Thursday, June 4

Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies


I was asked to make something for a bake sale that one of the girls from work is doing with her girl scout troop this weekend. The grocery store where I shop is in the middle of a remodel and they moved the candy isle the day I went, and apparently lost the Andes mints along the way so I had to do a quick switch at the last minute. At the moment my second favorite cookie happens to be peanut butter chocolate chunk so that is what they get. These are basically chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter added. I used the toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe with a few changes. I don't particularly like peanut butter cookies but add a little peanut butter to normal chocolate chip cookies and these are amazing. The dough is also quite tasty.

Ingredients:
3/4 c butter
1/2 c peanut butter
3/4 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 and 1/4 c flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 c chocolate chunks


I like chocolate chunks better then chocolate chips for this recipe but I don't really have a good reason other then it just makes sense to me, so use whatever you have on had. I also used chunky peanut butter because my sister gets incredibly irate when you use all of her peanut butter on baked goods so I had to use my own jar which happens to be chunky.


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until they are light and fluffy.


Add the eggs and vanilla. Now that you've looked at the pictures and the ingredient list your thinking, Loryn I don't think you're so good at this measuring thing. I made a double batch so no I did not lose count and add 4 eggs but thanks for your concern.


In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three installments. You may think this is a worthless step and just add all of the ingredients into the first bowl and mix it all together. I used to do this and it did very strange things to my cookies. Bad plan, just wash two bowls it will make for a better day in the end.


Stir the chocolate chunks in and drop little blobs on a cookie sheet in what ever size you like. Mine usually bake for 10 min but my cookies are about medium sized. This week they were a little smaller and baked for closer to 9 and a half mins.


I will admit I did eat a few but most of them made it to work. I can't say if they will make it to the bake sale but I'm going to assume they will.

Update: My cookies did make it to the bake sale and sold out very fast. The kids had raised more then $300 by the time I talked to my friend from work and they were only half way through. The money will go to one of the groups in Ann Arbor bringing food to people in need.

Tuesday, June 2

Pasta Salad



This is the pasta salad that I made for the memorial day potluck at work. I know it's a little late but I thought I had already posted it and then surprise, I found the pictures on my sisters camera. But that's cool because this is one of those universally good passing dishes so it's good all year.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 green pepper
1 small can of chopped black olives(2.25 oz)
1 box of rotini pasta
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing

This is what I use. You can change the veggies out for what ever type of veggie that you like. Different peppers would add some color along with a few chopped carrots. I don't like other types of peppers so I go with the boring type. You can buy rotini in normal pasta color or in a multi color box. The day I went to the store they didn't have a multi colored boxes left, to I went with whole grain pasta. For a party I think the colored pasta is more fun but nobody seemed to mind.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box (or do it the way I do, throw it in and check it every once and awhile until it feels right when you bite a piece, however you do it). Cut the cucumber and green pepper into little chunks. This is pretty much a preference thing so cut them up as big or small as you like.


Let the pasta cool a little and throw the veggies in with the pasta. Mix about half the bottle of Italian dressing into the salad and put it into the fridge until your ready to serve it. Before serving add the rest of the salad dressing. I do it this way because I think the pasta dries out if you add all of the dressing a long time before you serve it, but I have not done serious testing on the theory.

This is a really easy recipe that people always seem to like. My Mom used to make this a lot when I was a kid and I still love it.