fluffernutter cookies

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Fluffernutter: marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, white bread, YUM. For the uninitiated, read this.

No, you cannot use marshmallow creme. Yes, there is a difference. This is fluff:

This cookie is such a simple concept. Forgo the white bread for pb cookies, just add fluff and voila. The yummiest twist on a pb cookie you’ll ever have.

In order to truly have the best fluffernutter cookie, you must start with the best pb cookie. Slate.com told me I was making pb cookies wrong. The bit of almond extract in these give them the extra nuttiness that make them uber good.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Yield: About 24 cookies
Time: About 3 hours, mostly unattended

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar, or more as needed for coating the cookies

1. Beat the brown sugar, butter, and peanut butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl) until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat to combine. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir just until combined. Wrap the dough in foil or plastic wrap (or simply cover the bowl) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, coat each ball in sugar, and transfer to a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Press the tines of a fork flat against each ball of dough to indent it, then make a second indentation perpendicular to the first one. Bake until the cookies are firm and their edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to wire racks or paper towels to finish cooling. Repeat with the remaining dough. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days.

*To make these into fluffernutter cookies, spread a generous tablespoon (or two for the fluffaholics) of fluff onto the flat side of a single pb cookie, and simply sandwich another on the other side.

salted cookies and cream cookies {did someone say double stuf?}

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{salted cookies and cream cookies}

The name is a mouthful, as are the cookies! There’s salt. There’s Oreos. There’s a damn good cookie recipe. It’s chunks of cookie inside a cookie. It’s cookie-ception.

Recipe via gastronomyblog.com (with slight modifications of my own)

INGREDIENTS
8 1/2 ounces (2 cups minus 2 tablespoons) cake flour
8 1/2 ounces (1 2/3 cups) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) light brown sugar
8 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 package Oreo Double Stuf cookies
Sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

{butter is magical}

{butter is magical}

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

{all about the double stuf}

{all about the double stuf}

Remove the dough from the refrigerator one hour prior to baking to allow it to soften some. Once the dough has come to room temperature (cooler is perfectly fine, just as long as the dough is malleable), incorporate the Oreo cookies using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. To distribute large cookie chunks throughout the batter, mix for 5 seconds. If you prefer smaller chunks, mix for 10 to 15 seconds.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Scoop 2 tablespoon mounds of dough onto the baking sheet. Make sure to turn horizontally any Oreo cookie pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.

Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough. The dough might look a bit raw coming out of the oven, but no worries, once it cools everything firms up nicely. Dig in.

Makes about 36 cookies.

funfetti cookies {par-tay!}

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funfetticookies

Nothing says “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” quite like rainbow sprinkles! And when they’re baked into the cookie AND sprinkled on sugary sweet pink frosting, you’re basically in rainbowy, sugary, festive heaven.

Cookies are much more fun than a slab of Funfetti sheet cake (but that’s not to say I wouldn’t single-handedly finish off said sheet cake…) Pillsbury has a recipe on their site that modifies the instructions on the Funfetti cake mix box to turn them into pretty rainbow cookies!

{funfetti mix and frosting}

{funfetti mix and frosting}

INGREDIENTS
1 package Pillsbury® Funfetti® Premium Cake Mix
1/3 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
2 large eggs
1/2 (15.6 oz.) can Pillsbury® Funfetti® Vanilla Flavored Frosting

DIRECTIONS
HEAT oven to 375°F. Combine cake mix, oil and eggs in large bowl. Stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass dipped in flour.
BAKE 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
SPREAD frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

guinness ice cream {erin go bragh}

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{guinness ice cream}

St. Patrick’s Day means you can start your day with a pint, guilt free, and continue on with your libatious festivities through the wee hours of the morning. And if your sugar addition is anything like mine, getting your booze in the form of decadent ice cream is the BEST.

Since this recipe has alcohol in it, it takes longer than your typical ice cream to freeze properly. But that’s not to say you can’t just take the slushy mixture and drink it with a straw.

Recipe via thehungrymouse.com

Guinness Ice Cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups Guinness Extra Stout or regular Guinness (one 11–12-oz. bottle)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Makes about 1 quart

Make the custard base
Put the sugar and salt in a medium-sized, heavy bottomed pot.
Toss in the egg yolks.
Whisk them together until uniform.
Add the heavy cream and whisk again until uniform.
Set the pot on the stove over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly.
(Seriously, don’t walk away from the pot. You have to keep the mixture moving as it heats up, or else you’ll wind up with a pot of scrambled eggs.)
Your mixture is ready when it thickly coats the back of spoon and reaches 170 degrees on a candy thermometer. (To measure, tip the pot so that the egg mixture is deep, so you get a good reading on your thermometer.) This should take 3 or 4 minutes, depending on your stove.

Strain the mixture
Strain the mixture into a large bowl to catch any bits of stray egg that managed to cook.

strainingcustard

Finish the ice cream mixture
Add the stout.
Toss in the vanilla extract.
Whisk gently until uniform.
Give the mixture a taste. This is your finished flavor. If you want to add more vanilla, etc., do it now.

pouringguinness

Chill the mixture
Chill the mixture until completely cold, about 4-6 hours.

If you need to, you can fudge this a little by putting it in a shallow pan (like a lasagna pan) and sticking it in the freezer. Just keep a good eye on it, and don’t let it remotely freeze solid.

Process the ice cream
Once it’s chilled, process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Every machine is a little different.)

Freeze overnight
When it’s done, pour it into a freezer-safe container.

guys, i’m official! {getting crafty}

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{biz cards}

{biz cards}

What I really wanted were letterpressed cards, but when those were running upwards of $1/card, I knew I had to get crafty (blame the self-imposed spending diet). These were so easy and cheap, and they still gave me the old fashioned, rustic-y feel I was going for.

I uploaded my logo design at thestampmaker.com and they magically turned it into a cool wooden rubber stamp. I can now literally put my stamp on things.

I grabbed a few packs of blank cards at Paper Source for less than what fellow crafties were selling them on Etsy for.

With House Hunters playing in the background, I finished these before the newlywed couple decided on house #2 with the large backyard for their dog Scout.

I’m kinda obsessed with these and want to hand them out to EVERYONE.

(Neither thestampmaker.com nor Paper Source paid me for this. I’m just a thrilled customer!)