I’d like to take this moment to request a platter of Black and White Cookies from the magic little elves that are currently in my kitchen doing the dishes, in my bedroom sorting laundry, and in my shower scrubbing the tiles.  Could you little elves please stop what you’re doing and make me some cookies?  Fresh baked.  With milk.  Please… that would be great. 

What?  The magic little elves have taken the night off!?  That’s some nerve.  Some nerve.  

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies.  Because everything should have bacon in it.  Everything. 

Lemon Whoopie Pies.  Daaaaang that’s a big cookie.

How to Make Palmiers… or How to Make Puff Pastry Even More Delicious.  Sugar.  

Wait… a recipe for how to make Rice Krispie Treats shaped like hearts and dipped in chocolate.  Is this cheating?  Kinda… yea.  But look how pretty!  Drool.

Citrus Sables.  Fancypants sugar cookies with lemon and lime.  Do it. 

My word.  This cookie makes me weak in the knees.  Dark Chocolate Walnut Cookies with Golden Raisins.  It’s like a brownie.  It’s like heaven… with walnuts and raisins.  

Keepin’ it classy with Spring Easter Meringues.  I love when pretty is also delicious.

Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies.  A classic made couture.  So much yum.  

My favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie with melted butter and bread flour.  Big, chewy and delicious.  Yes. 

So….. what do you do when you forget to call your grandmother on her 80th birthday?  

Well… obviously you yell at your little sister who remembered to call your grandmother on her 80th birthday, and didn’t remind you to call your grandmother on her 80th birthday.  Some nerve.

See… forgetting to call your grandmother on her 80th birthday is just about as bad as kicking your dear and darling 80 year old grandmother in the shin.  It’s not cool.  There’s no going back.  You’re a real jerk if you don’t call your grandmother on her 80th birthday.  

Ok.  Here’s the deal universe.  I hope I live to be 80.  Please.  That would be great.  I think…. I hope. 

On May 25, 2061 Universe, I want you to break my phone.  See to it that no one calls to wish me a happy birthday.  I’ll remember why.  I’ll remember that I deserve it.  For real.  Yeeesh!

Also… biscotti.  I made some delicious biscotti.  This is me, sharing.  

Cinnamon toast was the first thing I taught myself to make in the kitchen.  White bread.  Inconceivable amounts of softened and salted butter, too much sugar and lots and lots of cinnamon.  Starch?  Sugar and spice!?  It’s perfect.  God bless it.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti are the crisp version of cinnamon sugar toast.  Crunchy, loads of sweet cinnamon flavor.  Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.  And!  These are nut free biscotti!  That’s exciting for me… I don’t really like giant almonds in my cookie.  So… success!

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

     recipe found on epicurious.com

     makes about 24 cookies

     Print this Recipe!

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

For Topping:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 beaten egg (for brushing biscotti before baking) 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange two baking racks in the upper portion of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  

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

Also whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and set aside.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Scrape down the down and beat in the egg followed by the egg yolk.  Beat in the vanilla extract.  

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter all at once.  With the mixer or just with a spatula, bring all of the ingredients together until a somewhat stiff dough is formed.  

Divide the dough in two on the two making sheets.  Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch long and 1 1/2-inch wide log.  Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with cinnamon sugar.  Bake the two sheets on two different racks in the oven for 20 minutes.  Rotate the cookie sheets for even baking and bake for 20-25 more minutes until golden and firm to the touch. 

Remove from the oven but keep the oven on.  Let biscotti cool until able to handle.  Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch wide diagonal slices.  Place biscotti cut side down on baking sheet and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar.  Bake again until pale golden, about 10-15 minutes.  

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Hi.

I’ve noticed you around these parts a lot.  I made you some cookies.  I’m glad you’re here.  

Maybe we could sit down and you could shell out some advice.  I just have one question.  Gimme your gut.  What’s it thinkin’?  This might seem silly, but what else is new?  I really need your help with this.

Couch.  Should I buy a couch?

