When hoarding can be a GOOD thing - Cookie #93: PB&J Bars

In a past life I was a coupon-er.  I loved the thrill of clipping dozens of coupons from two different Sunday papers and matching them up with local grocery ads.  It was such a rush watching the total on my bill drop as the cashier scanned coupon after coupon after coupon.  Even the impatient stares of the customers behind me in line couldn't take away the euphoric feeling of saving almost 75%.

This brings me to the story of the peanut butter.  Peanut butter went on sale.  There was a coupon.  A really good coupon.  Actually several really good coupons which I hoarded in my pink coupon pouch.  I think I ended up getting the peanut butter for around 25 cents a jar. 

The problem?  I ended up with SEVEN jars of peanut butter.  At the time it was just my husband, myself and a non-peanut butter eating newborn in our home.  What on EARTH could we do with seven jars of peanut butter?  I immediately started trying out recipes. 

Peanut butter cake. 
Peanut butter frosting. 
Peanut butter fudge. 
Peanut sauce for chicken satay. 
Peanut butter cookies. 

I remembered having this awesome peanut butter bar cookie at a craft fair earlier that year and I decided I'd try to recreate it.  The cookie itself was vegan, but since at the time I knew little of vegan cooking, I chose to make them the "regular" way  (regular to me that is).  The bar cookie I remember consisted of this creamy peanut butter base.  The sweetness stuck to the roof of your mouth.  It was topped with a strawberry jam - and a good, homemade strawberry jam, at that. I could taste the chunks of fruit.  The whole thing was topped with an oatmeal crumble that was divine. 

So, armed with my seven jars of peanut butter, I got to baking. 

I was quite pleased with the results.  I opted to use plain old Welch's grape jelly instead of making my own strawberry jam.  Partly because I love grape jelly with peanut butter (currant jelly, too!) but, mostly because I was too lazy.  I had a newborn, remember?

So, here they are in all they're glory - rich, peanut buttery and oh so delicious. 
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars


1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up into chunks
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 - 1 cup grape jelly (or your jelly of choice)
1/4 cup chopped, roasted/salted peanuts

Combine all ingredients, except jelly, in a large bowl until well incorporated.
Press half the mixture into a buttered 13x9" pan.
Spread jelly over the top until even.
Sprinkle with remaining dough mixture & chopped peanuts.
Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until golden.
Let cool before slicing into bars.



PS - I have a picture of these scrumptious treats but realized it's saved on my office computer - not my laptop.  I'll update with a yummy photo tomorrow.

Cookie #85 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Marble

Oh. My.
These have to be the best cookies I've made thus far.  Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my best friend's favorite flavor combinations.  I knew I wanted to make her a peanut butter cookie, only better.  I must say, I succeeded.
Now, before I throw my shoulder out patting myself on the back, let me give you the recipe...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Marble

1 cup butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

12 oz milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Melt milk chocolate, either in a double boiler or the microwave, and set aside to cool.

Cream butter and peanut butter together until well combined and smooth.  Add sugars and mix until well incorporated.  Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla.

Sift together dry ingredients and add slowly to the butter mixture mixing until just combined.

Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the dough.  Drag a large spoon through the dough.  Do not fully mix the chocolate into the dough - you want to create a marble effect with streaks of chocolate. 

Drop 1/4 cups full of dough, 3" apart onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cookie #75 - Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs

Since the Girl Scouts discontinued the Lemon Pastry Cremes, I had to find a new favorite Girl Scout cookie.  The Lemon Chalet Creams don't come anywhere near the LPCs.  The cookies were lightly glazed and the filling was sweet and tart.  Oh, how I loved them and could eat an entire box in one sitting. 

Now that I think about it, it's probably a good thing they stopped making them. 

Then I discovered the Peanut Butter Patty.  Bad news, I tell you.  Bad, bad news. 

Once I buy a box (or three) they instantly go into the freezer to "ripen."  Once frozen, I eat the chocolate & cookie around the edges leaving a perfect mini tower of cookie and peanut butter topped with just enough chocolate. 

Just like the Samoas, I used a shortbread base for these.  Again, I didn't want to use a sugar cookie because I was afraid of the overwhelming sugar.  The texture just wouldn't be right, either.  The Peanut Butter Patty cookie is crunchy and buttery, but not at all sweet.  The shortbread I used was good, but I think I really needed a crispier cookie for this.  Even so, they were yummy! 

