31 Days of Cookies . Day 24. Peanut Butter Thumbprints

I used to subscribe to Martha Stewart Living Magazine, and one of my favorite things was the very last page where I could find  "Cookie of the Month." Not all of them became favorites, but today's recipe is certainly one that is a hit. I know there are some who don't love peanut butter and jelly, but for the rest of us All-Americans, it's a winning combination. Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprints

1 ¼ C flour
½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
¾ C smooth peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 lg egg
1 t vanilla
½ C raspberry jam

- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Beat peanut butter and butter with a mixer on medium until smooth.
- Add sugars and beat until pale and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
- Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Scoop level tablespoons of dough and form into balls.

Roll each ball in granulated sugar and put on parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake until cookies are puffy, about 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and make indentations in centers by pressing with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Spoon about ½ teaspoon teaspoon of the jam into each indentation.
Return to oven and bake until edges are golden, 3–5 minutes more.

Cookies can be stored in a single layer for up to 1 week... or eaten immediately!

31 Days of Cookies . Day 16. Box Lunch Cookie

Yesterday I spent the day at a beautiful country club. It was benefit event for the Family Services Agency, and I had a table to sell some Rufflewood items to aide in the benefit. Since I would be gone all day, I knew I wouldn't have time to get a blog post done.

Each vendor was given a box lunch. Look what was included in our lunch!

A cookie is always a welcome addition to a box lunch, don't you think?

31 Days of Cookies . Day 5. Cookie Balls

These little nuggets have so many names, and I think every culture has their own version of them. So I'm just calling them cookie balls. I grew up calling them Russian Tea Cakes, I've eaten them as Mexican Wedding Cakes, and the Greeks have their own version (that I can't spell or pronounce... kourambiethes? You try saying that!) that are crescent-shaped.

No matter what you call them, you must include "delicious" in the title. Here's how to make them.

Ingredients:
1 C butter (2 sticks)
2 1/4 C sifted flour
1/2 C powdered sugar (plus more for later)
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
3/4 C chopped nuts

Mix the butter, flour, powdered sugar and salt in a bowl.
Add the vanilla and chopped nuts.
The dough will seem very dry and crumbly, so get your hands in there and kind of knead it a little till it starts to come together.
Pinch or scoop off pieces and roll into balls a little smaller than an inch or so.
Place on a cookie sheet. These don't grow much (if at all) so you can fit a lot pretty close together.
Bake 14-17 minutes at 400°
Let cool a bit and roll in powdered sugar.

So easy to just pop in your mouth! But beware... you may have tell-tale powdered sugar down the front of you.

31 Days of Cookies . Day 4. Magic Cookie Bars

Bar cookies are fun to make because you just spread stuff in a pan and bake. No rolling, flattening, scooping. Just cut them in squares after they've cooled. Plus you can bake them all at once rather than in batches.

Today I made Magic Cookie Bars. Several years ago I made these All. The. Time. But it's been awhile and I didn't realize how sketchy my recipe was. (Like... a 3 oz can of coconut? I didn't know coconut ever came in a can.) So I did a little guessing with this one, but it came out fine, so I'll tell you just what I did.

Ingredients:
1 cube butter
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk. They come in the same size can and are right next to each other on the grocery store shelf)
1 C chopped nuts
1/2 C shredded coconut
1/2 of a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a 9x13" pan (or similar)

Roll the graham crackers between the folds of a sheet of waxed paper with a rolling pin. Recognize this cute rolling pin? I'm making these at Kate's while babysitting napping Maggie (and the Blue Angels are practicing for Fleet Week overhead. Thundering loudness! Can't believe she's still asleep!)

Put the crumbs in the butter, stir and press down to make a crust.

Then mix the nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut in a bowl and spread over the crust.
Bake at 350° for a half hour or so. (Again, the sketchy recipe. Gave no baking time, but a half hour seemed about right. I'm really so accurate when I bake... or not.)

We were kind of anxious, so we cut them while they were still a bit hot. Messy, but delicious!

31-Day Challenge

A couple blogs I read started the 31-day challenge several years ago... well, maybe they didn't start it, but it's where I first heard about it.

One of my favorites was the 31 Days to a No-Brainer Wardrobe last year on Tiny Twig. It was so fun to see what she came up with each day for keeping a wardrobe streamlined. She even turned it into an e-book.

So the challenge begins again this October, and I'M IN! (that's only 2 days away...)

My subject? Something I'm passionate about, and could eat ten one every day... cookies. So I'll be talking about cookies every day for a month. If you share my passion, be sure to check back each day in October. It'll be fun. (and fattening.)

See you in a day or two,