these too, and yeah, he's also a chewy fan. Give them a try and tell me what you think.
Mrs. Fields Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 and 1/4 cups AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups Mrs.Fields Milk Chocolate Chips (11.5oz pkg)--of course you can use semisweet if you wish
1 cup pecans chopped finely (optional and any other nuts will do too)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set this aside. In a large bowl with an electric mixer blend sugars at medium speed. And butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. DO NOT OVERMIX. Add flour mixture, chocolate chips, nuts and blend at low speed until just mixed. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake 12-14 minutes. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula. Cookies will be soft and moist on top but slightly crispy on the bottom. If you want crispier cookies then bake 1-2 minutes longer. Allow cookie sheet to cool between baking.
Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.