Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars - Page 59

I made this cookie to take to PEPS (our parenting group that has turned into great friendships). I felt the need to make it up to one of the fathers, Brad, for not having bake-goods the last time we hosted. He gave me lots of grief and swears that's the only reason he comes to the get-togethers. Luckily, non of our kids have nut allergies, so I thought this would be a great cookie for the kids to enjoy. Plus, I was hoping to get Ava to eat one, realize peanut butter isn't all that bad, and pig out on the ton of calories I think these dense cookies hold.

This recipe used up almost an entire jar of Kirkland's Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (YUM!!) and a jar of raspberry jam, not to mention all the chopped peanuts on top. This made a huge batch in a 9 x 13 pan - I think I would only make a half batch in the future. I also baked this recipe on the lowest time recommended based on all the previous cookies. Well, it's the one time I could have probably baked them for the longest time. I'm not sure what the consistency was supposed to be, but these were like biting into a thick slab of peanut butter. We all looked like dogs trying to lick the gooey peanut butter off the roofs of our mouths. They were rich and beyond dense. I took half a batch to PEPS cut into squares that I quickly found were too big. They were just too much to eat that big of a cookie at one time. The other half was cut into smaller bars and given to Kevin to take to work. He reported back that the guys all loved them and that they gobbled them up right away. The flavor was that of one of the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you've ever had. But the texture was just too much for me to handle. I don't enjoy all the work of chewing these up and then feeling like a brick hit your stomach all within the first bite. Ava couldn't get past the texture of these and barely took a nibble. So much for getting her filled up on tons of calories and turning her on to peanut butter. I'll try these again when she get to be school aged.

FLAVOR:

TEXTURE:

Butterscotch-Cashew Blondies - Page 277

I've been dying to use the Heath Toffee Bits I bought a couple of weeks ago from AmazonFresh and had to find a recipe to use them in. Unfortunately there were only two to choose from (I was dreaming of loads of toffee recipes), this one and Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies. Both Blondies (which I had never made) and both with nuts in them (I'm not a fan of nuts in my sweets). This one won however, because it had cashews instead of walnuts and butterscotch chips!

These were beyond easy to make, but once again I needed to adjust the cooking time down a bit (they must like really browned cookies over there at MSLO). I took them to our friends' BBQ and most were gobbled up quickly. These blondies look like cake but and sound like brownies, but they really do have the texture of a light and chewy cookie - just thicker. The consistency was much nicer than I expected and I liked them more than I thought I would. I did bump up the butterscotch chips and toffee bits a little bit and put in a little less cashews than it called for (being that I don't do nuts in my sweets). The flavor was light and honestly I could have handled more toffee and scotchie flavor - I'll have to add more next time. But, overall, I can honestly say that I like blondies. Who knew.

FLAVOR:

TEXTURE:

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies - Page 77

This cookie was calling me. It's looked delicious and somewhat nutritious (well, as cookies go). It doesn't have much butter and it's full of applesauce, oats, and golden raisins. These were quick and easy to make and best of all, you get to top them with icing!

Once again, I had to adjust the baking time. It calls for 13-15 minutes and I had to pull them out around 12-13 minutes. I'm finding it quite frustrating that Martha's staff can't seem to get the baking times correct. I keep thinking that maybe it's because they are in the Northeast and that could possibly make a difference. But really our altitude and weather conditions are not that far off from each other, so I don't think that is the case. I never have problems with any other confections - boxed or from recipe - so I'm leaning towards it being a problem on their end.

The other thing I wish I had adjusted was the amount of liquid in the icing. When I read the proportions or liquid versus confectioners' sugar, it looked like it would make a runny glaze instead of a thicker icing. I trusted the recipe and it definitely came out thin and runny - not at all like the photos in the book. Because of this, I had to drizzle the cookies twice, and they still just looked shiny when the glaze set up (instead of the pretty white ribbons of icing I had imagined).

Even with the less than perfect "icing" these cookies are divine! They are what I love about a good cookie: soft, chewy, with great texture and bursts of flavor. I think I could have eaten the entire batch myself. Luckily, I sent 1 1/2 dozen with Kevin for the guys at his work before I could get too hooked on them. He said they were gone immediately. Ava loved them too and scarfed down the couple she got (which is saying a lot for a little girl who eats like a bird and it picky of her cookies). I want to make these again and again, but I need to move on to the next test subject.

FLAVOR:

TEXTURE: