Peanut Butter & Spelt Cookies

I have been on this sort of "health food" kick lately. Lame, I know. Maybe it's because my birthday is coming up (4 days.... I like presents) and I am starting to become more aware that what you put in your body really does make a difference. Maybe it's the charming few post-wedding pounds that have found a home with me.... or maybe it's because I spend way too much time at Whole Foods and I can't escape it. Who knows. But none the less... there has been kale in our fajitas, flax in our cereal and Rich is probably wondering why the white sugar and flour have suddenly disappeared from our home. 

Now, usually I would rather a full ban on tasty desserts than waste my time with ones that taste like cardboard. I have tried my fair share of "healthy" dessert recipes, whole wheat cookies (what a joke!) and gluten free nightmares.... but these cookies seriously take the cake.... like the full fat, calorie, sugar, diabetes inducing cake. And they have none of that in them! Ok, maybe a few calories..... but they are sugar free, dairy free, and egg free (Cindy Keith- these won't kill you!!) "Everything in moderation" have always been my words to live by...and they still are, but with these cookies you can totally have an extra one when nobody is looking.  I almost didn't want to admit how delicious they are.... but I am. The texture, which is usually the first thing to go with vegan cookies, is spot on. Now, you will have to make a Whole Foods run because even I didn't have spelt flour on hand, but 10 minutes in memorial day traffic is totally worth it! This is a super simple recipe that I feel like just became a staple for me. Delicious!

peanut better & spelt cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Heat your oven to 350 degree. Mix 1 1/2 cups of the spelt flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 
In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, tahini, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the flour mixture and fold them together until combined, try not to over work the dough. If it is too loose, you can add some more flour to it. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork. 
Bake for 10-12 minutes, don’t over bake or they will be dry. 


This recipe is from Greenkitchenstories.com and is surely not the last one that I will try from them!

Lavender Shortbread with Lemon Zest

I guess this would be part two of my borderline obsessive compulsive cooking with lavender day..... at least my house smells like heaven.

So, as I mentioned in my last post.... Richard is in Palm Springs for his bachelor party this weekend. Humphh. Now... I am all for a weekend getaway that leaves you in a hungover bliss for days on end and gives you an excuse to party like you're in college. I mean, let's be honest here... I am no stranger to some booze induced shenanigans. However, the idea of "one last hoorah" as a single guy (or girl) before you tie the knot seems a little silly to me. Last time I checked- bachelors and bachelorettes are not exactly single! Am I right, here? Buuuuut on the other hand.....I am fully enjoying the photos of compromising situations and questionable body parts that have been being texted to me by multiple parties (haha) annnnnd I'm not going to deny that I am a little curious to hear what the hell kind of strippers these boys were able to muster up in Palm Springs..... good luck boys ;)

Ok... so back to my wild day of baking and ice cream making....
Shortbread has to be one of my all time favorite cookies. It is a blank canvas for any flavor you could imagine to add to it, and it is delicious on its own. I love it.... and this particular recipe is fantastic.

 Lavender Shortbread with Lemon Zest

Ingredients

1/3 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender blossoms, chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup all purpose, unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, lavender, and lemon zest. Add the butter and mix with a hand mixer. Once mixed, add the flour and mix until a soft dough forms. 

Refrigerate the dough for about half an hour. Then, remove from the fridge, roll into a log, and chill for another 45 minutes to an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the shortbread dough into half inch rounds. 

Bake the shortbread cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet for 20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. 

Makes about 1 dozen cookies. 

OMG, I do exist!

Let me start by saying Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Boxing Day, Happy Friday the 13th, Happy MLK Day, Happy Groundhog Day..... and Happy Opposite Day (It's a real day.)

Yep.... It's been awhile. 

I have been living my worst nightmare for the past few months. This nightmare is called South Beach Diet.... and yes.... it's as bad as it sounds. I have said goodbye to bread, pasta, cake, bagels, pizza fruit, carrots, and worst of all, WINE. But, I have also said farewell to 15 pounds and 2 pants sizes, so I really can't complain that much...neither can my fiancé. 

