Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Wow these are good.  The recipe was in the NY Times this week, and I knew I had to get these in the oven as soon as I possibly could.  You should too.

Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies


5 ounces (1 1/4 cups) whole-wheat pastry flour [I used KAF white whole wheat flour]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Heaped 1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter, with no salt or sugar added [I used Skippy], plus 2 tablespoons for filling the cookies
5 ounces (3/4 cup) raw brown sugar
1 egg

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
2. Cream the butter and 1/2 cup of peanut butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the raw sugar and beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed.
3. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on your work surface and spoon the dough onto the paper in a strip 12 to 14 inches long and about 2 inches thick. Fold the paper over the dough and shape the strip of dough into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate several hours or, preferably, overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with racks positioned in the middle and lower portions. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove the log of dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. Rewrap one half and return to the refrigerator. Cut the remaining half into thin rounds, no thicker than 1/4 inch, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart, with the rows staggered. Place 1/4 teaspoon of peanut butter in the center of each round. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and slice in rounds. Place each round on top of a peanut butter-topped round. When all of the rounds are covered, lightly flour your fingertips (I didn't need to do this) and seal the cookies by pressing down gently all the way around. It won’t matter if the top cracks a little. Your rounds should be about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly colored and semi-firm to the touch, switching the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before eating. They won’t be crisp until they cool.
Yields about 24 cookies.

iTunes, Opa-Style

Turning 90 affords a great many things:
No one tells you what to do.
You eat whatever you want.
You sleep whenever you want.
You drive as slow as you'd like (or as fast as you can!).
You've arrived in a world where aches and pains may plague you, but hey, you can eat chocolate for lunch.  It's a balance, right?

Well, for Opa's 90th - we were lucky enough to be invited to join in the festivities at a favorite restaurant.  As a birthday surprise, the kids gave the gift of music.  
Milo, the eldest great-grandchild, provided videography, and Daniel, Melanie, and Faren played "Happy Birthday" to Opa on clarinets and a French horn!  Many friends and family seemed to like the show, no matter how brief.  Enjoy!

Apple Pie Bars

As promised, here's the recipe for fulfilling your longtime dream of holding a piece of apple pie in the palm of your hand.  Yes, it can happen. 

I mean, just check out the oats, all sweet with their blanket of butter and brown sugar.  Really folks.  These do require 3 steps, but your house will smell delicious, and your belly will love you - not to mention all the other bellies in your house.

Apple Pie Bars
from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

CRUST:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
FILLING:
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 pounds (about 12) Granny Smith apples , peeled, cored & thinly sliced [I used Cortland]
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated (preferred)
1/2 cup water, as necessary
TOPPING:
3 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled

Directions:

1. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. [If you get frustrated easily, then spray some Pam on the sheet pan before you put the parchment down - to "glue" it.]  With an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. At low speed, beat in the flour, spices and salt until a soft dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan and 1/2 inch up the side in an even layer.  Bake in the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and set. Let cool on a rack.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a very large, deep skillet melt the butter with the brown sugar. (If you don't have a large skillet, divide between 2 skillets). Add the apples to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook until the apples are caramelized and very tender and the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes longer; scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet and add up to 1/2 cup of water to the pan to prevent scorching. Let cool.  [I added no water, and just ended up cooking the apples until the sugar and butter sort of lost their liquidity.]
3. Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, mix the oats with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Using fingers (wash your hands and take off your rings first!), squeeze the butter into the oats & sugar and crumble together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press the mixture into clumps.
4. Assemble the bars: Spread the apple filling over the crust. Scatter the crumbs on top, pressing them lightly into an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the topping is golden; rotate the pan halfway through baking, and keep an eye on it to make sure the top isn't getting too browned. Let cool completely on a rack before cutting into 2-inch bars.

Apple Pickin'

Yesterday we went apple picking up in Easton, CT.  It was a beautiful day, where the sun remembered us after a spell of rainy days. 

 

There were loads of apples of all kinds - Empire, Golden Delicious, Cortland (my favorite), Red Delicious, Fuji, Gala Red . . .

. . . and the trees were just bursting with fruit.

Twist and gently pull . . . then polish on your pant leg, and take a bite!

I'm making Apple Pie Bars tomorrow.  Recipe and pictures to follow.

Banana-Graham Muffins

I'm always surprised when I find a great recipe on the back of a box.  But why?  It makes perfect sense that a big, profitable company (Nabisco) would spend a couple of dollars on recipe development.  Well, a good muffin is a surprise I'm always happy to taste.  So, I'm sharing.  Look at these beauties!

This is a low fat, dense muffin.  Most muffins I make without oil or butter offer me but a breath of taste, and I find myself longing for another . . . and another.  These have a heft because of the crushed graham crackers, but the banana is the perfect match, adding more than enough moisture.  Just look at the inside. 

 Mmmm.  Enjoy!

Banana-Graham Muffins
(from Nabisco)

Makes 12 standard muffins

2 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (in a food processor, I pulsed about 2/12 sleeves of crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tbsp honey
2 ripe bananas, mashed
walnuts for the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine graham crackers crumbs, sugar and baking soda in a bowl, and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, honey and mashed bananas.  Add the dry mixture to the wet, and stir until moistened. 
Using an ice-cream scoop, fill paper-lined muffins cups with batter (these don't rise too much, so you can fill 'em up).  Top with nuts, if desired.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan to cool completely. 

Cookie Dough Brownies

I don't know about you all, by my kids are obsessed with cookie dough.  Cookie dough ice cream, frozen yogurt, candies, flavoring, frosting, cupcakes - whatever.  If it says cookie dough, they have to have it.  And so, when I clicked on these little treats, their cookie dough radars went "ding!ding!ding!," and they demanded I make these for SnacKlub.  So this was the treat last Friday. 

I like a good treat, but these were just too much.  Two really rich desserts in one.  The dough is, indeed, eggless, and it is spread on top of the cooled brownies.  Feel free to use your own brownie recipe.  I will, next time.  I like a fudge-y brownie with a much richer taste than these had.  When I told the kids these were not my favorite, they looked at me like I had just grown antlers.  So, maybe it's a kid thing.  Like I said - cookie dough has some mad powers. . .

Here's the link to the recipe.

Oreohhhhh!

This was the teenager's birthday cake this year, and if I were to listen to absolutely everyone who tasted it - it will be the birthday cake for all birthdays until the end of time.  It was pretty darn good.  And cakes don't really thrill me.  This one thrilled me, took me out to a show, and bought me a car.  This cake has elements of love in it that don't exist in any romance, fairy tale, or parent/child bond.  You have to make this, and make it for a crowd.  People will lavish you with thanks, praise, and kisses.  You will reign supreme over birthday cakes.  You will be cherished. 

Now go - bake!  The recipe's right here.  You're just a click away from forever happiness.