Just the thought of a real life couch in my little apartment gives me all sorts of unreasonable anxiety.  Yeesh.  I thought I would only buy a couch… a big fluffy couch… when I was an adult and I had my life aaaaaaaallllllll figured out.  Well… I’m pretty darn sure I’m an adult, and I’m pretty darn sure I’ll never actually have it all figured out…. so I might just need to buck up and buy the darn couch, right?  

Couch.  It’s just a couch.  Somehow… it seems like so much more.  What do you think?

I’ll trade you your thoughts for these ridiculously good cookies.  Deal?  Deal.

There are a few things you should know about these cookies…. wait!  Do you know what dulce de leche is?  Dulce de leche is like a thick, milky, caramel sauce.  It’s made when sweetened milk is slowly cooked and boiled down to deliciousness. I buy the jarred stuff because it makes my life easier.

 This recipe from Dorie Greenspan makes one whole heck of a lot of cookie dough.  Phew!  This recipe makes about 30 sandwich cookies.  That’s a lot.

Even with the dulce de leche, brown sugar and granulated sugar, these cookies aren’t as sweet as you might think.  Surprising… I know.  I added a bit of sea salt on top of the dulce de leche I spread into the sandwich cookies.  Amazing!

The one small downside to these cookies?  They sure aren’t as pretty as I wanted them to be…. but oooh so delicious.

Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

     recipe from Baking: from my home to yours

     makes 30 sandwich cookies

     Print this Recipe!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the upper third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

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

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until just softened and broken up a bit.  Add the 3/4 cup dulce de leche, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate.  

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients all at once.  Mix only until the flour is just incorporated.  You may need to finish off the mixing with a big spatula.  

Spoon the dough onto the lined baking sheets using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie.  The dough will be soft and this might be a bit messy.  Leave 2 inches of space between each cookie for the baking spread.  

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.  The cookies will be honey brown with a light crust, but still very soft when they come out of the oven.  Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before removing to cool.  

Once the cookies are cooled completely, spread them with dulce de leche and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt if you like.  Keep well wrapped for up to four days.

I’m dusting this recipe off, shining it up and throwing it in your general direction.  It would just be a shame for these cookies to languish in the Joy the Baker archives when they absolutely must be included in your holiday baking.  

Let’s make a deal.  You jump in the kitchen and throw a batch of these together, and I’ll pop in the kitchen and crank out a few cranberry recipes.  It’s teamwork.  Delicious, delicious teamwork.  Let’s do it.

Sweet.  Cakey.  Clever.  Wrapped up as gifts or piled on a platter, these cookies are always crowd pleaser. Love!

Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

 recipe by Rachel Ray

Print this recipe!

makes 10 large cookies

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

For Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons hot water

For Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease and flour the pan well so the cookies don’

t stick. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Using a mixer, 5 Tablespoons of butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, food coloring and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until smooth.

Place 1/4-cup scoops of batter 2 inches apart of the prepared baking sheet, spread the batter out with a butter knife, so they’

re not completely flat but spread out a bit. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

To make the glazes-

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water, until smooth. That’

s your vanilla glaze.

In a seperate bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. That’

s your chocolate glaze!

Once the cookies are cooled, face them all bottom side up of a clean surface. Spread half of the cookie with vanilla glaze and the other half with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set. And…

Yum!

There are things I allow myself to buy… things like new jeans, the occasional pair of fancypants shoes, milk, butter, frozen yogurt and a bottle of chocolate syrup.  Ok… to be honest, I allow myself to buy a lot of things.

There are things that I do not, under any circumstances, allow myself to buy:  Oreos.  Double Stuff Oreos.  Yes, it may sound silly, but I am not allowed to buy Oreos.  It’s  a rule.  In my brain.  That makes it real.