The other problem I had with these cookies was the chocolate coating.  It wasn't really a problem, more of an annoyance.  I used chocolate chips for the coating.  I melted it with a little shortening to aid in keeping the chocolate smooth and easy to work with. 

The problem? 

The chocolate didn't set as well as I would have liked.  These cookies had to be kept in the refrigerator with a piece of parchment between the layers.  The chocolate started to melt the second it was left at room temperature.  The next time I do this, I'll use candy coating, not chocolate chips, and I think I'll have better success. 

For the filling of these cookies, I made half using the same filling I used for the DoSiDos and half using just plain peanut butter.  They were good either way.  I didn't have a preference for either one.  It really depends on how much time you want to invest in these already time intensive cookies. 

They really are worth it though...

Peanut Butter Patties

Cookie Base:


1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Filling*:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2-2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

OR

About 3/4 cup peanut butter

Coating**:

1 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoons vegetable shortening.

First, make the cookies:
Beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Sift together flour and salt. Add slowly to butter mixture until well combined. Flatten dough into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Roll chilled dough out on a well floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut out dough with a 2" circle cookie cutter. Transfer circles to parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are just lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth and well combined. Mix in vanilla and milk.
With the mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until creme reaches desired consistency. If the mixture gets too firm, add a little milk. Too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Place a teaspoon or so of the peanut butter filling on each cookie.  Place cookies on a cookie sheet and transfer to the freezer for 15-20 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on half power at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Be sure to stir well in between so as not to scorch the chocolate.

Remove cookies from the freezer and dip each cookie into the chocolate until well coated.  I used a fork to dip them.  Gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate.  Place the dipped cookie on the cold cookie sheet.  Once all the cookies are dipped, put them back in the freezer to harden. 

Enjoy!

*this recipe makes MORE than enough to fill the cookies, I kept the excess and used it as a dip for chocolate.....okay, I ate it with a spoon, but you catch my drift.

**this is the chocolate I used for these cookies.  If you choose to use the chocolate coating, simply melt according to the package directions.  If you choose the chocolate chip route, you may need more than 1 cup, depending on the amount of cookies you've made.  1 cup was enough for me to dip around 15 cookies. 

Cookie #73 - Do-Si-Dos (Peanut butter oatmeal sandwiches)

One of Corey's favorite Girl Scout cookies is the Do-Si-Do.  He likes to put them in a bowl with milk and eat them like cereal. 
(Sound familiar?) 
I love it, too. 
It's one of those cookies that I convince myself is a breakfast food because it contains oatmeal and peanut butter. 
The GS variety consists of a creamy, light peanut butter creme sandwiched between two thin, yet soft, peanut butter oatmeal cookies. 
The ones I've made are a little more substantial.  The cookies are thick and  soft.  The creme center is soft and light and just sweet enough. 
I was so happy with the way these came out. 
While they do have the same flavors as the Do-Si-Do they are (dare I say?) better. 
Then again, isn't almost anything homemade better? 

Do-Si-Dos (Peanut butter oatmeal sandwiches)

Cookie:

1/2 cup butter + just a little extra for smooshing (techinical term) the cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar + extra for smooshing the cookies
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 cup finely ground oats*


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars together until smooth.
Add in egg and vanilla, mix well.
Sift together salt, baking soda and flour.  Add slowly to butter mixture until just combined.
Stir in oats.
Roll tablespoons full of dough into balls and place 2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Lightly butter the flat bottom of a glass and dip in sugar.  Smoosh each cookie to about 1/8 - 1/4" thick (depending on how thick you like your cookies - remember, you'll be eating two at a time.  I flattened them to 1/8")
Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Meanwhile, make creme center.

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2-2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth and well combined.  Mix in vanilla and milk.
With the mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until creme reaches desired consistency.  If the mixture gets too firm, add a little milk.  Too thin, add more powdered sugar. 

Once cookies are cool, sandwich a teaspoon or so of filling between two cookies.  Enjoy!

*You don't have to grind your oats.  I did this because I like the texture better.  If you like or don't mind the texture of the whole oat, use them as is.  I found that grinding them also made the cookie less chewy. 