So, here is my latest excuse as to why I have dropped of the face of the blogging universe:

The downside to any diet (besides the torture and cold sweats that come along with painful carb craving headaches) is really boring food.... I feel like my life has been wrapped in iceberg lettuce instead of spread lovingly between two fresh pieces of homemade sourdough bread. I mean... whats the point of blogging about chicken and veggies every night? 

However, I have recently come to the conclusion that just because I have to suffer through starvation to look like a super hot bride, does not mean that you, my 14 readers, also have to endure this misery. Yup, admit it.... the last two months have sucked without my Facebook wall being plastered with my latest food ramblings. 

To make this AMAZING blogging comeback that you are about to experience, I had the pleasure of shooting my afternoon baking with the wonderful Edward Scott..... (he is also shooting our wedding!!) 

Note: No matter how strict you have been dieting.... if there is cooking dough in your presence it is ALWAYS ok to eat it. 

The perfect milk dunking chocolate chip cookie

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Beat egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until light and creamy. 

Combine the remaining dry ingredients and the melted butter in a separate bowl. 

Combine both mixtures together. Mix well. Add the chocolate chips. 

Scoop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper using a tablespoon scoop.

Bake cookies in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy. 

Coming soon.... braised beef short ribs and buttermilk roasted chicken. I am going to blow your mind with my blogging dedication.... and my cooking :)

Recipe from SmittenKitchen.com

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ya, you read right.... h.e.a.v.e.n.


I think today was the first day... ahem, morning.... that it felt like fall. The marine layer took an extra hour to burn off, so I actually had a blissful moment where I thought I would actually get to wear a sweater for fall... which meant that I had to do make sort of pumpkin-y mess in the kitchen.

I am making sure to ease my new fiancé into the holiday baking terror that I can be...... apparently baking 6 pies and 4 loaves of bread in an afternoon while watching Home Alone on repeat is not normal behavior for most girls, so I figure that if I bake a little here and there, when I turn into full fledged crazy christmas cookie mode he will barely notice what I have become. Fingers crossed.

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 cups pumpkin puree (I used pumpkin pie puree..... and I still added all of the above spices. I highly recommend making the same mistake as I did.)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
3 cups of powdered sugar
8 ounces whipped cream cheese at room temp.
4 ounces/ 1 stick of butter at room temp
3 tablespoons of PURE, REAL maple syrup***

***Note: Please, for the love of all Canadians, do not use that awful fake stuff. That's all that I can even say about that. That said (being Canadian and all) I may have added a little extra maple syrup..... just a little.....

Method:
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
In a large bowl cream together granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla and mix well.
Gently add the flour and spice mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
Using a small cookie scoop (I recommend getting one so that all of the cookies are the same size since you will be pairing them together) drop dollops of the dough on parchment paper lined cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick is inserted into the cookie and comes out clean.
Let the cookies cool completely while you make the frosting.

For the Frosting:
Beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.... I highly suggest using a stand mixer because I am lazy. You don't want any lumps. Add the powdered sugar and maple syrup and continue to whip until light and fluffy.

To Assemble:
I always use a ziplock bag to pipe frosting.... it is easy, mess free, and looks nice. Turn half of the cooled cookies over and pipe about a tablespoon of frosting onto each one. You want to leave a little border around the edge so that the frosting doesn't go everywhere when you put them together. Press an un-frosted  cookie onto and gently press together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving so that the cookies have time to set.

*recipe barely adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. 

Bacon Chip Cookies

I really want to call these Piggy Snaps, but it feels inappropriate for some reason.

I have officially jumped on the pork bandwagon. It may have been my recent dinner at ANIMAL..... omg you HAVE to go.... or maybe just the fact that bacon makes everything more delicious. But seriously- these cookies are just that. Absolutely delicious.

achin' for some bacon.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 strips of bacon 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temp)

2 tablespoons bacon fat

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste (yes, vanilla extract will work the same, I am just a huge pain in the ass)

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In skillet over high heat, cook the bacon until very crisp. I add a little water to the pan to make the bacon extra crispy. If it were up to me, I would have cooked the bacon until it was black and almost un-edible because that is the way that I like it, but Richard told me that I was gross and that is not the way to cook bacon for cookies. Apparently he knows everything. 

Cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon fat. This is gross, but you will be so happy that you did it.

Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until just combined. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture half at a time. 