Why the silly strict Oreo rule?  About ten years back, when I was the all-knowing eighteen year old that brazenly moved out of my parents’ house and across the country, I realized that I had to find a way to feed myself.  Not a problem.  Just go to the grocery store, right?  Suuure.  I took myself to the grocery store and bought every single bit of junk food that my parents’ had (wisely) withheld from me for eighteen years.  Chesee puffs, orange soda, fruit roll-ups and Oreos… sooo many Oreos.  It turns out, a girl can live on Oreos alone…. for about a week… and then comes an epic Oreo hangover that is not to be forgotten.  

So.  Fine.  No more Oreos.  

No more store bought Oreos.  Homemade Oreos with a touch of peppermint?  That’s ok, right?  Totally ok!  Are you in?  Heeeeck yes!  It’s December.  Let’s milk this chocolate and peppermint thing while we have the chance. 

You might remember these cookies.  I’ve made them before with an espresso filling.  Delicious.  

This time around I opted for a lightly pepperminted white chocolate filling.  Combined with the salty, crunchy, chocolate cookie… divine.  

Here are a few tips when making these cookies:  

Don’t make the dough until you’re ready to use it.  It does not need to be refrigerated.  It goes straight from the mixing bowl to the counter to roll out.  

Make sure the butter is at room temperature and cut into small chunks to mix into the dry ingredients… otherwise the cookies won’t bake up right.  Weird but true.  

When making the filling, Chop the chocolate as fine as you can.  Even if you’re lazy like me… keep chopping.  This will insure that all of the chocolate melts when the hot cream is poured over it.  I don’t like lumps.  I’m assuming that you don’t like lumps either.  

To fill the cookies you can use either a pastry bag or a 1/2 teaspoon.  Both work!

Homemade Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

     adapted from The Essence of Chocolate

     makes about 3 dozen cookies (mine batch came closer to two dozen for some reason)

     Print this Recipe!

For the Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (depending on how strong you want it)

For the Cookies:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

15 Tablespoons (7 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, but into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature (this is important)

For the Filling:

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and add the finely chopped white chocolate and peppermint extract.  Make sure all the chocolate is covered by the cream.  Let stand for 1 minute (this is important), then whisk the white chocolate until completely melted.

Transfer the filling to a small bowl and let stand until room temperature.  You’

ll need the filling thicker to assemble the cookies, so cover the filling and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or an hour, until a thick consistency is reached.  If the filling hardens too much, it can be rewarmed in the microwave for a few seconds.  It’s best if left at room temperature until the proper consistency is achieved.  This meant leaving it out overnight for me.  

For the Cookies:

Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed.  With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time.  The mixture will have a sandy texture at first and then will begin to form peddle-size pieces.  As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer.  Make sure all the butter is well incorporated.  If there are large butter pockets, mix for a few seconds more.

Form and roll the dough straight from the mixer.  The dough becomes hard to work with if chilled.

Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to shape the dough into a block about 5 by 7 inches.  Cut the block into two pieces.

One at a time, roll each block of dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until about 1/8-inch thick.  Using a cookie cutter, cut into 2 inch rounds.  Place 1/2 to 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  You can form and roll the dough scraps once after the first roll.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking.  Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets for 2 to 5 minutes.  They’ll be too soft to move straight from the oven.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To Assemble the Cookies:

Place half of the cookies upside down on a work surface.  Whip the filling lightly with a whisk to loosen it.  It will lighten in color and fluff up.  Don’

t overwhip or the filling may begin to separate.

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip.  You can just scooped the filling out by the half teaspoonful.  Pipe or dollop one teaspoon of filling  in the center of each upside down cookie.  Gently, using your fingers, press the cookies together until the filling comes just to the edges.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

In my kitchen this past week I’ve managed to burn my Thanksgiving brussels sprouts, make a bum batch of chocolate brownies, crack my favorite coffee mug and somehow spill a half bottle of red wine under…UNDER my refrigerator.  Additionally, since my kitchen seems to be a vortex of ill fate, I’ve refused to do the dishes.  It wasn’t a pretty sight, friends.  I was just about due for an intervention.  

