Peanut Butter Cookies

WARNING: May contain peanuts.
This is a phrase that I see all the time now in the most obvious places. Yes, I understand that peanut butter cookies contain peanuts. I also understand that my peanut granola bar contains peanuts. That's why I bought it. I also know that my hot cup of coffee is hot. I don't need a disclaimer on the cup to tell me so. Before everyone gets crazy on me, I do understand that peanut allergies are serious and I do feel bad for anyone who can't have peanuts or who have serious food allergies.

Now to the cookies ...

I made these for my friend Karen, who is going through a rough time after recently losing her husband. Today I received a thank you note from Karen which said "You can bake! The cookies are fantastic." Funny. That's what I thought went I tasted them too. I sure hope they lift Karen's spirits.

This recipe comes from the America's Test Kitchen's Family Cookbook.

The key here is to supplement the peanut butter with real, salted dry roasted peanuts to create tons of peanut flavor. The other key is to make the cookies BIG! This helps them retain their chewiness. One cookie at a time is really all you need. These babies are filling. And with an ice cold glass of milk on a hot day, these are simply the best.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, gently packed
1 cup sugar
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup salted peanuts, chopped fine

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder together in a large bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Beat in peanut butter, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until just combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the chopped peanuts.

Roll dough to form balls using about 3 tablespoons of dough for each. Place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Using a fork dipped in cold water, gently press down on each ball twice to create the crosshatch pattern.

Bake until the edges are golden, 10 - 12 minutes. If baking more than one pan at a time, rotate pans halfway through baking.

Cool cookies on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Cookie press rating: 5 cookies (out of five)

Accordion Cookies

I had never heard of Accordion Cookies before I received this recipe from one of my faithful blog readers. The foil is folded like the paper fans we all used to make in grammar school on the final days of school in June when it was blistering hot and no one was thinking about learning anything, except the way to the town pool.

The dough is easy to make. The recipe calls for walnuts, but you could use pecans, hazelnuts chopped fine, or almonds. Try substituting nuts for dried cranberries or add a little lemon zest to give the cookies a new twist.

Spoon the dough into each fold being sure not to overdo it. As the dough cooks, it spreads quite a lot into a cookie that looks very much like biscotti. The outer layer is crisp while the inside is soft, creating a nice juxtaposition of textures.

These cookies would be fun to make on a rainy afternoon with your kids or grand kids. Top each scoop of dough with sprinkles or M&M's for a fun and tasty treat.

I really like these cookies because they are fun to make and they taste great to boot. They freeze well and hold their interesting "V" shape. I gave my friend Victor a few and he called them "remarkable" and limited his friend Eileen to only three before cutting her off! Don't worry Victor, the recipe makes enough to share without limits.

And thanks to Deb J. for sending me the recipe. I love to try new cookies so if you have a recipe, send it along to my email address which is listed in the About Me section of this blog.

Cookie press rating: 3.75 cookies (out of five)


Accordion Cookies

Ingredients
2 sheets (approx. 1 yard) heavy-duty foil
1 1/2 sticks butter (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1) Heat oven to 325°F. Fold 1 sheet of foil in half lengthwise. Then fold the double thickness foil crosswise into 1-inch pleats to make an accordion-pleated pan. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with second sheet of foil. Spray foil lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

2) In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour and salt; mix well. Stir in walnuts. Drop rounded teaspoonful of dough into catch of foil. (Dough spreads during baking to form 2 1/2 to 5-inch long cookies)

3) Bake for 18 to 26 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies from foil and cool completely on rack.

4) Turn foil over for second baking. Repeat with second sheet of foil.

If desired, baked cookies can be sprinkled with powdered sugar or frosted with a powdered sugar glaze.

Dough Prior to Baking













Gently Remove Cooled Cookies With a Butter Knife














The Final Product

Lemon Bars

No cookie screams summer more than lemon bars. The cool lemon filling all shiny and smooth set atop a crisp layer of a shortbread-like cookie instantly cools my body temperature a few degrees and increases my energy level. Okay, it's probably the sugar in the cookie that energizes my body, but my spirit is energized too. The dog days of summer have met their match.

To find a surefire recipe for lemon bars I went right to my fail-safe baking cookbook from Cook's Illustrated. Baking Illustrated is filled with tons of kitchen-tested recipes which turn out perfect pies, cakes, tarts, cookies and provide lots of instruction on how and why to follow certain procedures while baking. It's not a flashy book filled with color photos, but it's a book no serious baker should be without.

The recipe is a bit challenging since it requires several steps to make the lemon curd filling. For me the most difficult step was timing the filling so it was done at the same time the crust comes out of the oven. I juiced and zested the lemons and separated the eggs ahead of the time with help from my mom. My problem was that the lemon curd was ready almost 10 minutes before the crust was finished baking. To slow the process I turned down the flame under the lemon curd and hoped for the best. It worked out okay in the end but I probably would have browned the crust a bit more before I poured the filling on top.

This recipe calls for a thermometer to get the curd temperature just right and a fine mesh sieve to strain the curd. You can probably do without the thermometer by just following the cooking time listed in the recipe, but the fine mesh sieve is a must if you want a smooth lemon filling. And trust me, you do.

