Peanut butter-licious

It takes almost 850 peanuts to make an 18 oz jar of peanut butter. Which means I used a pretty peanut to make my latest concoction: the all-American peanut butter cookie.



This is the PB cookie of my childhood, folks. Straight from Betty Crockerherself. I chose not to alter any of the ingredients or steps (even keeping the shortening -- which is an ingredient I'd usually sub out). Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And since I've so obviously dazzled you with the above bit of trivia, let's not waste additional words... and cut right to the recipe!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening and butter in a large mixing bowl, until creamed. Beat in egg. Stir in remaining ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm (optional). Heat oven to 375ºF. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in a crisscross pattern with fork dipped into granulated sugar. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Adapted from Betty Crocker.

Worth it

Don't you hate it when you invest time in a treat that looks and sounds over-the-top tantalizing... yet when you finally sink your teeth into it, it just doesn't deliver?

Fab on your fork + flat on the 'buds = not worth the time, effort or calories.

But these here... these are worth it:

My sister C brought these delightful peanut butter truffle brownies to my attention last week, and I'm cursing her and my scale for doing so super thankful she did!

You see, C was blessed with the same sweet teeth (oh yes, there are more than one!) that I myself must brush, floss and pacify with sugary goodness. So when it comes to desserts, she knows how to deliver.

Oh so worth it.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Ingredients:
Brownie base
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk

Topping
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a rectangular baking pan. In a large saucepan, melt 1 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 24 to 30 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool in pan for one hour.

To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if needed to reach spreadable consistency. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownie base.

To make the topping, in small microwavable bowl, microwave the chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Spread chocolate topping over peanut butter layer, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store remaining bars covered in the refrigerator.



Adapted from Allrecipes and Betty Crocker.

Nectar of the gods

Full disclosure: from time to time, I'm one of those people.

The ones who tend to become slightly absorbed in the health food buzz o' the moment.

*Cough* Flaxseed, pomegranates, quinoa.*Cough*

Yes, I really do think the above products -- and many others -- earn their place in the pantry. But they're still pegs in the food pyramid... albeit well-rounded pegs with a whole-food focus and often a battery of pumped up nutrients.



Anyway, when I started hearing the buzz about agave nectar as a good, lower glycemic index alternative to sugar and honey, I jumped in the car and headed for Trader Joe's to pick up a bottle of my very own. At 60 calories per tablespoon, it isn't exactly a miracle replacement for sugar. But it does seem more concentrated than sugar and honey, so I'm able to use less of it with similar-tasting results.

I recently test-drove the ol' agave in some homemade almond butter, and it was a resounding success!



Cuckoo for Cocoa Almond Butter!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 tablespoon cinnamon (optional, but recommended)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional, but also recommended)
3 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon oil (vegetable, or whatever you prefer)

Combine the almonds in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa, agave and oil and continue processing until the almond butter reaches your desired degree of smoothness. It may take a bit of time before this happens, so be patient. Add more oil if necessary. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

PS To everyone in the US... Happy Fourth! Hope you twirled sparklers, tipped back a cold one, and "oohed" and "ahhed" with the best of them.

You down with NYC?

The hubs and I are heading to NYC tomorrow morning for a whirlwind weekend in the city that never sleeps. Will we be sleeping? Yes.

Especially after we stay up too late doing laundry and packing (this always happens), then get up too early to catch our flight out of DTW. Since we refuse to pay more than $10/day to park our car at the aiport, we will be using one of the far-away, must take a shuttle, dammit we have to get up even earlier, econ-o lot's a few miles from the airport. So yes, we will be sleeping.

We will also! be! eating!

Here are our current picks for the long weekend (we're staying 'til Monday). Please do let me know if you have any better ideas!

• Chola Eclectic Indian (buffet!)
• 5 Napkin Burger
• David Burke Townhouse
• Penelope (breakfast)
• Mooncake Foods

xo,
Chutney

Snacking au naturale

Ever sprouted almonds? Ever pulverized said sprouted nuts, then let them mingle with milk, spices and a bit of honey?

Divine energy. Tasty snack.

