Peanut butter Oat Bites

This summer I started nannying for a wonderful family. I'm normally there for a full day multiple days of the week. Being such a great family, they said I can help myself to any of their food for lunches or whenever I get hungry. And that is when I discovered these! I only tried one (because I still don't want to hoard their fridge and pantry) but it was delicious! I never asked for the recipe but I figured out what was in them pretty easily.

These little morsels of heaven are surprisingly pretty guilt-free. They make a great substitution for dessert or even an unhealthy granola bar. They are sweetened with honey, not sugar. Also, they have some protein from the peanut butter and nuts. Unlike cookies, they have no butter or shortening but the chocolate chips give that hint of goodness we all look for in a dessert.

These peanut butter oat bites are a cinch to make, taking about a total of 10 minutes to make. Another bonus, the oven never turns on! This crazy warm Wisconsin summer is keeping the air conditioner on so any recipe that allows the kitchen to stay cool is perfect!


Ingredients
4 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
2 1/2 c. old fashion oats
1/2 c. chopped pecans *
1/2 c. chocolate chips *

*These are optional. Other add-ins could include raisins or other types of nuts

Instructions
1. Place peanut butter and honey in a mixing bowl and blend together
2. Add oats, pecans and chocolate chips, mix until a consistent blend
3. Use hands to form balls of your desired size and place on a cookie sheet
4. Place cookie sheet in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
5. Store in an air tight container and place in the refrigerator
6. Enjoy chilled!

Flourless Peanut butter Cookies

Why flourless you ask? Well, this weekend my family is coming down to Madison for Art Fair on the Square and I wanted to make a sweet snack that we all could munch on when they stopped by my apartment. However, many recipes are off-limits for this bunch because my aunt cannot eat gluten. I was never really aware of how many things actually contain gluten. Looking at what I eat daily, I know I eat gluten everyday! It would be so hard not even having the choice to eat it. 

I wanted to find the perfect recipe that my aunt could eat with us, taste delicious, and no one could tell was gluten-free. This one does the trick! I almost think these cookies are better than peanut butter cookies I have had in the past. With no flour, there is nothing to get in the way of the peanut buttery goodness! They are thin but still chewy. The other great thing about this recipe than the taste is how easy it is! With only 5 ingredients and a 10-minute cooking time, these yummy cookies are a cinch! 

Flourless Peanut butter Cookies

adapted from the Food Network website

Ingredients
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
Egg whites from 1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Kosher salt

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg whites and vanilla extract
3. Place tablespoon-sized balls of the dough onto a baking sheet. Flatten the dough balls with a fork, making the famous cross-hatch markings
4. Sprinkle with Kosher salt (I was nervous to do this but I think it turned out tasty mixing the sweet and salty)
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet (when they are warm, they tend to crumble)
6. Enjoy!

I added mini Reese's to some after they came out of the oven.
Otherwise, try a Hershey's Kiss to add some chocolate to that peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

It is doubtful that anyone cares that we have had a onslaught of cookie and baked good posts as of late. Maybe it is the weather? The temperatures have been cool and pleasant, making it perfect for turning on the oven. Actually the weather has little influence on my turning the oven or not. It actually may get  more use during the summer.

If you feel like you can't do or have something, it just makes you want to do it more. We all know this feeling right? Good thing there is air conditioning for when I realize what an awful idea it was to bake. Air conditioning is up there on my favorite inventions ever list. Honestly, I don't know what I would do with out.

Enough about the downfalls of baking in the heat of summer. These cookies are awesome. I went to visit my grandma this weekend and made these for her. She LOVES bacon, peanut butter and chocolate. After I said "peanut butter, bacon, chocolate chip cookies", she immediately scurried across the kitchen and hid them in a cupboard from grandpa.

I would also like to think that these cookies are the perfect man bait. Most men apparently don't like sweets, but can they really stand by that when bacon is involved? Doubtful. Really they shouldn't care at all what is in the cookie. They should just be happy that a pretty lady cares enough to make them cookies.

Honestly anyone who loves bacon should think these cookies are the best. The bacon can be omitted, if you must. Although the bacon flavor was not overwhelming. It was more like pleasant background music. I was surprised by how moist this cookie turned out too. No flour had me worried, I am skeptical of gluten free. The very best part, besides being the best peanut butter cookies ever, they are the easiest/simplest cookies ever. Almost everything should be in your pantry, which means you better get working!

xo
April

Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon
1 cup all natural peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar, plus some to roll the dough in
2 teaspoons molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Fry the bacon in a pan over medium-high heat, until cooked through and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan onto paper towel to drain and cool. When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop the bacon and set aside.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the peanut butter, sugar and molasses until thoroughly combined, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and baking soda and mix on medium speed for another 2 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the chopped peanuts, bacon and chocolate chips to the mixer, until just combined. Roll the dough into large walnut-sized balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on a lined cookie sheet, and use a fork to make the distinctive peanut butter cookie crisscross pattern. If the dough sticks to the fork, dip it in sugar before pressing into the cookies. The dough will be a little crumbly, just press together with your fingers as necessary. 
6. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be crumbly and delicious. Cookies will last up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Joy The Baker Cookbook

Peanut Butter Blossoms

These are a perfect Valentines treat. You could make them for a special someone. If you don't have a special someone, a chocolate peanut butter kiss is better than no kisses! The Valentines Day packaging on the Hershey's Kisses got my mind on Valentines, but these are perfect for anytime too.

They were ridiculously easy to make. I compiled various recipes and came up with this. Some of the recipes I came across had even fewer ingredients, but the reviews on them were mixed. Be generous with the peanut butter. The texture was almost like eating a spoonful (without the feeling of not being able to breathe or swallow for a minute) of peanut butter and moist. If you over cook them, I would guess they would loose that moist gooey texture.

A quick tip I came along was to place the unwrapped kisses in the freezer. This way the kisses do not completely lose their shape, when you put them on the cookies.


Yields: 2 dozen
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup, heaping, peanut butter
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
24 Hershey's Kisses

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar and peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing to combine and scraping down the sides. 
3. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the peanut butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
4. Using a tablespoon, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven and gently press a kiss on top of each cookie. Remove the cookies from baking sheet to a rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

I was at my parents house the other day and whenever I am home I like to look through my moms cooking magazines. I found a really delicious looking caramel pie recipe and was bound and determined to make it this past weekend. My head was apparently in the clouds while I made the pie because I burnt the heck out of the caramel. It had been a frustrating day and that was the last straw. I decided not to try the caramel again but was left with an empty graham cracker crust. What better to put in a graham cracker crust than cheesecake?! I looked at some plain cheesecake recipes and came up with this. It is not too sweet which I like a lot and it was very simple. The Reese's cups on top of the pie add a really nice touch. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 packages graham crackers
5 tablespoons butter (melted)
2 teaspoons sugar
3 x 8oz packages cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch salt
3/4 cup sugar
14 peanut butter cups
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 large eggs


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a food processor pulse graham crackers to a fine crumb. Add melted butter and sugar and pulse to combine. Place in a pie dish and press down in the middle and up the sides to form the crust. Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes until golden.
3. Reduce oven to 300F. Place 8 peanut butter cups in a food processor and pulse to medium/small pieces.
4. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, flour, and pinch of salt on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add add sugar and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides and add the peanut butter cup pieces and vanilla. Mix until just combined. Add the eggs and mix until just combined (don't over mix or it will puff up too much and is more likely to crack).
5. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust. Place 6 whole peanut butter cups in a circle on the top of the cream cheese mixture.
6. Put it in the middle of the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until slightly jiggly like jello.
7. Let cool at room temperature and enjoy!