Peanut-Butter Brownies

Well good gravy, gosh golly and all of those other type sentiments. It has been FOREVER and a day since I have posted anything. Mostly, this has been due to lots and lots of interesting life events that have kept my attention otherwise engaged. However, we are now in the summer months, and some of the craziness has slowed down, so hello baking!

I don't know how many of you are actually reading this, or how many of you love vintage cookbooks, but this recipe hales from The Family Circle Cake & Cooky Cookbook, published in 1953. There is something awesome about finding and baking recipes from a cookbook published over 50 years ago. In a weird way, it's like forging a connection with a whole other generation of people. And I am sure that the results taste just as sweet now as they did then.

It's good to be back in the blogging mode, and I hope to continue to post, and to connect with a range of people through recipes :)

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 26: Buttery Jam Cookies

This week's recipe was chosen by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl and is the Buttery Jam Cookie. Once again, another wonderful cookie recipe perfect for the holidays!
I used blueberry preserves in mine, and topped each cookie with a whole almond. The dough came together very nicely, and the cookies maintained there shape (there was no interesting "falling" with these little guys). All in all, a wonderful recipe.

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 24: Linzer Sables and Post Number 100!!

Greetings all! Technically this is the recipe to be posted December 2, but with all the Thanksgiving stuff going on, I didn't get to it when I should have. So, here are the Linzer Sables, a recipe chosen by Dennis of Living the Life.

I ground almonds in my food processor, and I was a little worried that perhaps they were not fine enough. The end result held together fine, and tasted wonderful!In order to make them more festive, I used Christmas cookie cutters on some of the cookies. I'm hoping to fill them soon, but I think for now I'm going to store the cookies in the freezer for Holiday Happiness later in the month :)

On a side note, this is my 100th post for Butterbur's Bistro. Hooray!

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 25: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

This week's recipe was chosen by Ulrike of Küchenlatein, and is Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar cookies. I was very excited to see the recipe pick, as it goes along perfectly with holiday baking!
I made mine into slice and bake cookies, but to make them more festive I rolled some in sprinkles, and on others used pecan halves. Of course, I had Christmas music going full tilt while I was working on these delicious morsels! Happy baking!

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 20: Rugelach

This week's recipe was chosen by Piggy of Piggy's Cooking Journal. It is a wonderful choice, and I was very excited about. However, have been baking and cooking like crazy lately, and haven't had time to post anything or write about it. The Rugelach came together as I was busy preparing several brisket dinners, and unfortunately they look it:
I failed to realize that the chocolate chips that I used were somewhat less then "mini", so I think the next time I try this recipe I will pulverize them before adding them to the filling.

The rugelach tasted wonderful, and I will definitely try this recipe again. However, next time I will devote more attention to the cookie.

Homemade Oreos

Oh my goodness! This was not the recipe for me to find! The cookie is crunchy and chocolate-ey, the frosting is sweet and vanilla-ey! Dip them in milk and pure heaven!

The recipe comes from Smitten Kingdom and is wonderful! I cut the recipe in half, subbing egg white for the full egg in the cookie dough. Butterbur and Juniper were very interested in the cookie process, especially the icing. I'm not sharing these either!

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 17: Lenox Almond Biscotti

Greetings all, Juniper here. This week's Tuesday with Dorie will not feature a lovable plastic character, but instead will be narrated by none other then the sweetest small white cat ever. I have been falsely portrayed on other occasions, but I'm here to tell you that I am not a hindrance to Rigby's activities. This week I stayed under the kitchen table in order to observe the process that went into making Lenox Almond Biscotti, a recipe chosen by Gretchen of Canela and Comino.
C3PO tried to take notes on the biscotti making, but I eat guys like him for lunch.
Anyway, the view from under the table was interesting. First, Rigby measured out all of her ingredients. I kept hoping that she would spill something so I could help clean it up, but nothing ended up where it didn't belong. The mixer was put to work, and I could hear the sounds of cookie dough coming together. Rigby then plopped dough onto baking sheets. She pulled out a ruler and kept measuring something. Evidently this didn't work out the way she thought because when she pulled the baking sheet out of the oven later, she looked a little surprised by what she saw. I kept hoping she might let me see....but, no.
I fell asleep for awhile, so I missed what was going on in the kitchen, but when I opened my eyes Rigby was putting slices of Biscotti on the cooling rack. She put on a pot of coffee and sampled the cookies. I came out from under the table hoping to get a taste, but I was steered back to the cat food. Next week Rigby is going to make Pumpkin Muffins and I am determined to taste them!

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 13: Chocolate Chunkers

Ah, I have found my precious!

I sense danger....it is all around...must protect....my preciousssss.....

Well, Frodo gives these cookies 2 thumbs up, and considering he is very limited in both movement and facial expression, that's saying something.

