baking Archives - Fresh From Oregon

Apricot Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping

January 9, 2016 · by Carrie Trax ·

It is the middle of winter in Oregon and the snow is falling here on the mountain today. I had been sorting through some items my mom sent me last year and came across several old cookbooks. I see they are not only from my hometown Finleyville, Pennsylvania, but also published the year I was born 1962. As I was going through the book looking at the recipes I discovered old advertising ads and still remember some of the stores we shopped at as I was growing up. It brings back a lot of memories of shopping at “Rosenberg’s Department Store” where we bought all of our clothes (No big shopping malls back then), if my mom did not make them. Also one of our treats for the week was going to “Boyka Tavern” to have a Hot Hamburger sandwich, a meaty hamburger sandwiched between two pieces of thick white bread then covered with the “BEST” gravy and homemade french fries. Old cookbooks have so much history and great memories. As I was looking at many of the recipes the Apricot Coffee Cake caught my eye. Today is “National Apricot Day” and what a great recipe to try from this vintage cookbook. I did have to do a few adjustments. It said to use a 6″x10″ pan but that is not a size I have ever seen. I also wanted to bake this so I could display it out of the pan so I choose to used a 9-inch springform pan. If you just want to leave it in the pan you can also use a 13×9 baking pan. Since this pan is larger than the original size I multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2 times and added more time for baking. Apricots are not fresh this time of the year in Oregon but I had several jars I canned last summer and they were perfect for this recipe. I also increased the amount of apricots since this was a large cake and wanted a little more apricots in the center of the coffee cake. This was an easy recipe to make and the batter was so silky and it tasted amazing. With recipes all over the internet these cookbooks are long forgotten but have such amazing recipes. So if you have some old cookbooks packed away in the basement or attic get them out and discover some of the recipes long lost and maybe they will bring back some memories for you!

Apricot Coffee Cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups canned apricots

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Spray a 9-inch springform pan or 13×9-inch baking pan with non-stick spray, set aside. In a mixer bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Add shortening and with a pastry blender or fork cut into the flour mixture. Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Spread 1/2 the batter into the prepared pan. You can mash up the apricots and spread over the batter or lay the apricot pieces over the batter. Top with the remaining batter. Combine all the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2015 ~ Christmas Swirl Sugar Cookies

December 16, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

This is my second year as a participant in the 5th annual The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. From across the United States and 5 other countries 467 Food Bloggers participated this year raising $1,790.44 for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. These great sponsors matched all of our donations bringing it to $7,000 raised, so a big thank you to OXO, Dixie Crystals, and Land O Lakes. OXO sent everyone who participated an 7 piece set of liquid measuring cups and a silicone baking sheet from Dixie Crystals which was perfect for baking my Christmas Swirl Sugar cookies. The way it works each blogger sent out 3 batches of home baked cookies and received 3 batches of cookies from other bloggers in return. Not only did I get boxes of homemade cookies delivered to my door, but I also got to support Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

I packaged 1 dozen of my Christmas Swirl Sugar cookies in cute tins and sent to 3 bloggers. Whole and Heavenly Oven from Wisconsin, Micky What Micky Eats from Washington DC and The Full Tummy from California. All three have created some great blogs with interesting recipes, you should check them out!

The first batch I received was from LeAndra at Love & Flour she sent Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies. The next batch I received was from Take Two Tapas. They sent yummy cookies packed in a cute tin! My third and last batch was from Alicia at The Baker Upstairs. Her melt in you mouth Honey Lavender Shortbread cookies were amazing! Check our their blogs and get the recipes for the cookies they baked for the cookie swap.

Here is the recipe for the cookies I baked for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

Christmas Swirl Sugar Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1¼ cup sugar
1 egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
3 cups of flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Non-pareils for decorating
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
Divide dough into three equal parts. Put one into the mixer bowl and with your finger make an indentation and add at least 8 drops of red food coloring. Turn on mixer and mix until the dough is all red. Wipe out bowl and add the second piece of dough and doing the same but in the indentation add green food coloring, mix until solid green. Add more food coloring if you desire a deeper color. Leave remaining dough as is. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
On a piece of parchment paper about 18-inches long place one of the balls of dough. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. With a rolling pin roll out dough until flat and about 1/8” thick. Do this with each of the two remaining pieces of dough until you have all three colors rolled out about the same size on parchment paper.
Carefully take the red dough and flip on top of the plain dough. Then take the green dough and flip on to the red dough. You should now have all three doughs stacked on top of each other.
Get a knife or pizza cutter and trim the edges so all sides are square. Set scrap pieces aside*. Once it is trimmed turn the dough so the long side is facing you and roll it up. Wrap in a piece of parchment paper folding ends over to keep from drying out. Place in the refrigerator until hard, about 1 hour. Once it is ready unroll from paper and using a sharp knife cut the dough in ¼-inch slices. Next roll the edges in the non- pareils. I found that if the outside dough is too dry they will not stick. Just dip your finger in some water and go around the edge to wet it and then roll into the non-pareils.
Place on a baking sheet that has been covered with a silpat or parchment paper. This will give the cookies a nice bottom. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes and turn the pan 180 degrees and bake another 2 minutes. The cookies should be light brown on the bottom and no brown on top. You will need to adjust the time to your oven’s temperature. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on wire rack for two minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool completely.
*You will have pieces of dough scraps left after trimming. Just mix them up together slightly and roll into log and you can slice like the other cookie but you will have a marbled cookie instead of a swirl.

