More cookies

The Man's mom had surgery yesterday, and I'm headed down to join them/keep them company for the weekend. In response to my offer to make some real food (maybe a casserole) for the family, the Man suggested cookies instead. More specifically, he suggested that I try peanut butter cookies again (and see if I couldn't produce a chewier version), or maybe chocolate chip. So... I made peanut butter chocolate cookies!

I started with a recipe for peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, but used dark chocolate peanut butter instead of regular, and mini chocolate chips instead of standard-sized. The result was a dense (perhaps too much so), lightly flavored (definitely not too sweet, at least in my book) cookie. The mini chips are so small as to not be noticeable on their own; instead, they add a little sweetness and little more chocolate flavor (but still not a ton). I think it's definitely a more grown-up cookie, while still being pretty simple and content with itself. And it's chewy.

Since this was a new experiment (I hadn't even tried the recipe as written before), I made sure to do some quality control. I packaged most of the cookies up for travel (and protection from a hungry pup), but put the last few in a take-out box to take into work with me so that everyone at work could give feedback (or so that I could munch on them all day).

borrowing internet

I've been gone since I came back. I know that's bad. I've been borrowing Internet, and lately it hasn't been very cooperative. And I've been more exhausted by this whole working like a grown-up thing than I thought I'd be. It takes some serious getting used to!

But I have been baking. I am hoping that I'll be able to put in a great TWD post tomorrow night, and I've been baking other things too!

This weekend was a whirlwind! I had a meeting all Saturday morning, and then darted home and made a batch of peanut butter cookies per the man's request for a bar-b-que in his town that we were invited to that evening. Pretty much as soon as I made the cookies, I was off, beginning the 2 hour drive up to see him, cookie in tow. Sunday, it was back home, to make the 3 batches of bake-off cookies.

The peanut butter cookies were a real hit! They were another Dorie recipe. I cooked them toward the long end of the cooking time, and I think I might stop earlier in the future. They were a slightly crunchier cookie than I normally like. They were tricky because they didn't look done in the same way that other cookies do to me. Or maybe I'm losing my touch.

Wednesday Night Dinner

This week's dinner was fruity chicken salad as an appetizer, spicy spaghetti, and then brownies and chocolate peanut butter rice krispy treats for dessert. It was delightfully easy, and it was certainly satisfying.

I made a double batch of spaghetti, with half hot sausage and half beef (and a healthy dose of red pepper), over whole wheat pasta. Yum! I didn't want to use 2 dishes for the spaghetti, and I didn't have a pan quite big enough for everything, so I made it in a wok; please don't judge me.
Brownies were the ultimate cheat, Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate boxed brownies. Thanks to Dorie, I finally have a good from scratch recipe, but that'll have to wait for weeks when the Bar isn't sneaking up on me quite so quickly.
Rice Krispy treats are one of those easy desserts that really aren't that bad for you (as far as fat/calories, anyway). However, I almost doubled the marshmallows (marshmallow cream, to be more precise), added half a bag of milk chocolate chunks, and added 5-7 tablespoons of honey peanut butter. They barely resemble the light snack that the recipe on the side of the box would make. They were more like gooey Reese's bars with a hint of crunch from the rice krispies.

Tuesdays with Dorie!

I stumbled on Tuesdays with Dorie while in class one day perusing other baking blogs. The recipes and pictures were incredibly tempting, so of course, I ordered a copy of the requisite Baking, from My Home to Yours cookbook. Now that I have it in my possession, I'm even more blown away.

This week is my first chance to participate, and they picked a positively irresistible recipe!



Peanut Butter Torte on pages 282-283

Of course, I was still suffering from exam-time brain mush when I made it, so there were some unplanned modifications. I love the way it turned out though! I accidentally added an additional 1/2 cup of cream in the beginning, and I think the end result was lighter and a little less rich. Still it was plenty rich and delicious. The sad effect of this is that it is a bit too mushy when it has been out of the fridge for a bit, so if you do this, definitely cut right out ofthe fridge.


I also made the crust with chocolate-filled oreos, and it is wonderful. I could eat just the crust and be incredibly happy.