TGROAT? Really?

In a recent Flipboard search for holiday meals, I locked-on a Bon Appetit recipe with this title:

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies are The Greatest Recipe of All Time

What a claim!  Best of the best?  The use of a superlative adjective (found in so many titles we read anymore) got my attention, and I did not move on (would you have?)...rather, read on to discover what this cookie was all about.

You know that I spend a great amount of time perusing recipes, looking for something tasty to prepare.  Mostly I spend time under the umbrella of ANYTHING SWEET.  I say mostly because I am also very keen on health and the truth is...health wins out...always.  Many of my friends imagine that my sweet tooth rules my existence, but it does not.  Yes, the hunt for that new dessert keeps me internet-occupied and subsequently busy in the kitchen, but my day's plan never includes time for a sugar-induced coma.

I made the choice to stop purchasing items like cookies, cakes, bars, doughnuts, etc. quite some years back with the notion that when I wanted to indulge, I could have some knowledge and control over the ingredients I ingested.  Baking fills in where purchases no longer exist, but my love of kitchen activity/behavior is bound to health.

Okay, back to this cookie.  At first glance, it was not much to look at.  But I read through the backstory and was piqued by the ease of method, the brevity of ingredients, and hold onto your hats... the fact the these could be prepared and served in under an hour!  Was this enough to earn the TGROAT vote?

I decided to do what I love to do: I made these cookies.

Notes:

1.  FYI- There are variations on the BA recipe like this one from The Food Network.  

2.  The recipe from BA yielded 60 cookies, but if they failed to deliver, that would be a lot of waste, right?  So I cut the recipe in half and got 28 ping pong-sized cookies (2-bite cookies).

3.  I added an ounce or so of dark chocolate (broken into small pieces) when the oatmeal went into the mix.  This is an option.

4.  I used one cup of sugar, even though I should have used only 1/2 a cup.  It worked.

5.  I did not need to refrigerate the cookies after placing them on the cookie sheet.  They firmed up on the counter within 10-15 minutes.  Could be the season...it is December. 

6.  The leftovers were put into a cookie tin and then refrigerated.

7.  A one saucepan recipe...what's not to like about this?

8.  The cookies have a confectionary profile...kind of like a piece of fudge with some heft.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

(Yield depends on size of cookie; see note above)

1/2 stick of salted butter

1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

1 and 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1-2 ounces of dark chocolate (optional)

Directions

1.  Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper, waxed paper, or silpat.  Set to the side.

2.  Into a medium-sized saucepan, place the butter, milk, cocoa powder, and sugar.

3.  Turn the heat to medium low and melt the butter, stirring to combine all ingredients.

4.  Turn heat up, and bring to a boil, stirring. 

5.  Allow to boil for one minute while stirring.

6.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla, salt (if using), oats and extra chocolate (if using) into the saucepan.

7.  Mix until evenly incorporated.

8.  Use a spoon to scoop up dollops of batter and place onto the cookie sheet. (Using one hand, I was easily able to form the dollops into roundish cookies before placing them onto the cookie sheet.)

 9.  Let cool on cookie sheet.  They are ready to eat almost immediately.  Enjoy!

Am I ready to get behind the bold opinion that this cookie is the greatest recipe of all time??  That's tough to say because as usual, I was online today searching for and reading recipes, and guess what headline I saw from Bon Appetit?

                           Chili Colorado is the Greatest Recipe of All Time

:)  

Cream Cake for Birthdays and Bridge Games

This is a recipe that can serve you on many levels and for many events.  Within the space of a few days, my daughter celebrated a birthday, a mid-week bridge group (of which I'm a new member) was meeting at a friend's house, and I have a husband who appreciates baked goods.  Three perfect gatherings for a perfect cake to make an appearance.

Recently, our daughter was moving into a new apartment (on her birthday!).  With family assistance, her belongings were loaded into a U-Haul, taken to the new place, and then unloaded.  After hours of hoisting, maneuvering, and figuring out how to move heavy and large belongings up long and narrow stairways, we were pretty well spent at the end of the afternoon.  Sitting ourselves on the floor of her new living room, we enjoyed pizza and beverages while she opened gifts.  And then came these Cream Cupcakes!

Into the next week, I was invited to play bridge with some friends.  I had subbed for someone who was traveling to India for a few months.  Now I have been asked to become a regular around the table.  And you know what I do when I am invited anywhere, right?  Bring something sweet!  And then came these Confetti Cream Mini-Loaf slices!

End of story?  Well, you know that bakers keep a stash of what they make for dessert at home.  Suffice it to say that my husband and I have indulged in quite a bit of cream cake lately.  Is this a problem?  

Make this recipe.  Tasting like poundcake, the batter works well as cupcakes, mini-loaves, or any standard round or square shape.  Thus, you get to choose the look you want :)  If well-wrapped the cake keeps for 4-5 days.  Though I had no need to freeze (um...cuz... the stash is gone), I'm guessing that would work well too.

So what took me to this mentor recipe?  I had one cup of heavy cream that had reached its sale date in the refrigerator.  I needed an outlet for this liquid loveliness, and this is what I happened upon, and I'm so very glad I did.  It's a keeper.

Notes

1.  Now that you know the recipe calls for a cup of heavy cream, know that there is no additional butter or shortening.  So you will not need to remember to take butter out of the refrigerator to soften.

2.  For the mini-loaf, I added just shy of 1/4 cup of sprinkles (not the spherical type, but the log type).  What do you think?  It adds a level of pizzazz, right?

3.  The yield for the Birthday cupcakes was 13.  I baked them for around 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center of one or two came out clean.  Remember the stash?  A couple never made it out of my kitchen!

4.  For my Bridge game, I made 6 cupcakes and 1 mini-loaf.  I baked the mini-loaf for 30-35 minutes, again checking for done-ness at around the 30 minute mark.  Added to the stash...ssshhhh....

Cream Cake for Birthdays and Bridge Games

(Yield: 13 cupcakes, or 6 cupcakes and 1 mini-loaf, 2 mini-loaves, or an 9"x 9" square pan, etc.)

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt ( I did not use salt)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Log sprinkles (use about 1/2 cup)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease whatever pan you are using (e.g., square pan, mini-loaf pan) or place cupcake liners into cupcake tins (remember this recipe makes 13 cupcakes).

2.  Place the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thickened.  Add the sugar and vanilla, beating well.

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt (if using) to combine.

4.  Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three parts, alternating with the whipping cream, mixing until well-combined.

5.  Pour the batter into your prepared pan, or in the case of cupcakes, use a soup ladle to fill the paper liners approximately 2/3 full.

6.  Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  See Notes for approximate times.

7.  Ice the cupcakes (or not) with your favorite flavor.  I used a vanilla buttercream, but I think a chocolate ganache would have been yummy too!