Best Ever Homemade Pie Crust

November 21, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

This is the best pie crust and the only one I make. I have been using this recipe for over 30 years for baking fruit pies, cobblers, mini hand pies, homemade pop tarts, savory chicken pot pies and so much more. This pie crust has won many blue ribbons and best of shows at my county and state fair.

Best Ever Homemade Pie Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 egg
5 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

In large bowl combine the flour and salt. Add shortening and with pastry blender combine until the flour mixture resembles small crumbs. In small bowl combine egg, water and cider vinegar. Add all at once to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate 30 minutes. When ready roll out one piece at a time to fit your pie pan. Recipe makes enough to do a double crust pie with some extra dough to make decorative cutouts for your pie.

Dutch Apple Pie ~ Just the right bite!

September 15, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

The apples here in Oregon are 2-3 weeks early this year which means 2-3 more weeks of fresh apple pies in my house. Some of my favorite apples that are ready now are Jonagold and Honeycrisp, both these apples make a great apple pie, especially a Dutch Apple Pie! To make the recipe below you will need to get 4-5 medium apples but looking at this years crop they are so much bigger 4 apples might do the job. So what is this Dutch apple pie? It is an apple pie with a traditional dough bottom crust but topped with a crumb topping of oats and cinnamon. I added some extra flavor to my topping and used one of Bob’s Red Mill NEW Oatmeal cups in my topping. One oatmeal cup contains the perfect amount I needed for my topping. The Oatmeal cup I used also has maple added giving these pies an extra layer of flavor and the addition of flax and chia seeds makes it even more nutritious and filling. Check your local market for these new cups available in 4 flavors or order online direct from Bob’s Red Mill.

Dutch Apple Pie
Topping:
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Bob’s Red Mill GF Brown Sugar and Maple Oatmeal cup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/4 cups cold water
5 cups apples, diced & peeled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pie crust, 1/2 recipe needed, (make the full recipe and place extra half in freezer to use later)
8 – 1/2 pint wide mouth canning jars or 4 mini pie plates or 1 – 9-inch pie plate

Prepare pie crust and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, Bob’s Red Mill GF Brown Sugar and Maple Oatmeal cup and butter; set aside.

For filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water in a large saucepan until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in apples and vanilla.

To assemble spray each glass jar lightly with cooking spray. Take the pie crust (you only need half of the full recipe) and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into about a 6-inch circle. Place each piece into the prepared glass canning jar and press into the sides and bottom of the jars up to the top edge of each jar. If you want to make one big pie just roll the dough out to fit an 9-inch pie plate. Spoon apple pie filling into each crust; top with the crumb topping mixture. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. At 30-45 minutes check to see if the topping is brown if so, lightly lay a piece of foil over the top of the pies the last 15-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.

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Mixed Berry Bread Pudding

July 26, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

Here is a good bread pudding to making in the summer months when the berries are ripe and juicy. You can make this bread pudding with just one type of berry or as many as you like. The egg custard layered with these juicy berries will melt in your mouth. I baked in 6 medium size ramekins but you can also bake in a 13×9 baking dish or 2 bread loaf pans. Serve it in the morning, afternoon or evening for a sweet taste of summer.

Mixed Berry Bread Pudding
9-12 slices soft French or egg bread, cubed 1-inch pieces (6 cups)
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups fresh mixed berries (blueberries, marionberries, red raspberries, blackberries), divided
Mixed berry sauce, recipe below (optional)

In large bowl place cubed bread, set aside. In medium bowl beat eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour milk mixture over bread cubes and let set for 30 minutes. Grease 6 medium ramekin baking dishes. Place about 1/2 cup of the cubes of bread in each greased ramekin, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the mixed berries, add another 1/2 cup bread cubes, sprinkle top with 1/4 cup of mixed berries. There should be a small amount of egg mixture left in the bowl, evenly divide among the six ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and add about 2 cups of water to the baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown and knife inserted comes out clean. Remove and cool for about 10 minutes if you would like to serve warm. Once cooled completely you can refrigerate to serve later or the next day.

