Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

A great way to use up leftover halloween candy! Peanut butter anything is automatically homey to me so whenever you have friends coming over, you can't go wrong with some peanut butter and chocolate. Perfect bite size cookies with yummy melted chocolate = smiles all around!

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar, for rolling dough
30-36 mini pb cups (or hershey's kisses) unwrapped and chilled until use

1) Preheat oven to 350, cream peanut butter and butter until smooth in electric mixer. Add brown sugar, beat til combined. Add eggs and vanilla, beat til incorporated

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt. Use low speed and gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.

3) Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls and roll into plated sugar coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.

4) Bake for 7 minutes, remove from oven, press chocolates in center of each cookie. Return to oven continue baking until cookies are golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to cooling rack and cool completely.


Note: I used a commercial silver baking sheet for half of the cookies and a ghetto dark metal baking sheet for the other half. Needless to say, the silver baking sheet cookies turned out better. Use the silver!

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Lime Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate and Almonds

i just love having all the ingredients in my pantry ready to rock on a recipe and then when i get everything all settled out and i realize that i dont have the appliance.  a cuisinart food processor is something that i've always wanted but never felt like i needed it because not too many recipes call for it.  except for this one.  so i hauled over to my parents restaurant and stole it (um, i am by no means advising stealing) while preheating my oven (again, not advisable to leave the house while a oven is on). im glad i did all that because these shortbreads are awesome!  first of all a food processor is necessary here because it cuts all the butter into the flour and sugar perfectly. 

make sure to flatten the dough in the pan as evenly as possible without being too tough.  the edges are going to be a little on the thin so its also important to note not to overcook these shortbreads because they will get dry. While those are heating melt the white chocolate and chop up the almonds. i like to toss my chopped almonds on a pan and toss them around for a couple minutes so they get toasty.

these are totally yum. the white chocolate drizzle adds creaminess and the almonds add the crunch. jason loved them, my parents loved them. ooh!  maybe if i make them enough times it will convince them to get me my very own cuisinart food processor. Orrr  i hold their old one hostage.  Orrr when they realize their old one is missing they will get a new one and i will make the swap. Orrr ....

Recipe

Mini Black and White Cookies

ah ... New York, NY. Whats not to love about NYC?  You've got Magnolia Bakery, SoHO, the Bumble and Bumble Salon (love), the feeling that Times Square gives you, Hot Dog Carts, 5th Ave, Ice skating in Rockefeller Center, Dylans Candy Bar, Christmas window displays and last but def not least: Carrie Bradshaw. The episode of  Sex and the City where she's walking down the street shopping and gnawing on one of those HUGE black and white cookies added so mch nostalgia to the show and honored one of the tastiest icons of NYC. Every bakery will probably have a version of these cookies but i've never seen baby ones like these that Martha has in her Cookies book. I had to make them, especially because i had two of my closest girlfriends coming over for wine and dinner.  The hardest part of these cookies were icing them, being careful with the center line.  I used a small spatula from Williams-Sonoma, like these.

Make sure to flip the cookie over and frost the flat side cause it will roll off the round side if you dont.  Also, lay some parchment paper under the cookie rack after you frost them so cleanup is easy if they drizzle off. 

In the wise words of Carrie Bradshaw: "In a city as cynical as New York, is it still possible to believe in love at first sight?"  If the love is food, then YES!

Recipe