Spiced & Sprouted Almond Milk

Step 1) Sprout your almonds

Take 20 or so raw almonds and soak them in water (completely covered with h20) in a ceramic or glass container. Change the soaking water twice daily for two days. After 2 days have passed, peel off the top portion of the almond's skin to look for the sprout. If no sprout is visible, you may need to soak an additional day or so. Once you see the sprouts, remove them from the water and store in the refrigerator. Refrigerated, they keep about 3 - 4 days.

Step 2) Make your drink

Ingredients:
20 raw sprouted almonds, skins peeled
4 cups milk (or your preferred non-dairy milk substitute)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg, or a pinch of saffron
Honey (or sweetener of your choice)

In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they become a paste. Add the remaining ingredients, pulsing until mixed well.

Makes 4 servings

Give us this day

I've been searching high and low for baking recipes that use steel-cut oats. There are an infinite number of oatmeal recipes out there, but most use the processed Quaker-style variety.

Now don't get me wrong -- I love eating my steel-cut oats the old traditional way -- cooked over the stovetop until thick and creamy and lovely, with a splash of cream and a dash of brown sugar. But since I recently purchased six canisters from Amazon, I figured I should step up our consumption ever so slightly. ;)

Last night, while surfing for a good homemade bread recipe to make for our salad dinner planned for tonight, I came across a Cooking Light recipe for steel-cut oatmeal bread. And I was jumping up and down on the couch, cheering like a madwoman thrilled!

Since the recipe makes two large loaves, I didn't use my BFF -- my Cuisinart convection breadmaker. I figure he deserves a good rest every now and again. And the loaves were worth the work. This bread is amazing. A-maz-ing! Hearty, but not heavy. So tasty, yet ultra-healthy. And it smells absolutely heavenly.

Irish Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1 3/4 cups steel-cut oats (I used McCann's)
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Dash of granulated sugar
2 packages dry yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 1/4 cups bread flour, divided
3 cups whole wheat flour
Cooking spray
1 egg, lightly beaten (I used 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in the bowl of a stand-up mixer, and let stand 25 minutes.

In a small bowl, dissolve granulated sugar and yeast in warm water; let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes). Add to oat mixture. Lightly spoon flours into measuring cups; level with a knife. Slowly add 2 3/4 cups bread flour and 3 cups whole wheat flour to the oat mixture. Beat slowly, increasing to medium speed until well blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes), slowly adding enough of the remaining bread flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands and surface (dough will be somewhat sticky).

Coat a large bowl with cooking spray, and Place dough inside, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for about an hour or until doubled in size. Dough has risen enough when two fingers pressed into dough leave an indentation. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half, and working with one half at a time (cover remaining half to prevent drying), roll into a 14 x 8-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Roll up each rectangle tightly, starting with a short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Put each loaf, seam sides down, in a 9-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover loaves and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350º.

Uncover dough, and brush egg evenly over loaf tops. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until loaves are browned on bottom and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pan, and cool on wire racks.

Adapted from Cooking Light.

Gimme s'more!

Mother Nature has been teasing us Midwesterners as of late. It's the usual dance she performs nearly every spring--sashaying in with Mr. Sun one minute, then throwing down snow flurries the next. So, for the sake of mental stability during this chillier-than-expected March weekend, I decided to bring summertime into the kitchen with some ooey-gooey S'mores Bars.

Bake up a batch of these bad boys, light a few candles to hint at that whole smoky fire/cosy warmth atmosphere, and voila! It's a bonfire party--indoors! Or at least as close as we're gonna get before June....

S'mores Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips with success*)

1 7-ounce jar of marshmallow creme/fluff

For crumb topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate small bowl, mix flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Press dough in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Place chocolate bars over dough (bars should fit well side-by-side; break the bars if necessary, however, fitting chocolate in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. *Instead of candy bars, I spread a layer of chocolate chips evenly over the dough. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over chocolate.

In a small bowl, cut together brown sugar, flour, graham cracker crumbs and butter until completely combined. Mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the marshmallow layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until light brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares.

Adapted from the awesome blog One Ordinary Day.