Cookie #55 - Ohio Buckeyes

"In old Columbus there's a team

That's known throughout the land

Eleven warriors brave and bold

Whose fame will ever stand

And when the ball goes over,

Our cheers will reach the sky

Ohio Field will hear again

The Buckeye Battle Cry! "

Never heard of a buckeye?  It's a type of chestnut:

 

It's also the Ohio State mascot, Brutus:

It's also a delcious type of peanut butter candy:

Those peanut butter candies were also my inspiration for these cookies.  Rather than a mixture of peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar, I made a peanut butter cookie.  After dipping them in chocolate, they look just like a buckeye nut:

Their rich and peanut buttery, yet crumbly like a good buttery cookie.  I do think they next time I made them, I'll add some crushed peanuts to the mix just to change up the texture. 

Ohio Buckeye Cookies

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugar together until smooth.  Mix in vanilla.

Sift together flour and salt and add to butter mixture until just combined.

Roll dough into 1" balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheets.  These cookies don't spread, so you can place them about an inch or so apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, melt semisweet chocolate and shortening together in a double boiler until smooth.  Dip cookies about 3/4 of the way and place on either parchment or a wire rack.  Transfer to the fridge to set the chocolate.

Cookie #47 - Nebraska Haystacks

I first made these cookies about 10 years ago for Christmas.  I love the combination of the butterscotch, chocolate and peanut butter that coats the crispy noodles and peanuts.  The original recipe I used called for Spanish peanuts, but I'm not such a fan of them.  I chose to use plain old dry roasted, salted peanuts instead.  They salt the bring to the party really accentuates the chocolate. 

Nebraska Haystacks

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup peanuts

1 small can of LaChoy Chow Mein noodles

In a double boiler, melt the butterscotch, chocolate and peanut butter until melted and well combined.  Be patient as the butterscotch doesn't melt as quickly as the chocolate and the peanut butter.  Just keep stirring and don't allow the mixture to scorch. 

In a large bowl, combine chow mein noodles and peanuts.  Pour melted chocolate over the noodles & nuts and mix until well coated.

On a parchment (not waxed paper) lined baking sheet, drop tablespoons full of the mixture into little piles.  Try to make the piles tall and not wide.  Put the baking sheet into the fridge to set. 

Cookie #46 - Montana MONSTER Cookies

I was first heard of these cookies it was from my husband's college buddy Jim and his wife Tricia.  They talked up these cookies so much that I had to try them myself. 

Imagine my excitement when I was searching for Montana cookies and this recipe came up in several results.  Initially, I was going to save them for October and Halloween week.  Since I love these cookies so much, the second the name graced my laptop screen I got a craving.  Montana Monster Cookies it is!

These are some serious monster cookies.  From the size of the measurements to the size of the cookies. Each cookie is about 4".  What's funny is, they're not overly sweet.  The peanut butter and oats really balance out the sugar.  You can add whatever you want to these cookies, too.  I've seen different recipes that use different dried fruits like cranberries and blueberries, Reese's Pieces, white chocolate chips, toffee chips, peanuts, walnuts - anything you'd like mixed into a cookie.  I kept mine simple - semisweet chocolate chips, raisins and M&Ms. 

What's also great is that this recipe contains NO flour.  Now, I don't know much about gluten-allergies, but I assume the lack of flour would make these cookies gluten-free.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 

Now, obviously, this makes a TON of cookies.  Feel free to halve the recipe - I've done it before and it works better.  I halved it the first time I made them because the initial ingredient measurements wouldn't fit in my KitchenAid.  When I mentioned this to Tricia, she said she actually mixes the dough by hand.  Her reasoning is that if she does the actualy physical labor, she can eat more cookies.  I like that thinking. 

I also have this philosophy that if a cookie contains good for you stuff like oatmeal, peanut butter and raisins, you can totally eat them for breakfast.  Let's just say I ate Monster cookies for breakfast for about a week. 

If you're going to mix these by hand, be very certain that your butter and peanut butter are room temperature before starting.  It will make mixing the dough much easier. 

Montana MONSTER Cookies

1 cup softened butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups packed brown sugar

3 cups chunky peanut butter (you can use smooth if that's your preference)

6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

9 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups M&M's

3/4 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars together until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla extract, baking soda and salt.  Stir in oats until well combined.  Fold in chocolate chips, M&Ms and raisins. 

Drop by 1/4 cups full onto parchment line baking sheets, about 3" apart.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden.  Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes to allow the cookies to set before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Keep the cookies tightly covered to ensure they don't dry out. 

Cookie #15 - Chocolate Peanut Butter

Whenever I bite into a frozen Reese's Peanut Butter cup, I'm instantly transported back to the summers of my younger days at our community pool.  The snack bar sold frozen candy bars and next to Snickers, Reese's were my favorite.  I love peanut butter.  I could eat a whole jar with a spoon.

