I’m not a cookie person, but I enjoy making cookies. They’re simple and easy to carry. I always have the ingredients on hand when I want something sweet to eat or my brother get a craving for cookies. 

Anything with peanut butter is my favourite! And these are my kind of cookies! Very thin and chewy. I made about five cookies without chocolate chips and the entire batch with chocolate chips are for my brother! He’s such a cookie monster!   

The treats that I made with peanut butter  for my family and friends are always a hit! 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from American cupcake abroad

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all-porpuse four

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used earth balance)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tbs honey

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs Greek yogurt (I used sour cream)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

fleur de sel, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars together until thoroughly blended. Add in the yogurt and stir until combined.

Beat in the egg and egg yolk, honey and vanilla. Pour in the flour mixture and beat until the mixture just comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for minimum 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle the tops with the fleur de sel. Bake for 9-12 minutes until the edges turn brown.

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster; project deadlines, more homework, a lot of group work, brainstorming and group presentations. I thought it would be nice to give ourselves a reward, COOKIES! So I made cookies for my group mates baking for me, of course and cookies for them.   

I bought a jar of nutella for this cake. It’s very tempting so I hide it in my cupboard and used all the remaining nutella (about 3/4 cup) These cookies are hard to resist especially that I love, love peanut butter, but I restrict myself from eating sweets and desserts after I ate way too much desserts last weekend! 

This recipe is simple and easy to follow. The dough requires only 15 minutes to chill. If you don’t have a cookie scoop you can use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon. My mom also brought some of these to work. Her co-workers likes them and ask for the recipe! 

To make it presentable, I packed the cookies in decorative bags with labels using these free printable gift tags from Love vs Design. 

Peanut Butter and Nutella Swirl Cookies from Delightful Bites

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Add flour, baking soda and salt. Drizzle Nutella on top of the dough then swirl it through the dough with a butter knife. 

Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Using a fork, press down the balls to flatten slightly. Bake until edges are very lightly browned (about 7 to 10 minutes). 

Allow to rest 2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.

I made a cake.. a birthday cake!

Cake is my least favourite to make. I’ve said it many times that I’m awful on getting my buttercream smooth. But for this cake I don’t need to worry because it’s covered with ganache. Plus, my ganache came out perfectly smooth and shiny! I also got a lazy susan from the thrift store three days ago. I had a lot of fun using it for the first time. I felt like a pro! 

I made this cake for my friend’s birthday. I was planning to make something else but since I don’t have much time I ended up with chocolate peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache.. yum!  I think it’s safe to say that this cake is delicious because my family loved the cake crumbs.. cake crumbs!  I usually throw away the crumbs or use them to make cake pops. So imagine three layers of super-moist chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting and ganache again, yumm! 

I used 6-inch round pans instead of 8-inch.  I omit the cream cheese for the peanut butter frosting. You can use your favourite buttercream frosting and just add 2/3 cup of peanut butter. I didn’t follow deb’s peanut butter frosting because it makes 5 cups which is too much for my thin three layers 6-inch cake. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 6-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

Deb’s note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. 

Chocolate Ganache from Joy of Baking

Ingredients

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

1 tablespoons cognac or brandy(optional)

Directions

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. (Can also heat the cream and butter in the microwave.) Bring just to a boil. 

Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand, without stirring, for a few minutes. Stir gently (as you do not want to incorporate air into the ganache) with a spoon or whisk until smooth.

If desired, add the liqueur.

What’s up with my back to back healthy post? ;)

For me, Pinterest is a life saver! This oatmeal recipe that I found this morning is a keeper, healthy, easy to make and delicious! I love peanut butter as much as I love ketchup!  So everything with peanut butter is perfect! 

I love oatmeal. I don’t mind eating it warm or cold. Feel free to add dried or fresh fruits. 

Peanut Butter Power Oats from Pinch of yum

Ingredients

⅓ cup rolled oats

¾ cup water

pinch salt

1 egg white

1 banana 

1 tbs. flaxmeal

1 tsp. packed brown sugar

pinch cinnamon ( I put 1 tbs)

½ tbs. peanut butter or more! 

These cupcakes are the cutest and reese’s miniature peanut butter cups are definitely the cutest cupcake topping! I made these for my friend’s birthday party. I was absolutely thrilled with the result since I was having a hard time deciding what to do the with the peanut butter cups. 

I used my all time favourite dark chocolate cupcakes recipe from sweetapolita with pink and classic buttercream frosting. 

Chocolate Cupcakes from Sweetapolita

I hope our neighbours can still handle these another sugar overload treats that I made. I admit, “sometimes” I feel guilty. My brother even told me to stop baking and make people fat.

At home, “who stole the cookie from the cookie jar” is a foreign language, because nobody eats or likes cookies. I wish my friends live nearby!

These cookies are large about 3 tbsp. It’s Chocolate Peanut Butter plus reese’s mini peanut butter cups and sugar!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups Cookies from Annie Eats

Ingredients

Yay!! I finally made Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies! 

It was sunny, but very windy and cold outside. 

I treat myself with cookies since I’ve been baking a LOT this past few weeks. 

I miss eating cookies! My gosh every bite was heaven! I couldn’t stop eating right now! These were so darn good!

I’ve had a busy week.

I’ve been baking since thursday night. 

And I think I deserve some delicious cookies!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies from 17 and Baking

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat, or spelt, or all purpose)

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond milk (or soy, or regular)

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Raw sugar & sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat.

Stir the peanut butter, maple syrup, optional olive oil, and vanilla until combined in a large mixing bowl.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt over the top and stir until just combined.

If the dough is hard to work with, chill in the fridge or freezer for 15-30 minutes or until easy to shape.

Shape into balls (I like to use a teaspoon) and gently flatten with a fork. If the dough sticks, sometimes moistening your fingers or the fork helps.

Sprinkle the tops with salt and raw sugar (optional)

Bake for 11 minutes until set.

I want to call them Peanut Butter Kisses Cookies :)

Today I spent my Saturday afternoon baking. I made sweet treats for my friends and co-workers so I figured out to make some for my family as well. I love Peanut butter so I made these Peanut butter blossom cookies topped with Hershey’s milk chocolate, cherry, and cookies and cream. 

it’s hard to resist. 

Peanut Butter Blossom from Bakerella

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

Hershey’s Kisses or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or both

 Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sift flour, soda and salt with a wire whisk and set aside.

Beat butter and peanut butter

Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla.

Add flour mixture and combine.

Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and then roll the balls in sugar to coat.

For Peanut Butter Kisses

Place rolled balls on parchment paper covered baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kisses candy into the center of each cookie.

 Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!