I was just about ready to throw a stick of dynamite into my kitchen and hope for the best.  Instead I opted for one last shot… mostly because sticks of dynamite like the ones they have in cartoons are hard to find… maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places… whatever the case,  I preheated the oven, kept my head down, and… success!  Sweet, dense, chocolate and peanut butter success.  

This dark kitchen cloud seems to have passed, and I’ve managed to get all of my dishes in the dishwasher…. things are looking up and tasting pretty darn good too. 

These peanut butter blondies are serious.  The blondie is dense and packed with brown sugar and peanut butter flavor.  The chocolate frosting is the perfect compliment, although if you simply wanted to add chocolate chips or broken up Reese’s Peanut Butter cups to the blondie batter, that would be just as delicious.  I think frosting on brownies is the ultimate indulgence…. so why not go for it.  Be warned… you’ll need milk to drink with these.  Lots of milk.

Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting

     makes one dozen big brownies in a 9×13-inch pan

     Print this Recipe!

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 5 cubes

2 cups dark brown sugar

1 cup smooth and natural peanut butter

 2 eggs

2  teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 9×13-inch pan, line with parchment paper if you have it on hand, then grease the parchment paper.  If you don’t have parchment paper, these blondies will be just fine. 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together until the butter is just melted.  Remove from the burner and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add the peanut butter.  Stir until incorporated.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes more, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.  You want the sugar, butter and peanut butter mixture to be cool enough that the eggs won’t begin to cook when they’re added in.  

Whisk together salt, flour and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients.  Stir until just incorporated.  Pour the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth out.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.  

Milk Chocolate Frosting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, cocoa powder and salt.  Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar followed by 1 tablespoon milk.  Beat well.  Add another cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk.  Melt milk chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Add melted and slightly cooked milk chocolate the frosting and beat to incorporate.  Add the final 1/2 cup of powdered sugar if you need a bit more thickness.  Spread evenly over peanut butter blondies.

Have I introduced you to my little sister Lauren? 

Lauren… this is everyone.  

Everyone… this is Lauren.  

Lauren and I grew up in the kitchen together.  We made brownies, we burnt cookies, we frosted crooked cakes, and we could plow through a box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch in 10 minutes flat.  We were always in the kitchen either creating or consuming.  True.  

Things aren’t all that different for me and Lauren these days.  We spend a lot of time baking up treats, talking about Paula Dean, and arguing about which awkward teenage phase was worse:  my Blossom Hat Phase or her Sweatpants and Vest Wearing Phase.  Just typing those out… they each seem like equal tragedies.  Thank heavens we’ve moved past that.  

I’m introducing you to my sister because these two things are true:

1.  If Lauren were not in the world, I would surely be unable to breathe… that’s how much I love this girl. 

2.  I shoved my camera in Lauren’s hands last week, told her to bake something and take pictures of it.  In her unending brilliance, she returned to me a camera full of pictures (including the self portrait below) and six of these cookies.  Holy heck!  A food blogger could get used to this kind of treatment.  For real.  

Open wide.  Nope… wider.  And still, just a teensy bit wider.  These cookies are a mouthful.  A mouthful of holy-heckballs-peanut-butter-heaven.  The cookies are crisp and buttery.  Combined with the peanut butter filling, I’m pretty sure I nearly put myself in a peanut butter coma.  Yes… a peanut butter coma sounds like a good thing.  Oh!  These cookies are even better if you can get someone else to make them for you.  True story.  

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

     from The Pastry Queen Christmas

     makes about 30 sandwich cookies

     Print this Recipe!

For the Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Filling:

2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Optional Coating:

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Grease with butter or cooking spray.  

Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until well combined.  Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  

Add the egg and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low until just combined.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.  

Drop the dough by the scant tablespoon full onto a cookie sheet about 1 1/2-inches apart.  Use the tines of a fork to press the cookies flat.  Bake for 7-10 minutes until the cookies are a deep golden brown along the edges.

To make the filling:  Use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment to beat the butter, peanut butter and heavy cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  

Add the powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and beat on medium speed until combined.  

