Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
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Did I mention I got a job? I did! The company I was freelancing for hired me on permanently, so I am officially no longer funemployed. And not only do I have a regular paycheck again, I have guinea pigs again!
Which brings me to these bars. I wanted to make something that wouldn’t take a long time and didn’t involve scooping or frosting. One of my coworkers has hinted toward peanut butter and chocolate all week, so I Googled “peanut butter cookie bars” and came across these. The recipe met my requirements and was super easy to make. In fact, you could even make them with just a bowl and a wooden spoon. The bars are thin and moist, and while they’re not my favorite bar cookie ever, they’re great for those days you want to make something quick and easy.
Photos of the process here.
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. quick oats
chocolate chips to sprinkle on top
Stir together melted butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to combine. Stir in oats. Press mixture into a 9×13 pan (lightly greased). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Return to oven until golden brown and baked through, about 8-10 more minutes.
Adapted from One Ordinary Day.
Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
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While down in San Diego at my parents’ house for Mother’s Day weekend, I happily discovered the last few Rice Krispies Treats my sister had made sitting on the kitchen counter. Knowing they weren’t going to last long, and in the mood to make something easy yet delicious, I thought it was the perfect opportunity try this adult twist on Rice Krispies Treats.
While these may look like your typical Rice Krispies Treats, they’re definitely not. Sure, they’re sweet and chewy just like the original, but when you’re least expecting it, the salt makes a very welcome appearance. And while I didn’t really notice any difference from browning the butter, I’m not complaining. These treats are yummy!
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Preparation
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan.
Let cool and cut into squares.
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
Low(er) Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Earlier this week I did something I should have done months ago. I cleaned out my freezer. Why I continually put this task off is beyond me, but it took my fridge making a horrid noise for me to finally to do it. (Alas, the noise did not stop, even with the cleaner freezer.)
What did I find between the freezer burned edamame from Trader Joe’s and super old something wrapped in layers and layers of foil? My homemade applesauce that I had glorious plans to use in cookies and brownies last year. Oh yeah, that applesauce.
I immediately put a container of it in the fridge to defrost and started Googling low-fat oatmeal cookie recipes with applesauce. There are a ton of them! I quickly discovered this four-and-a-half star recipe and decided to give it a shot. I am happy to report these cookies are delicious–moist and chewy inside with a bit crisp on the outside, which to me is the perfect texture for oatmeal cookies. And there is no way you can tell they are missing all that butter! In fact, I think the next time I make them I may replace the two tablespoons of butter with two additional tablespoons of applesauce. Maybe even use some whole wheat flour and see what happens. I know, I live on the edge.
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and the vanilla extract. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, flattening each cookie slightly. Bake for about 10-12 minute Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done.
- Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yields about two dozen cookies.
Recipe from RecipeZaar.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Cookies
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Last week I asked on Facebook what everyone’s favorite cookies were. My friend Jami suggested a few different recipes, including this chocolate/peanut butter cookie that has not only chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and Reese’s Pieces, but peanut butter cups as well. Hello peanut butter! I couldn’t wait to make these.
Since I’ve been working from home lately, I’ve lost my coworker guinea pigs and am now always looking for opportunities to try new recipes. Fortunately for me, every few weeks, my friends and I have been meeting up at a local bar for a night of pub trivia. Yes, it’s what it sounds like–trivia at a bar. It’s fun, I swear!
Anyway, the last couple of trivia nights I baked cookies and shared them with my team (aptly named, “Don’t toss the cookies”). We’ve even been sharing with the waitress who declared these cookies her favorite thus far (she even liked them more than the brown sugar cookies!). I thought they were good, but not my favorite. The chocolate is pretty subtle, but if you’re a peanut butter fan, these are definitely the cookies for you!
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 package mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, frozen and cut into halves (I used Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups)
1 c. Reese’s Pieces
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and Reese’s Pieces.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Push one peanut butter cup half (I used two mini Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups) into the center of each ball of dough. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.
Yields 3-4 dozen cookies.
Recipe adapted from Cookie Madness via Night Baking.
Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars
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As soon as I saw this recipe in the magazine I ripped out the page and pushed it to the top of my recipe list. Chocolate-caramel and a cookie base, what could be bad, right?
Well. I wanted to like these. And I was sure I would like these. But I didn’t. The crust was good but the chocolate caramel was just too sweet for me. WHAT? I know, I can’t believe I said that either. I don’t think I’ve ever referred to anything as too sweet.
Has you tried these? What did you think?
Photos of the process here.
Crust Ingredients
4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Chocolate Caramel Ingredients
10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.
- Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
- Make the chocolate caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.
- Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars. Bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living.
