Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Cookie season is in full swing.  Thing 1 and I had a great time making the first batch of Christmas cookies last Sunday and I will be making these this coming weekend.  In the meantime, when I get a hankering to whip up a batch of cookies on a weeknight, this peanut butter cookie recipe is one I reach for again and again.

Mmm, sugar, butter, and peanut butter

First, it is super simple to put together.  The dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated before rolling so the cookies come together quickly.  They are easy to decorate (a must when you are talking about Christmas cookies).  And they taste just like peanut butter cookies should… buttery and full of peanut flavor, with a texture that is soft but a little crumbly.

Peanut butter balls

Putting a tray of these together only takes about a half an hour so if you find you need to make an emergency batch of cookies for your next holiday party, this is the recipe for you.  It is easy enough that it makes a great project to do with budding chefs.  Kids love to roll the dough and to use the fork to flatten the balls.  And of course they are excellent to decorate.

Dressed and ready for the oven

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Clueless In the Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

To Make:

Combine butter, peanut butter, white sugar and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat until combined.  Add in the egg and beat until smooth and creamy.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth.

Scoop out the dough with a teaspoon.  Roll into 1″ balls and place on foil lined cookie sheet, approximately 2″ apart.  Use a fork to flatten each ball, making a criss-cross pattern.  Since it is Christmas, feel free to decorate the cookies with chocolate candies, sprinkles, cinnamon candies, etc.

Bake in at 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven but don’t over bake.  They will firm up once they cool.  Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before you remove them from the cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool completely.

To Serve:

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.  Store in an air tight container for 3 days.

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Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles

Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles

Yes, you read that right, bacon and peanut butter chocolate truffles.  Are you still with me?  Are you a little weirded out?  If so, let me help:

Peanut butter = delicious

Chocolate = delicious

Bacon = ridiculously delicious

That means that peanut butter + chocolate + bacon = one helluva awesome treat

Truffle center ingredients

Make these little gems for your New Year’s party and surprise your guests (or your hostess) with the unique taste.  They are salty, sweet, chocolatey, and yes, bacon-y.  They come together very quickly and easily and can be made ahead of time.

Chocolate and butter and bacon fat, oh my

The original recipe calls for salted peanuts as part of the truffle center.  We used salted peanuts and the finished truffle is tasty, but a little on the salty side.  Next time, I will use unsalted peanuts to see if that makes a difference.  If you make these and use unsalted peanuts, please let us know how they are.  Also, the original recipe calls for 4 tbls of butter to be melted with the chocolate.  We wanted to give the truffles an extra kick of bacon so we use 2 tbls butter and 2 tbls bacon fat.  The chocolate was a bit thin so we dipped the truffles twice.  If you want to tone down the bacon flavor (why??), then you can use all butter.  In that case, you may not have to dip them twice… though if you have as much chocolate left over as we did, you might as well!

Dipping the balls

Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles

Recipe adapted from The Bacon Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 slices lean streaky bacon

4 oz salted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons bacon fat

six 1-oz squares semisweet chocolate

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, drain on paper towels, and let cool completely.  Reserve 2 tbls of the rendered bacon fat and let cool.

In a blender or food processor, combine the bacon, peanuts, and sugar and grind to a fine texture.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the peanut butter, and stir until well blended and smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill about 1 hour.

Roll the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter, place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, cover with plastic wrap, and chill about 30 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, combine the butter, reserved bacon fat, and chocolate in a small sauce pan and stir over very low heat till melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat and let cool until slightly warm.

Using a fork, coat the balls completely in the melted chocolate.  Set them back on the baking sheet and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes more).  If there is melted chocolate left over, give the balls a second coating.  Store in the refrigerator till ready to serve.  Or eat them all now.  It’s your choice….don’t think it’ll be an easy one.

To Serve:

Serve chilled.  Makes 18 to 20 truffles.