Monday, October 19, 2009

cookies!



there are a few reasons why i don't bake very often. first of all, the oven in this house has a mind of its own. we'll set the dial for 350 degrees, which it will stay at for about 30 minutes, just to lull us into thinking it is behaving itself, only to climb up to 450 degrees within a matter of minutes, filling the house with the smell of burnt brownies. sometimes the opposite happens and the temperature will plummet from 350 to 250, leaving us with an underdone dinner roast. secondly, the appliance itself exudes more heat than any other oveni've met, so we don't like to use it much during the hot days of the year, of which we have plenty. and thirdly, i've never thought of myself as a very good baker, a thought which has been confirmed by my husband who much prefers the taste of store bought cookies and cakes to anythingi've ever attempted to make from scratch.

still, i like to put out a bit of effort every now and then, especially when i see a recipe that a) looks easy to make, b) looks delicious, and c) looks like something josh may happen to like. i spotted that very sort of recipe in my "real simple" magazine last month. being as there was only 1 ingredient i needed to get from the store (mini peanut butter cups), and discovering that not only was that item on sale, but also that i had a coupon for it, i took that as a sign that i just had to make these cookies, thinking maybe this recipe would become husband adored.

because i rarely bake, i have never had the opportunity to have tristan help me make cookies before. we waited until samuel was napping and then i asked tristan if he'd like to help me make monster cookies for daddy. really, the recipe is called "peanut butter-cup cookies" but i thought that monster cookies sound more exciting to a 2 and a half year old little boy. sure enough, he eagerly pulled his chair up to the counter and quickly got to work counting out the cups of flour, mixing the dry ingredients, helping me add the egg, and unwrapping countless little peanut butter cups. he LOVED it! he chatted away the whole time in his cute little voice, so excited to show daddy the cookies we made when he came home from work.



then it was time to put them in the oven and of course, what kind of a mom would i be if i didn't offer my child a chance to lick the beaters? (never mind the faint risk ofsalmonella from the raw egg, i figured i had licked enough cookie dough off of beaters during my childhood to prove that the odds are stacked towards us.) once they were ready, i tried to capture some of his sweet conversation in a video, which didn't end up capturing what i had hoped (how does he just seem to know when to clam up, even when he isn't aware that the camera is on?) but i decided to post it for you anyhow.



tristan and i tested the cooled cookies and found them quite tasty, but of course we had to wait for the official taste tester to come home before the cookies were deemedsuccessful . daddy came home from work, tried a cookie, then proceeded to nearly finish off the entire batch over the course of a couple days. i thinki'll be making these again in the future!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (aka Monster Cookies for Daddy)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (i used light brown and they turned out fine)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 12oz package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.

Drop tablespoon size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12-15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

8 comments:

Shannon said...

mmmmmmm cookies.

Christy B. said...

So cute! I can just picture the two of you making them!

On the samonella comment, I've heard that Canada has much higher standards when it comes to eggs, which is why we were samonella-free as children when we licked the batter (I certaintly ate my share!).

I also burnt many an item in my oven, until I realized, years later that it goes 50 degrees higher than the dial. I had almost given up on cooking/baking until I figured that one out. Sounds like yours has a mind of it's own!

Christy

M.R. Tumnus said...

Yum, those cookies sound delicious. Tristan may be doing your baking for you one day, keep him helping you! Sweet precious voice. XO

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

Sounds good...and you have my sympathy about the tricky oven. You do know that San Diego Gas and Electric company will come and calibrate your oven for free? They usually can fix schizophrenic ovens too.

Have you started collecting the "no bake" kinds of cookies and pies? I just got back from San Diego over the weekend, where it was WAY too hot for my taste...and my mom was saying how she hates to put the oven on for anything anymore because it has been so hot now. Try googling "no bake" cookies and see what you find!

Family Of Five said...

Mmmmm.... My Hubby would love those. I will have to try them.

lil said...

I'm going to bake some of my hubby's favorite cookies, Oatmeal Raisin!

Anneliese said...

Love the little video! And I'm glad the cookies turned out so tasty! I will have to try this recipe...since my grown "cookie monster" still likes to check if there are any in the cupboard.
Your new template is very nice!

Z-Mama said...

Mmm! Those sound yummy! Not good to have in the house though when I am trying to start my diet!