To make the coating:  Melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave, or over a double boiler.  Easy!

To assemble the cookies:  Use a spatula or small knife to spread generous amounts of the filling onto the flat bottom of a cookie.  Top with another cookie, ridge side up.  Set a wire rack on top of a sheet of waxed paper to catch the chocolate drips if you choose to dip your cookies in chocolate.  Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped nuts immediately after dipping so they stick.  Let stand for 1 hour to harden, or pop them in the fridge for a few minutes.  

The cookies last up to 3 days in an airtight container, or 2 weeks in a container in the fridge

If this blog were written by 13 year old me instead of 28 year old me… I can safely say that I would blog about these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies every. single. day.

One bite of these cookies and… oh heavens!  I feel like I’m being dropped off at the mall to meet my friends on a hot summer day.  We speak Gibberish and Pig Latin.  We are fluent enough in both made up languages to combine the two into one mega made-up language.  It’s pretty sick. 

One bite of these cookie and I have tragically frizzly triangle hair and my twenty dollar allowance in my pocket.  My friends are trying to convince me to see Jurassic Park and all I want to do is sit on a bench with a bag of White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies from Mrs Field’s and try to muster up the courage to go talk to the cute cashier at Sbarro Pizza.  

One bite of these cookie and, yes… I’m wearing overalls.  Yes.. I only have one strap buckled.  Yes… one hanging strap on overalls is super cool.  

Who knew one bite of a cookie could be so transforming…. and awkward.  It’s a good thing I don’t make these very often.  

These cookies are a sweet treat.  Boy oh boy are they sweet.  Between the brown sugar and the white chocolate chunks… wowza!  Sweet.  These days I like mine best with a milky cup of coffee.  The browned butter adds a lovely nuttiness to the batter, kicking up the lovable factor on this already stellar cookie.  

Brown Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

     adapted from Betty Crocker

     makes 2 dozen small cookies

     Print this Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, don’t even think of using margarine 

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8  teaspoon salt

1/2 coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium saucepan melt the butter, swirling and stirring the butter until nicely browned bits appear in the bottom of the pan.  This may take about 5-7 minutes.  Once the butter is browned, remove pan from heat and set aside to cool a bit while you measure out the dry ingredients and set them aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the brown sugar and slightly cooled butter.  Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Add egg and beat for one minute more.  Add milk and vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.  

Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients all at once.  With either the stand mixer on low, or by hand with a spatula, incorporate the dry ingredients until just mixed in.  Fold in the chopped nuts and white chocolate chips.  

Scoop two teaspoon sized balls onto a lined baking sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are deliciously golden.  Remove from oven and let rest of the baking sheet for 3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Sometimes I have imaginary phone conversations.  Ok… this happens a lot.  They go a little something like this:

Hello..?  Yes, hi.  I’d like to speak with the person in charge of making up all these clever food holidays like today’s Bacon Day.  Oh, that’s you?  Excellent.  I have a few additional food holidays I thought you might like to add to your calender.

How about a pizza and beer holiday every Friday of the month.  I mean… it’d just be really great if my calender could justify my food choices.  No?  You know, you don’t have to decide so quickly.  Maybe think it over a bit.   Still no?  Ok… lemme run another idea by you.

Can we make everyday at 3:30 in the afternoon National-Go-Ahead-And-Eat-A-Brownie Moment?  What?  That’s too specific?  I see.  You might reconsider this one… the people are really calling for it.

No?

Ok…. I’ll just stick to Bacon Day.  Thanks for that one.

I gotta run.  I have to tell all my friends about these Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies I just made!  Laaaater!

Interested in other ways to celebrate bacon!?

How about Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles or BLT’s with Homemade Mayonnaise!?

Bacon and peanut butter!?  Peanut Butter and Bacon!  Yes.  Yes yes yes!

I had never heard of this combination until a friend told me how her grandfather used to make peanut butter and bacon sandwiches for all the grandkids to eat.  What?  I need ts combination in cookie form and I need them in my face right now…. that’s what I thought as she was waxing on about her grandfather.  Sorry.

