Peanut Butter Sandwiches

As you may have noticed, Girl Scout Cookie season has arrived. For most people, that is great news. For me, not so much. I find them pretty gross and artificial-tasting. The only thing I think Girl Scout cookies are good for is reinvention. I think the cookies sometimes have good flavor combinations and can be used in other desserts. This idea got me thinking about taking other commercial baked goods with bad quality ingredients and remaking them using good recipes and ingredients. I would be lying if I said I didn't like Nutter Butters. They're good. But they could taste so much better. The filling in a Nutter Butter tastes kind of like an Oreo's: bleck. Using natural peanut butter that has only two ingredients (peanuts and salt) makes for a healthier and tastier filling.




I want to apologize for how few posts I've been doing. Believe me, I would do more if I could. I expect the next several weeks (months) to be equally as busy, so there won't be an abundance of posting in the near future. I will do posts whenever I can.

Peanut Butter Shortbread

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300 F. Beat butter and peanut butter together until thoroughly combined. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy and smooth. Add vanilla extract and salt, then flour. Beat until a dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Once chilled, roll on a floured surface until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the cookies are firm to the touch. Let cool for 2 hours before filling.

Peanut Butter Filling
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cream peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine butter and peanut butter well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Sandwich two cookies together, with filling in between.

Read more...

Lemon Ginger Sandwich Cookies

I'm not much of a tea drinker. I usually think it smells kind of weird and makes the back of my tongue feel scratchy. But all that is changing. I had a sip of my friend's chai tea the other day (we snuck it into a movie, shh!) and it was tasty. So that night I had some peppermint tea. It was so refreshing and reminded me of the holidays coming up.




I saw a cup of Lemon Ginger tea on the counter, and I tried that. As soon as I tasted it, I knew that whatever I made this weekend was going to have those flavors. The acidity of the lemon goes perfectly with the gentle earthy flavors of ginger. I wasn't loving the idea of a lemon ginger cake at the time, although I'm sure it would be interesting, so I went with cookies.



I love making roll-out cookies because you can get those nice crisp shapes. Again, I don't usually love roll-out cookies, but I tasted a little of this cookie and it is good all by itself. If you like that kind of cookie better, then just don't frost them. You will be pleasantly surprised. You will see a lot of cookies soon because I'm going to be running a booth at a holiday crafts fair with my cookies. I'll try and take pictures when I make the bags, but no guarantees because I will probably be covered in flour and entirely frantic by the time I will be ready to photograph them. Have a nice weekend!

Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup mild molasses

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, then set aside. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then, add the molasses. Once smooth, add dry ingredients and mix well. Transfer the dough onto some plastic wrap, and pack tightly. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

After chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough out on a floured piece of parchment paper until 1/4" thick. Using a cutter of your choice, cut out shape and transfer to parchment lined sheet pans. Bake for around 12 minutes, until only slightly darker around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream

1.5 sticks butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon lemon oil
Zest of one medium lemon

Combine ingredients in a stand mixer. Transfer to a piping bag with a small, plain, tip.

Assembly
Ice a circle slightly inside the border of the cookie and fill the circle. Place another cookie on top and press lightly. These store well in the fridge up to a week.

Read more...