For the chocolate/peanut butter combination, I didn't want to just slap some peanut butter on a chocolate cookie.  Enter:  chocolate peanut butter ganache.  The cookie dough really lends itself to being formed in various shapes, so I utilized a mini muffin pan to make the cup shape. Here's how I did it:

1 recipe for Chocolate Wafer Cookies

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Make the cookie recipe as directed.  After slicing roughly 1/4" thick, place each slice in the cup of a mini-muffin tin.  Press down gently to mold the dough to the shape of the cup.  Bake for 6 minutes at 350 degrees, rotate pan and continue baking for another 6 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven.  If the cookies are still puffy, that's okay.  Just smoosh them down using the back of a spoon or this nifty tart shaper.  Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

In the meantime, make the ganache:

Combine heavy cream, unsalted butter and confectioner's sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Watch carefully. stirring often, as you heat the cream until the butter is melted and bubbles are forming around the sides of the pan.  You don't want to bring it to a boil - you'll risk scorching the milk. 

In a heat safe bowl, add chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Once the milk is hot, pour over the chocolate chips/peanut butter and start whisking.  Keep whisking until the chocolate and peanut butter are melted and the mixture is glossy.  This may take a few minutes, so be patient.  Set the bowl aside to cool. 

Once your cookie cups are cooled, pour the chocolate peanut butter ganache into each of the cups until they're just under full.  Garnish with peanuts. 

You can refrigerate these to get the ganache to set up to a truffle like consistency, or leave them at room temperature and they'll be just slightly runny and delicious.  I kind of like the more liquidy filling.  It coats your tastebuds just right.

Cookie #10 - Honey Nut Cheerios

For this cookie, I attempted to capture the sweet, crunchy, nuttiness of the classic Cheerio flavor Honey Nut.  Using a peanut butter cookie as the base, I mixed in some honey, honey-roasted peanuts and, of course, Cheerios.  I used the original oat Cheerios instead of the Honey Nut.  Since I was using the cookie to provide the honey nut flavor, I didn't want to over power it with the Honey Nut Cheerios, too.

My husband enjoyed them, though he felt they were a little dry.  I didn't think so, because I like a drier peanut butter cookie.  When I formed the cookies, I flattened half the batch like a traditional peanut butter cookie and kept the other batch in the ball shape.  Both worked out well.

Honey Nut Cheerio Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 egg

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups Cheerios

3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and honey together.  Mix in egg and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to the butter/egg mixture in batches mixing well after each addition.  Fold in cheerios and peanuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until they just start to turn golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cookie #4 - Peanut Butter

In high school, our cafeteria had the best peanut butter cookies ever. They were extra peanut buttery and crumbly. They stuck to your palate making your mouth beg for cold milk.

A few years ago, my best friend gifted me with THE recipe (she has school district connections). Of course, the recipe makes about a hundred cookies. So, after quartering the recipe I tried them out. They just weren't the same. I tried and tried again, but I could never replicate the awesomeness..

So, when I knew that peanut butter cookies would be included in week one of this project, I was eager to retry the recipe.

That was until I lost it.

Somewhere between a wedding, three moves and two babies, my beloved cookie recipe disappeared. So, I consulted my trusty Joy of Cooking. While not the creamy, crumbly cookie of my high school days, they still came out pretty darn good. They do need more peanut butter, though. I think perhaps next time I'll increase the peanut butter and decrease the actual butter. I realize now, after researching various peanut butter cookie recipes that the cookie of my youth probably had little to no flour at all. I've come across a few recipes like that and perhaps I'll have to try one out in the course of this experiment.

This was also my first cookie error of the experiment. I know better and I ignored my baker's instinct.

My kitchen was insufferably hot the day I made these and I neglected to chill the dough before baking. This, of course, caused my cookies to spread to about the size of my hand making the famous crisscross marks almost nonexistent. They were still pretty tasty.

Peanut Butter Cookies (The Joy of Cooking, 1984 edition)

1/2 cup butter or shortening (I used butter)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 - 1 1/2 cups flour (sift before measuring)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat butter until soft. Add sugars gradually and beat until creamy. Beat in egg, salt, baking soda, and vanilla.

Gradually add flour.

Roll the dough into small balls and placed hem on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Press flat with a fork to form cross hatches. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they just start to change color.