When you are ready to serve run a knife around the outer edge of the bread pudding and flip over to remove the bread pudding. Top with remaining 1 cup of fresh berries or mixed berry sauce below. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Fresh Mixed Berry Sauce
4 cups mixed berries
½ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water

Combine sauce ingredients in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or cold over the bread pudding.

Fresh Oregon Berry Tart

June 14, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

Fresh berries in all shapes and colors are now ready in Oregon. The fruit stands are overflowing with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries red raspberries and tayberrries. You will always find a pint or two of berries in my refrigerator ready to create a sweet dessert or muffin or just to top off my Sunday morning pancakes or serve with some yogurt. The sugar cookie crust in this tart is sweet and crisp and much firmer that a traditional pie dough crust making it last a few extra days in the refrigerator without getting soggy. The sweet taste of the lemon filling with the sauce from the tayberries and the mountain of berries creates layers of flavor from top to bottom.

What is a Tayberry? Its a cross between a blackberry and red raspberry and the fruit is sweeter than a blackberry and much larger than a red raspberry. The name comes from the river Tay in Scotland.

Fresh Oregon Berry Tart

Sugar cookie crust:
8 Tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Lemon filling:
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
¼ cup whipping cream

juice from 1 large lemon
¼ cup granulated sugar

Topping:
2 cups Tayberries or Red Raspberries, slightly mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
2-3 cups mixed berries, washed

To make the sugar cookie crust, place the butter and sugar in a standing mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on high. Add the egg and mix on medium until fully incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt all at once and mix on medium just until no spots of flour remain, about 20 seconds, do not over mix. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray fluted 9 1/2″ removable bottom tart pan with cooking spray.

While the oven is preheating, make the lemon filling by whisking together the eggs, egg yolks, whipping cream, lemon juice, and granulated sugar until smooth. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Press dough it into the tart pan evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Pour the lemon filling into the crust. Bake until the filling is set and the crust begins to turn golden, 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake – pull the tart out just when you see any golden color on the crusts. Make sure the lemon filling is cooked by inserting a toothpick in the center and checking to see if it comes out clean. Allow the shell and filling to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To prepare the topping add tayberries or red raspberries and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in another small bowl combine cornstarch and cold water; whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to raspberries and whisk to combine. Bring to boil and continue boiling 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce is as thick as you like. Set aside to cool. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

To assemble spread raspberry sauce over the lemon filling and place mixed berries on tart and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve chilled.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Pudding

February 7, 2015 · by Carrie Trax ·

Here is my second bread pudding recipe for my 2015 bread pudding mission. This bread pudding is layered with a lemony cream and sprinkles of poppy-seed. If you think this is not enough lemon wait until you pour some warm lemon sauce over the top. A burst of lemon flavor is in every bite!

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Pudding

5 1/3 cups bread, day old and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of 2 lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy-seeds

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

To make the bread pudding heat the milk with the sugar in a pan on low heat (or in a microwave) and stir until completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and mix in the heavy cream. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks gradually until well combined. Add the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well. Stir in the poppyseeds. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese together with the sugar and lemon juice; set aside. Spray an 8×8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange half the amount of bread cubes in a single, even layer. Drop dollops of the cream cheese on top of the bread cubes. Pour about 3/4 cup of the custard mixture over the bread cubes. Top with the remaining half of bread cubes. Drop dollops of the remaining cream cheese over the bread. Carefully pour the rest of the custard mixture evenly over the whole thing. Set aside for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge, covered and let come to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 45-50 minutes until the pudding is set. Best served warm drizzled with the warm lemon sauce.

Lemon Sauce

3 egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar

juice of 2 small lemons

zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

To prepare the lemon sauce combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Mix well. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a pan over low heat. Stir constantly for about 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring for 3 minutes or more until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and add the butter, one cube at a time. Stir until smooth. Transfer to a container. Press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Heat in the microwave quickly before serving with the bread pudding.

Recipe ~ Food Wanderings in Asia

Gingerbread Cookies Gone Wild!

December 13, 2014 · by Carrie Trax ·

Gingerbread cookies in my house have “Gone Wild” this year. Living in the foothills of Mt Hood, Oregon I was inspired to make my gingerbread cookies shaped from nature. On a family trip to Yellowstone my husband surprised me with these animal shaped cookie cutters of a deer, salmon, bear, duck and tree. This gingerbread cookie recipe has a mild flavor of ginger so I added an almond flavored royal icing to top them off. This was also a great opportunity for me to try the OXO 8 piece Baker’s Silicone Decorating Bottle Kit that was send to me. OXO is one of the sponsors for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and they sent everyone participating this amazing decorating kit. When I first opened the kit I thought this is a small bottle how is this going to work. To my surprise almost a whole batch of royal icing fits in the bottle and this was the easiest way I have ever decorated cookies. This would be great for kids to use they will still get a little messy but the bottle really keeps the icing from oozing everywhere. With the decorating tip making these gingerbread cookies was a snap to frost.

