#8. Peanut Butter Coconut Sandwich Cookies

It's so hard to say goodbye...to my giant roll of Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough. But this day had to come because even processed dough has a shelf life. I was very pleased with how my PB S'mores Cookies turned out, and the classic Peanut Butter Blossoms failed to disappoint.

I knew I wanted to experiment with sandwich cookies for my final recipe and just slathering some grape or strawberry jelly in between two cookies was too lazy even for me. Some sort of sugar fruit pairing seemed appropriate, but I also wanted to test the potential compatibility of peanuts with coconut, which are infrequent bedfellows in the Western baking world. (South Asian savory fare: an entirely different story.)

And Jimmies, because, why not?

Ingredients

• 1/3  roll Pillsbury™ refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough

• 1/2 cup sprinkles

• 3/4 cup shredded coconut

• 3/4 cup (or so) cherry pie fillings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Using a spatula, combine dough with sprinkles and shredded coconut.

3. Shape dough into an even number of balls. 

4. On ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, place balls 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 9-13 minutes until golden brown. COOL COMPLETELY.

6. Top underside of one cookie with approximately 1 Tablespoon of cherry pie filling. Top with another cookie to form sandwich.*

*If you can't handle this instruction, you probably should not be allowed to use an oven.

I found the coconut added a certain cream flavor that complemented the slightly tart cherries and balanced the strong peanut taste, akin to how that cool glass of milk pleasantly tempers a a thick peanut butter sandwich.  

In my Marvel movie, I am the Queen of the Universe and only my opinion matters. Barring the release of that film, I want to hear what you think. Honesty is welcome. Alternative facts are not.

#7. Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

I interrupt my regularly scheduled program of peanut butter cookies in the spirit of a certain February the 14th holiday. Full credit for this slightly adapted recipe goes to the lovely Christina Lane (Texas native!), the baking maven behind "Dessert For Two."

Ingredients

• 4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring

• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/4 Tsp baking soda

• 1/8 Tsp fine salt

• 6 chocolate peanut butter hearts 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Stir very well to combine.

Think my red food coloring was a bit too old.

3. Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough, and stir just to combine.

4. Using a spatula (or your floured hands), press the dough flat and evenly in the bowl. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 balls.

5.  Roll each dough ball lightly  extra granulated sugar. Form approximately 3 smaller balls from each of 2 larger dough balls (6 small balls total). 

6. Space evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they spread, start to crackle and appear dry on top.

7. Cool completely. Press chocolate peanut butter heart into the center of each cookie.

8. Transfer cookies to fridge to allow hearts to set (without melting!).

Eat with gusto with someone you love.

#6. Peanut Butter S'Mores Cookies

As promised in my previous recipe post for Peanut Butter Blossoms, I am using one roll of Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough to churn out three different types of cookies. #aimhigh And because it's Fat Tuesday, I think something decadent is appropriate.

Herbes de S'Mores

If peanut butter cookies weren't by themselves sufficiently rich, let's move farther toward the cloying end of the spectrum by adding what I call to call herbes de s'mores, i.e., chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers.

Ingredients

• 1/3  roll Pillsbury™ refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough

• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

• 1/2 cup (or so) graham cracker crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Using a spatula, combine dough with chocolate chips and marshmallows.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in graham cracker crumbs.

4. On ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, place balls 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 9-13 minutes until golden brown.

Consume while still warm with a cold glass of milk adjacent. 

#5. Pillsbury's Peanut Butter Blossoms

Guys, I have this thing about the Dough Boy. The Pillsbury Dough Boy, that is, not a specific member of the U.S. military forces who served in the Spanish-American War. His endearing giggle and various charming facial expressions can easily persuade me to buy any Pillsbury product, no matter how unnecessary. I am especially susceptible to purchasing anything with a package that features him sporting a terribly cute costume. Although I am loathe to admit blind adulation for any corporation, even one historically devoted to baking, I make an exception for Pillsbury and its native son, the Dough Boy. 

So, Pillsbury cookie recipes that use Pillsbury products are going to be a part of Year of the Cookie. Brace yourself, if necessary, and please check your snobbery upon clicking your mouse. I bought a ginormous roll of discounted Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough and plan to use it to make at three different types of cookies in the spirit of diversity and versatility.  Peanut Butter Blossoms are a Pillsbury classic and remain one of their most popular cookie recipes of all time. Via its credited inclusion of Hershey's Kisses, this recipe also represents a collaboration between two of my favorite companies.  A most profitable one, I'm sure, that required thousands of dollars in attorney fees. 

*Note: the slightly edited recipe represented below is for full batch. In practice, I scaled it down by about 2/3 because I am using only part of the roll.

Ingredients

• 1  roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough

• 3 Tbs sugar

• 36 Hershey's® Kisses® Brand milk chocolates, unwrapped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls; roll in sugar. On ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, place balls 2 inches apart.

2. Bake 9-14 minutes until golden brown.

3. Immediately top each cookie with 1 milk chocolate candy, pressing down firmly so cookie cracks around edge. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely before storing.

Tip: Store Hershey's Kisses in freezer prior to incorporation in order to ensure they don't melt immediately all over cookie. 

#3. Salted Caramel Maple Syrup Cookies

A few months ago I was contacted by the lovely crew at the Maple Guild, a Vermont-based, locally-owned harvester of maple syrup and manufacturer of maple syrup products, including water, vinegar, and cream. They were kind enough to gift me samples for a review in Houstonia and I have wanted since then to experiment using their syrups in baking

But thus far I've only been pouring a shit ton of the stuff on my flapjacks. 

Feeling slightly more ambitious this weekend, I decide to make a modified version of this recipe for maple syrup drop cookies using not the Maple Guild's "regular" but rather their Salted Caramel infused version. I know--Iivin' on the edge.

As you can see from the picture, the cookies turned out a bit flat. Not the fault of the recipe, mind you, but rather the cook, for she may have only added half the recommended amount of baking soda because she was too busy watching up on RHNYC. The cookies were still very chewy and delicious, with a distinct salty inflection I adored.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 cup salted caramel maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 4 cups flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda (DON'T FORGET)

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar; add egg, maple syrup and vanilla until well blended.

3. Whisk together flour and baking soda. Add this mixture to creamed mixture and combine thoroughly.

4. Using an ice cream scoop (or your own paws), shape into one-inch balls and place on cookie sheets, evenly spaced.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes.

#2. Hershey's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

When I posted on facebook requesting ideas of how to use my three-pound Hershey Bar, many people assumed I had received it as a gift. Because who in their right mind would purchase such a monstrosity? 

THIS GIRL!!!

Also save your breath if you're inclined to educate me on how inferior Hershey's chocolate is to every other type in the universe. I know there is better chocolate out there, but I was raised on Hershey's and it will always taste delicious to me.

I decided to incorporate a few blocks of these massive cocoa brick in a slightly tweaked recipe from my Hershey's Homemade cookbook, which I have had for over two decades. The pages are almost all stuck together due to my double-checking ingredient amounts with mid-baking sticky fingers. I will never get rid of it.

The oats in these cookies are more for texture than for taste, since the presence of cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks leave little room for anything but chocolate flavor. And that's just fine.

Tip: Do not overbake these cookies. Gooeyness is essential to appreciating the intense pockets of chocolate.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks) , softened

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup light brown sugar packed

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa

• 1/2 cup chunks chopped from the World's Largest Hershey Bar

• 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy; blend in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. 

Make sure you have cold milk on hand.