So how do these cookies taste?  So amazingly good!  The cookie itself is a more delicate, crumbly peanut butter cookie due to the absence of butter and flour. Yup!  Gluten free!  The peanut butter taste is front and center.  The bacon blends incredibly well with the sweetness of the cookie, adding an alluring salty, smoky, chewy bite.  Hot dang!  I will make these cookies again and again and again.  Flourless.  Butterless.  Only five ingredients and one of those ingredients is bacon.  The world just got a step closer to perfect.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

makes 15 cookies about the size of your palm

Print this Recipe!

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter

1 cup sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar)

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and dices

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry up bacon until cooked through and let cool on paper towels until cool enough to dice.  Dice up and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes.  Fold in cooked bacon.   Roll into large walnut sized balls and create a cris-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the cris-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to… your mouth.

Let’s play a game called What’s on Your Nightstand?.  What?  Too personal?  Oooh come on!  We’re all friends here.  Let’s try to figure out what our night stands say about the state of our lives.

On my night stand is:

1 Ikea lamp.

A water color painting made by my aunt in the 80’s.

A cup of what once was hot lemon water with honey, now just a mass of lemon seeds at the bottom of a mug.

A glass bowl with a ring and a business card for a French bed and breakfast.

Two books:  Unaccustomed Earth and Seize the Day.

My credit card, and a small bowl with cookie crumbs in it… Lemon Rosemary Palmier cookie crumbs.

What might my night stand contents say about me?  I love a home furnishing bargain.  When I run out of tea I make do with lemons.  I can’t sleep in jewelry and I like to daydream about vacationing in the French countryside. I either read a book or go internet shopping before I fall asleep, and I eat cookies in bed.  All things considered, it seems like a pretty cushy and self indulgent life…. plus, cookies!

I’ve taught you how to make Palmiers.  Have you made them yet?  It’s amazing how easy they are.  The only trick is to get the right store-bought puff pastry.  Make sure to buy an all butter puff pastry like Dufour.  Puff pastries that aren’t made with all butter are liable to have all sorts of mystery fat in them.  Ick.

These Palmiers are flavored with lemon zest and fresh rosemary.  They’re delicate and sophisticated but delicious enough to munch on in bed on a Saturday night.

Lemon Rosemary Palmiers

Print this Recipe!

1 package puff pastry

1 scant cup of sugar

zest of 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Finely chop fresh rosemary and set aside.  Measure out one cup of granulated sugar (it doesn’t have to be exact).  On a clean, flat surface rub lemon zest into the sugar using a bench knife or the back of a spoon.  The sugar will become fragrant as the zest is rubbed into it.  Sprinkle about half of the lemon sugar onto a clean work surface.  Unfold the thawed puff pastry onto the sugared surface and sprinkle the top of the pastry with the remaining lemon sugar.

The Dufour Puff Pastry unfolds out of the package just about the length and width you’re looking for.  You’ll just need to roll it to thin it a bit, extending it about 1/2 to 1-inch on all sides.

What’s that?  You have a little rip on the seam of your puff pastry!? Me too.  Maybe just try to patch that up a bit.  But really?  It’s not that big a deal.  Don’t sweat it!

Sprinkle the surface with fresh rosemary.

Your puff pastry should be roughly 8(to10)x12-inches in size.  Now start rolling.  Roll up the left vertical side towards the center seam.  Roll the right vertical side towards the center too.

Gently press together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or until cold and firm.

Remove dough from the fridge and slice in 1/2-inch slices.  Place on lined baking sheet.  Bake in 400 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes of until golden brown.  You may want to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Keep a close eye on the cookies after about 11 minutes.  They might burn quickly.

If using just a greased and floured baking pan instead of a parchment or silicone lined pan, remove the cookies from the pan immediately after they come out of the oven.  If you’ve lined you baking sheet, you’re fine to let the cookies cool on the sheet.