Add crumbled bacon and chocolate chips. I reserved a little extra bacon to sprinkle on top of the cookies.

Roll dough into one ounce balls and gently flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. These cookies will not rise or spread while baking, so make sure they look perfect when you put them in the oven. 

Bake on parchment paper lined trays for about 12 minutes until golden. 

oink.

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Can I please note that as I type this my boyfriend is at spin class and I am sitting in front of my computer eating cookies.

I am going to be in big trouble when I turn 25 and get a harsh dose of metabolic reality.

Yes, my birthday is in 2 weeks and I LOVE presents. Thank you.

These have negative calories. I promise. 

Ingredients:

5 oz butter

4 oz granulated sugar

4 oz brown sugar

1/4 oz salt

3 oz eggs (technically you should measure eggs because they are all different sizes. I used 2 eggs.)

1/4 oz vanilla extract

10 oz pastry flour (You can use all purpose flour. Pastry flour is just fluffier.)

1/4 oz baking soda

10 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Cream butter and sugar. Whisk together eggs and vanilla and combine with butter and sugar mixture. Sift the dry ingredients and slowly fold into the wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips, roll into 1 oz balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden brown. 

Tip: Well, two tips, actually. 

1. DO NOT OVERMIX your cookie dough. Over mixing is what causes cookies to be flat and chewy. 

2. Chilled cookie dough is best. Once your cookies are on a cookie sheet and ready to go into the oven it is best to put them in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes. 

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Today my baking teacher threw around the word "PERFECTION."
I baked perfect, melt in your mouth, chewy, yet crumbly peanut butter cookies.
I mean..... to die for peanut butter cookies.

"I just made your day didn't I? You are just like me."
My baking teacher then seriously called me out on my proud case of OCD.
I love her.

Note: My other baking instructor is a man with an accent so thick he sounds like you should be watching him make baguettes on a street corner in France.

This class may be my version of heaven.

I love this class. 

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

6 oz butter

4 oz brown sugar

4 oz granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 oz peanut butter

2 oz of eggs (1 egg)

1 teaspoon vanilla 

8 oz pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

I never use my kitchen aid mixer at home because I think it is a huge pain in the ass to clean and I kind of enjoy doing everything by hand. I literally bought the stupid thing to put on the counter, look pretty, and remind everyone that I can probably bake way better cookies than them. 

However, we did use mixers in class today, so if you have one you can use it.... I guess. 

Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, and salt. 

Combine eggs and vanilla. Fold into butter mixture. Make sure that you do not over mix or your cookies will end up super flat. 

Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add them to the butter mixture until evenly combined and smooth. 

Form 1 oz balls of dough and place evenly on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I SWEAR by parchment paper. It doesn't make your cookies greasy on the bottom and it keeps them from sticking. Foil works well also.

Using a fork, create a cross pattern on top of each cookie. I dipped my fork in sugar before doing this to give them a little glisten. 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. 

Grandma Baboo's Gingersnap Cookies

Yes, rumors are true and I did move into a handsome boys house last week. Now- I should be unpacking, however, when the BF divulges Grandma's gingersnap recipe you take that as a sign that digging through boxes (wanting to pull your hair out and possibly start crying) can absolutely wait. Plus, I am pretty sure that I have made a tradition with my last 4 moves (yes.... 4 moves in 12 months) that my new kitchen MUST be baked in within 24 hours.

Baboo's gingersnap cookies

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup of Grandma's Dark Molasses

** Make sure that you use dark (or robust) molasses or else your boyfriend will look at you with disappointment in his eyes as if you have failed his grandmother. You will then have to make a second batch....

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet. Does it have to be cast iron? No, but I love cast iron. Remove from heat once melted and let cool. Mix together sugar, molasses and egg. Combine molasses mixture with cooled butter and stir well by hand (keep this in the pan.) In a separate bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix. Place dough in refrigerator for a few hours to cool completely. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small balls and dredge in crystal sugar (or raw sugar)

Place balls on greased cookie sheet and gently flatten with fingers. 

Bake 8-10 minutes until cracked and browning. 

Now, while I feel really special for getting an all access pass to a Keith family recipe......I am pretty sure that Great Grandma Baboo may have modified this from the back of a molasses jar :)