Recipe of the Day - Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Courtesy of Our Best Bites
(http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/peanut-butter-sandwich-cookies/)

My good friend Pancho was out this past weekend. It seems that every time we talk on the phone, I am baking something and comments on why I never make him anything. So, I went a little crazy and made 2 separate cookies for him this weekend (over 30 cookies - a little much for one person. He was nice enough to share...) Anyways, these were SO divine! If you like peanut butter, you'll love these. Here you go:

1 C butter flavored Crisco
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Additional white sugar for rolling

filling:1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 C real butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
3-4 Tbs milk

CookiesPreheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add in vanilla, and eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to dough. Mix to combine. The dough will be very soft- that’s normal!

Roll dough into 1/2 inch (or a little larger) balls, roll in sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet and do the little forky criss-cross thing.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until puffed and set, but not browned. Remove from oven, let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.

Filling: Beat peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth, if needed, add milk until desired consistency is reached. When cookies are completely cooled, spread a layer of frosting on one side and sandwich together.

yield: about 4 dozen sandwiches

Recipe of the Day - Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Courtesy of Our Best Bites
(http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/peanut-butter-sandwich-cookies/)

My good friend Pancho was out this past weekend. It seems that every time we talk on the phone, I am baking something and comments on why I never make him anything. So, I went a little crazy and made 2 separate cookies for him this weekend (over 30 cookies - a little much for one person. He was nice enough to share...) Anyways, these were SO divine! If you like peanut butter, you'll love these. Here you go:

1 C butter flavored Crisco
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
3 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Additional white sugar for rolling

filling:1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 C real butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
3-4 Tbs milk

CookiesPreheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add in vanilla, and eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to dough. Mix to combine. The dough will be very soft- that’s normal!

Roll dough into 1/2 inch (or a little larger) balls, roll in sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet and do the little forky criss-cross thing.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until puffed and set, but not browned. Remove from oven, let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.

Filling: Beat peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth, if needed, add milk until desired consistency is reached. When cookies are completely cooled, spread a layer of frosting on one side and sandwich together.

yield: about 4 dozen sandwiches

Recipe of the Day - Sweet Cinnamon Scones

Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
(http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/sweet-cinnamon-scones/)
Difficulty Level: Easy
Rating: 4 stars
Prep Time: 20 min., Cook Time: 25 min.

Any time I am in a crunch for something to make, I always go to The Pioneer Woman's blog, because everything I make of hers turns out fantastic. This was no exception! I made these for a leadership breakfast yesterday - yum! Hope you enjoy:


Ingredients
■3 cups All-purpose Flour
■⅓ cups Sugar
■5 teaspoons Baking Powder
■½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
■2 sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
■¾ cups Heavy Cream
■1 whole Egg
■1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
■1 cup Cinnamon Chips
■Topping
■½ cups Sugar
■1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
■1-½ teaspoon Heavy Cream

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and baking powder. Cut butter into pieces, then cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Mix together cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into flour/butter mixture, stirring gently with a fork to combine.

Turn onto work surface (mixture will be very crumbly and falling apart.) Gently press together on the sides as you flatten (or roll, with a rolling pin) the top. Form either into a large circle or a large rectangle. Mix together topping ingredients, stirring with a fork. Sprinkle over the top of the dough, lightly pressing.

Cut into wedges (from a circle) or triangles (from a rectangle.) Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Recipe of the Day - Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Courtesy of Our Best Bites
(http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/stuffed-pizza-rolls/)

Difficulty Level: Easy
Rating: 4 stars

I made this last night for some company we had - SO GOOD and fun to make. I would highly recommend using her recipe for pizza dough (I made one match from scratch and one batch store bought - and the store bought wasn't as good). I also made her homemade pizza sauce. It really is to die for!! We made one batch with cheese and pepperoni and one batch with just cheese. We also added cheddar cheese along with the mozzarella. Here you go:

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (or make your own)
2T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn't see that one comin' did ya?)

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after) You guys are smart, right? Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese. (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Recipe of the Day - Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
(http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/pasta-with-tomato-cream-sauce/)

Difficulty Level: Easy
Rating: 4 stars

We made this for dinner tonight - it was a hit. So good. I'm telling you, everything I make from her turns out fantastic. I made it with her garlic cheese bread - what a great dinner. Here you go:



Ingredients
■2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■2 Tablespoons Butter
■1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
■4 cloves Garlic, Minced
■2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
■1 cup Heavy Cream
■Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
■Fresh Basil, Chopped
■1-½ pound Fettuccine

Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)