oatmeal peanut butter cookie sandwiches

 

doesn't this little guy look delectable? i was craving peanut butter today and that reminded me of an oft-told story about my failed attempt at making peanut butter balls. sophomore year of college, when i first started trying to cook things, i was elated at the success of the first meal i cooked for a group, (fettuccine alfredo with broccoli and garlic bread) and thought, why not try my hand at desserts next? how about peanut butter balls? ha. did you know that there are multiple kinds of sugar? okay, sure, brown, white...no, there is more than one kind of white sugar! confectioner's sugar is not the same as granulated sugar. here is the first lesson i ever learned about cooking. confectioner's sugar IS powdered sugar. white, powdery, you get the idea. anyway, i didn't know that then. and so, i mixed all the ingredients together, which formed....a giant sandstorm. nothing stuck together! so i thought i'd be clever and make it into a cake. nope. still didn't stick together; in fact it was more like a giant sand dune after that! 

--> feasting fact - PEANUT BUTTER:

it's awesome.

oatmeal peanut butter cookies
bowl 1 (large):
1/2 c. butter, softened (zap in the microwave until squishy, it's ok if some melts)
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur; if you don't have any, use more vanilla)
1 egg

bowl 2 (just for mixing the dry items before adding to the above):
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

"bowl" 3
1.25 c. dry instant oatmeal (like Quaker, etc.)

cream the items under bowl one together, except add the egg last after mixing everything else first. beat until creamy.

now, mix all the dry ingredients in bowl two together and pour into bowl one. use a spoon or spatula to mix rather than using the beater. stir well, then add the oatmeal. mix it up really well! it should be a nice, fluffy consistency that isn't too sticky. i really liked working with this dough.

heat the oven to 350. now, take a spoon and drop small chunks onto nonstick baking pans. keep the sizes pretty small (smaller than ping pong balls). then press each with a fork once to flatten. bake for exactly 9 minutes until light brown. they will look airy when you take them out but after about two minutes they set nicely. let cool, and meanwhile, make the sandwich filling below!

sweet peanut butter filling
3 tbsp butter, softened
1 c. confectioner's sugar (aka powdered!)
1/3 c. peanut butter
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla

cream all of this goodness together with a mixer. now, the cookies should be hardened. pick two that are the same size, spread some of the filling on, and squish them together to make sandwiches! if you are big on presentation, gently place the second cookie on top with a circular motion- that will get the filling to spread evenly to the edges. :) makes 50 cookies, or 25 sandwiches. 

*recipe adapted from this website. just modified some of the amounts and added a little amaretto to kick up the flavor. also, starting now i am taking these pictures as i bake, so hopefully that will add a little color and make the food look even tastier...man am i hungry for one of these RIGHT NOW.

biscotti

i love biscotti. usually i really enjoy baking sweets but don't often eat a lot of them...i like to give them away. but biscotti to me are nice and toasty and go well with coffee or hot chocolate. and, they're not too sweet. so i don't always give them away. :) they can also have a great variety of ingredients like the following:

white chocolate chips

macademia nuts

 

almonds

--> feasting fact: BISCOTTI

the name sounds like biscuit...and it is like a biscuit, although think of the Britishy hard style biscuits in this case. they are "twice-baked" cookies although i like to cook them...thrice. haha. basically you cook the whole slab of dough once as a cookie, and then you cook the sides to make the cookie harder and crunchier. i just like to make things even so i cook them on each side for a shorter period of time. the longer you cook, the crunchier the biscotto. (biscotto is singular; biscotti is plural)

white chocolate macademia biscotti

1 cup butter

1.5 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup almond slivers or slices

preheat oven to 325 degrees. spray two pans with nonstick cooking spray.

in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. beat in eggs, vanilla and amaretto.

separately, stir flour, baking powder and salt. add to larger bowl.

add the "toppings": nuts, chocolate chips, and almonds.

divide dough in half. roll each into a log and set in the middle of the pan. (see below for size)

  

bake 20 minutes until light brown. let cool for and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. (see below) let cool for a few minutes, then arrange slices on their sides and cook for 6 minutes. then flip each piece to its other side and cook for 6 more minutes. the cookie should be light golden brown.

here is how i sliced the bread after it's first jump out of the oven. see how it's slightly diagonal? simple enough.

  

--> feasting fact: mix and match!

you can make this recipe your own by adding different combinations of ingredients. pick two or three of the following, then follow the basic recipe above!

almond slivers or slices (1 cup)

butterscotch chips (1 cup)

cherries, dried (1 cup)

chocolate chips (1 cup)

cinnamon, ground (2 tsp)

cocoa powder, unsweetened (1/2 cup)

cranberries, dried (1 cup)

hazelnuts, chopped (1 cup)

macademia nuts, chopped (1 cup)

orange (1 tbsp orange zest + 2 tbsp orange liqueur or orange juice)

pine nuts (2/3 cup)

walnuts, chopped (1 cup)

white chocolate chips (1 cup)

you can also melt some chocolate and either drizzle it over the cookies or dip the end of the cookie into it. let cool and enjoy! this recipe makes about 30 biscotti cookies.

*this recipe is modified from one of my favorite sites yet again!