This week's recipe was chose by Claudia of Fool for Food and is the absolutely decadent cookie Chocolate Chunkers. What can one say about a cookie recipe that used 2 giant Hershey bars, 1-1/2 cups of peanuts and 1 cup of cranberries? The cookies are like candy loosely held together by cookie dough, and they make me very, very happy. It's the kind of happiness that makes me glad that I still have my membership at the YMCA, because I keep eating cookies.... If Frodo had packed chocolate chunkers along with his lembas bread for his epic journey across Mordor, he would have had little difficulty with his passage. How could anybody be cross with hobbit carrying pure gold in cookie form? Really, I want to know.

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 12: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

Well, I almost missed the Tuesday posting, but here I am at the very last minute getting my two cents in on this week's recipe. It was chosen by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart, and the recipe is posted at her blog if you would like to see what goes into these wonderful cookies!
Let me break the cookie experience down into simple terms: chocolate, whoppers, chocolate, simple, delicious, wonderful. These cookies were wonderful warm out of the oven, and wonderful cooled. The dough was cake like and puffy, and the whoppers made for a nice chewiness. There is not a bad cookie recipe in the book! I am looking forward to eating what few cookies that remain with a nice hot cup of coffee and a good book. Hurray for chocolate! Hurray for whoppers! Hurray for cookies!

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 11: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

Talk about your last minute posts....I was beginning to think this one wouldn't make it in time! I am a huge fan of peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate, so there was no way I was going to miss out on making "Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipster Cookies", a recipe chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution.
Why so last minute? Well, school has started, cold season is alive and well, and I tried my hand at water skiing over the holiday weekend. Unfortunately I didn't find the time to actually stop and make cookies. I had my mind set on completing the recipe this evening, and had just finished mixing the dough when I was invited to have dinner with friends. Fortunately the dough chills well, and now I am enjoying a warm, melty dessert. :) I think that cookies help cure muscle soreness and sunburn.

Be sure to check out all the other fab cookies at Tuesdays with Dorie!

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 10: Granola Grabbers

This week's recipe "Granola Grabbers" was chosen by Michelle of Bad Girl Baking. If you would like the recipe for these cookies, be sure to check out her blog as it will be posted there.
School starts this month, and this is the perfect recipe for an after school snack. My kitchen smelled fabulous while these little gems were baking, and I didn't feel too bad about nibbling on them as they are full of good-for-you stuff! (I'm beginning to think of butter as its own dairy food group....)
Be sure to check out the other blogs from Tuesdays with Dorie!

Snickerdoodles!

Snickerdoodle cookies are a childhood favorite...and something I haven't made in ages. This recipe creates a chewy, wonderful cookie. I don't think I will go through this long separation again...

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, margarine and 1-1/2 cups sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry mixture into sugar mixture. Form dough into balls. Blend cinnamon with 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Roll the dough balls into the cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Do not overbake. Cookies should be chewy in the center.

No Bake Cookies in Bar Fashion

Today I wondered what would happen if I made no-bake cookies as a bar instead of drop cookies. After I made the cookie, I spread it in a jelly roll pan on top of wax paper and let it cool. Once it was cool, I cut it into diamonds and bars. It worked really well and made thin, chocolaty-oatmeal pieces of goodness!
1-3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This has to be one of my favorite peanut butter cookie recipes. I always add at least half a bag of chocolate chips to the batter before I bake them. These cookies are best left on the pan for at least a couple of minutes after they come out of the oven. They are tender and delicious, so be careful to not overbake them!

½ cup shortening

½ cup sugar
5 Tbsp brown sugar
Cream shortening and sugars.
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
Add eggs and vanilla until blended.
peanut butter ½ cup
Add peanut butter.
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Combine flour, soda and salt. Add to mixture. Mix till well blended. Spoon onto pan, flatten with fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

Carrot Cookies

Moist, delicious and no sugar! They make the kitchen smell wonderful!
(From Today’s Diet and Nutrition January/February 2008)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup walnut pieces
¼ cup raisins
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup honey
½ cup canola oil
¼ teaspoon vanilla

1. Set the oven to 375 degrees and let it warm up.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, oats, sunflower seeds, walnut pieces, raisins, and shredded carrots.
3. In a different bowl, beat together the honey, oil, and vanilla.
4. Add the honey mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until they are well mixed and the flour isn’t dry anymore.
5. Dampen a paper towel with oil. Use it to wipe a cookie sheet until it is coated with oil.
6. Take a rounded teaspoonful of cookie dough at a time. Place it on the oiled cookie sheet. When you have used up all the dough, pat each ball down. Flatten it with your fingers, so the cookies hold together.
7. Place the cookies in the oven. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are light brown.
8. Using a potholder, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Let the cookies rest for 1 minute. Using a spatula, carefully move the cookies to a wire rack, so they can cool.

Cookies from Cake Mix

How to Make Cookies from Cake Mix

Choose your favorite cake mix and add ½ cup vegetable oil and 2 eggs. To jazz it up, you can add other ingredients like raisins, nuts or chocolate chips. Mix well, then drop teaspoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake about 8 – 10 minutes and cool.

Note: Cookies are very soft- it helps to let them sit on the pan a couple minutes before placing on cooling rack.