I served the lemon squares as dessert after a meal of hamburgers done to perfection on the grill with a corn and black bean salad. The lemon bars were magical. A buttery crust topped with a layer of silky lemon filling which made my lips pucker ever so slightly. My dad absolutely loved them, saying how they were delicious. My mom called them outstanding. And Mike called them light and delectable. My only complaint is that the recipe makes only 16 squares. I guess that's a good thing because I'd end up eating far too many. Try serving them with fresh blueberries.

If you have a favorite summer cookie, let me know. I'd love to hear what comes to your mind when you think about cookies in the summertime.

Lemon Bars

Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus additional for dusting bars
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened but cool

Filling
7 large egg yolks, plus 2 large eggs
1 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice from 4 or 5 lemons plus 1/4 cup lemon zest, finely grated
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoons heavy cream

Make the Crust: Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Fold 2 pieces of foil to measure 9 inches wide. Fit 1 sheet into bottom of pan overlapping the sides about 2 inches. Repeat with second sheet so that sides hang over all four sides of pan. If foil is very thin, double up so that it won't rip when removing the lemon squares from the pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray or use non-stick foil.

Unbaked Crust














Place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a food processor and process briefly. Add the butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then process until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three, 1 second pulses. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer over the entire pan bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While crust is cooling in the refrigerator, start preparing ingredients for the filling, but do not cook filling until crust is baking. The warm filling must be added to the warm crust.

Separate eggs, juice lemons, zest lemons, and measure sugar.

Egg Yolks













Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Make the Filling: In a medium, nonreactive bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and whole eggs until combined, about 5 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and whisked until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add the lemon juice, zest, and salt and whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a medium, nonreactive saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until curd thickens into a sauce-like mixture registering 170 degrees on an instant- read or candy thermometer, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour the curd through a fine mesh strainer set over a clean bowl. Force curd through strainer with wooden spoon. Be sure to scrape excess curd from the bottom of the strainer into the bowl. Take a taste. It's delicious! Stir in heavy cream and then pour curd into the warm crust immediately.

Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the curd is shiny and the center jiggles slightly when shaken. Cool on a wire rack for about 45 minutes. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil by the edges and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares, wiping knife clean between cuts. Dust bars with confectioner's sugar if desired.

The Final Product













Cookie press rating: 5 cookies (out of five)

Jam Sandwich Cutout Cookies

With the Fourth of July holiday just days away, you might be looking for a cookie that is festive, delicious, and easy to prepare. Well, two out of three ain't bad. I made these Jam Sandwich Cutout Cookies last week for the first time. These bites of buttery sugar cookies are star shaped and laced with a thin layer of jam. They were a huge hit at Mike's family's second annual BBQ and fireworks watching extravaganza in Point Lookout, New York.

I should tell you something before you begin. These are extremely labor intensive. There. Don't say I didn't warn you. The result is well worth the time and effort. Mike's sister called them "outrageous."

The multi-step process includes making the dough, refrigerating it for 3 hours. Rolling the dough and refrigerating for 1 hour. Spreading the jam on dough and refrigerating for 1 hour. Cutting out the cookies and refrigerating the cookies another 30 minutes before baking. That's a total of 5 1/2 hours of refrigeration time! I know it's not "active time" but it still makes for a long process. I whipped up a batch of red velvet cupcakes in between while I waited patiently each time the dough chilled.

I made the rookie mistake of not reading the whole recipe before I started and ended finishing up at almost midnight. I won't make that mistake again. Ever.

To make this process even more challenging, I made these in our small city apartment where I have exactly 18 inches of counter space to roll the dough if I move the coffee maker out of the way.

Baker's note: Let the dough soften a bit before cutting the stars. This will make cutting the cookies easier to do and the jam will not ooze out as much. Dip the cutter edges in flour if the dough becomes sticky. Try cutting other shapes as well. Next time I will try a round cutter with a scalloped edge.

I found this recipe on Martha's website. She calls them Red, White, and Blue Stars. I prefer to call them Jam Sandwich Cutout Cookies since that's more descriptive. You could really cut them into any shape at all or simply cut them into bite-sized bars before baking.

I recommend making the dough a day or two ahead of time to make the process seem shorter (even though it won't actually be).

I also recommend baking as many of the scraps as you can. The jam oozes out the sides of dough scraps and after baking, made a deliciously crispy and sweet cookie.

Jam Sandwich Cutout Cookies

Yield: about 40 cookies (depending on size)

5 cups cake flour (not self-rising or all purpose)
plus more flour for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more for brushing
3/4 cup raspberry jam
3/4 cup blueberry jam
2 tablespoons sanding sugar

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.

Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixed on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with cream and beating well after each addition. Shape dough into four disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at lease 3 hours (or up to 3 days).

On floured parchment, roll 1 disk of dough into a 1/8 thick rectangle (mine ended up as an oval despite my best efforts to roll a rectangle). Repeat with remaining disks. Stack sheets of dough and parchment on a cookie sheet, and refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes.

Spread the raspberry jam on 1 sheet of dough, blueberry jam on the other. Top each with a plain sheet of dough and refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. I used a jar of my homemade raspberry jam which is so sweet and delicious.

Cut out cookies using a 2 1/2 inch star-shaped cutter, and space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. I used Demerara sugar. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 16 - 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Bake extra dough scraps.