Gingerbread Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg and water. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and continue to cut out cookies until the dough is gone. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yields about 2 dozen.
Recipe from ~ Taste of Home

Almond Royal Icing

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

In a medium bowl add confectioner’s sugar and milk and blend with a whisk until smooth. You can also mix with a stand mixer on low for about 1 minute. Add corn syrup and extract and continue to blend until smooth for about 45 seconds – 1 minute. If it’s too thick, add milk by the drop (a little goes a long way). If it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar.

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To decorate the cookies first outline around the edge of the cookie with a thin line of icing and let dry a few minutes. Add a little more milk to the icing to make thinner, I added about 1 – 2 tablespoons. Fill in the cookie with the thinner icing, let dry for 1 hour before packing in a air tight storage container. I layered parchment paper between each layer of cookies in the container.

Oatmeal Cookie ~ Trio

December 9, 2014 · by Carrie Trax ·

Oatmeal cookies are a must at Christmas time at my house… that’s what my husband tells me. This is his favorite cookie there is always a batch baking in my oven throughout the year. He prefers dried cranberries in his cookie instead of raisins so this year I decided to dress his oatmeal cookies up a little. I took the basic oatmeal and cranberry cookie and dressed it up with a dip in some white chocolate and a sprinkle of pecans. Dipping a cookie halfway in white or milk chocolate and adding some accents like nuts or jimmies will make a plain cookie into an extraordinary cookie. Remember to always leave a few plain for the ones who just like them just plain. Oatmeal cookies come in all shapes and sizes, chewy or crisp so another recipe I am sharing below is for a crisp oatmeal cookie glazed with a confectioners sugar icing. Both are easy and simple to make for your holiday cookie tin.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick cook oats
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecan pieces
12 oz white melting chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars together until well combined. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon and mix until well combined. Add oats and mix until a thick dough forms. Stir in cranberries and pecan pieces. Place heaping tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes. Cookies may look a little undercooked in the center, but they continue to cook and firm as they cool. Do not over bake. If cookies look cooked (not a little undercooked) when you take them out, they are probably overcooked. Let cookies cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling. Once cookies are cool, melt white chocolate in a small bowl. Dip cookies, one at a time, into white chocolate and shake to remove excess white chocolate. Set on parchment paper and sprinkle with crushed pecans before the white chocolate dries. White chocolate dries fast so I dip three cookies and then sprinkle on the pecans before dipping more.

Recipe from ~ Live, Love & Sugar

Iced Oatmeal Cookie
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour oats into a food processor and pulse until partially ground, about 15 seconds. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground oats, for 30 seconds. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter, granulated sugar and light-brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Stir in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined (scrape bottom and sides of bowl as needed). Allow cookie dough to rest 10 minutes at room temperature. Scoop dough out about 2 Tbsp at a time and drop onto a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven 11 – 15 minutes. Allow cookies to rest on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and milk and dip tops of cooled cookies in icing and allow excess to run off or alternately spread icing over cookies. Return to wire rack and allow icing to set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe from ~ Mother Thyme

Peanut Butter Cookies

December 7, 2014 · by Carrie Trax ·

One batch of dough equals three ways to make some delicious peanut butter cookies. Peanut butter cookies are one of my youngest son’s favorite cookies. I am always looking for a way to make them a little different but keep that peanut butter flavor he loves. Here is a way to create a variety of cookies and you only have to make one cookie dough. You can make old fashion peanut butter cookies, peanut butter thumbprint cookies and a peanut butter sandwich cookie. I used strawberry jam but you can use any jelly or jam that your family likes, the combinations are endless. If you double the Old Fashion Peanut Butter Cookie recipe below you can make 2 dozen of each peanut butter cookie out of one bowl of dough. The recipe for the old fashioned peanut butter cookie is a good one, I have placed 1st for three years in a row at my county fair!

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies ~ makes 3 dozen
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
extra sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In large bowl beat butter, peanut butter and vanilla until combined. Add brown and white sugar and beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until mixed. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Roll into 1 1/2 -inch balls and then roll in the extra white sugar. Using a fork, flatten cookie and make a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown. Let cookies cool on baking sheet 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Take two of the baked peanut butter cookies above add 1 teaspoon of jelly or jam on one cookie. Place second cookie on top and press down to squeeze the jelly or jam evenly inside the cookie.

Peanut Butter Thumbprints with Jelly
One batch of Peanut Butter cookie dough
1 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup favorite jelly or jam

After making the peanut butter dough roll into 2-inch balls. Roll in the chopped peanuts and place on baking sheet. With your thumb make a deep indentation. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of the jelly or jam to the center of the cookie.