These peanut butter cookies rock. They are puffy and soft and topped with melted Hershey kisses. And they smell heavenly (provided you are a pb fan)! I know usually these cookies (aka peanut blossoms) have a hershey kiss on the top. But I mixed it up and went the melted route. Remember – scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup, chill the dough at least a couple of hours and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup Crisco
• 11/2 cups peanut butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbs milk
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda

Directions – cream Crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Scoop out quarter cups of dough using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop. Chill a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 375 for 20 minutes. Stagger mounds of dough on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake ten minutes (light golden patches on top). Don’t overcook or cookies will be dry. Cool completely. Top with melted milk chocolate. Store in covered container

I got some requests recently for the “Frank” cookies, which are chocolate chip cookies with white chips, milk chocolate chips and semisweet chips, and named after our friend Frank. I have made several versions of this cookie with variations of the classic chocolate chip dough and decided today, to try a chocolate one. These have milk chocolate chips, semisweet chips and dark chocolate chips. And they are large -1/4 cup of dough. But that’s how I roll. I like big cookies and I can not lie. 🙂

As I write this recipe, I am enjoying a beautiful night on our deck, with Gracie enjoying her nightly bone. This girl has come a long way in 2 plus years with us.. From abandoned, scared and unsure of people, to a loving sweet pup with no sense of personal space. She is not a fan of the fireworks, which have been going off every night for several weeks. Not sure what is to be celebrated during a pandemic.

Before I get to the recipe, a couple of notes – 1) I used a combo of butter and Crisco. You can use all of one or the other. I like a combination of both because it helps the cookies stay puffy. 2) scoop the flour from your container into your measuring cup, using a large spoon to get the right amount. 3) make the dough into tall mounds. 4) chill dough at least an hour. 5) preheat your oven to 350 for 20 minutes to make sure the temperature is perfect.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp chocolate extract (or vanilla)
• 1 egg
• 1 to 2 tbs water
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup semisweet chips
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, extract and 1 tbs water Fold in dry ingredients (it might take a while to come together). You might need to add another tbs of water if dough seems too dry. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger on a cookie sheet that has been lined with nonstick baking liners.

Bake 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Store in covered container. Microwave 10 to 12 seconds the next day or two for cookies that taste right out of the oven!!

Today is another recipe from my chocolate chip category (I believe I have 34 ccc recipes). This is a pretty large cookie, in the spirit of the famous Levain Bakery in NYC. I have never been there, but hope to rectify that the next time Rob and I visit our friends Mark and Marcy. I believe cookies at Levain are 6 ounces(!) and cost at least 4 dollars. Mine are not quite that big and I do not charge for treats. ☺ I used my large ice cream scoop (1/4 cup). I have seen some techniques where the cookies are baked on an upside down cookie sheet. I tried that and the results were good! You could use 1/2 cup dough for each cookie, but your baking times may be closer to 20 minutes.

To make the butter easier to work with, I grated it with a cheese grater. If you don’t have cake flour, you can sift together 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour with 1 tbs and 1 tbs cornstarch. I froze the individual mounds of cookie dough for 30 minutes. Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup cold butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar for a couple minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Freeze 30 minutes. Preheat oven 20 minutes. On upside down cookie sheet, stagger dough. Bake 15 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool on sheet 10 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool completely. Store in covered container.

These cookies are an ode to our friend, Frank. The first time I ever saw this cookie was at his 40th birthday party. They are his absolute favorite cookie. I believe they are called jumbo chip or triple chip cookies as well, but we just call them the Franks. I tweaked the recipe I saw on Nestle’s website because I could never get the recipe right. It was always too dry and the cookies were flat, which is unacceptable to me. Anyways, in this recipe I use an instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz size). You can always use a differemt flavor that you would like. You can also change up the chips, as long as you use 3 cups total. Remember – 1) scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup, 2) chill the scooped out cookie dough for a few hours, and 3) preheat your oven for 20 minutes to 350 degrees to ensure the right baking temp.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar 2 to 3 minutes. Blend in puddong mix. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold in flour. Mix in chips. (I did this with my hands. Like making meatballs!). Scoop out 3 tbs of dough and form tall mounds.

Chill a few hours. Preheat oven for 20 minutes to 350 degrees. Stagger cookie,dough on a sheet that has been lined with nonstick baking liners.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool on sheet 5 minutes., remove from sheets and cool completely., store in covered container. Microwave the next day for 10 to 12 seconds for warm, fresh from the oven cookies

I published my new episode the “Frank” cookies 5/21/20, please check it out https://www.podbean.com/ea/pb-pyge9-dd3e82

During the pandemic, I have become a master of the small batch, in terms of treats. I can’t bring anything into work or give to friends, so I just made a very small cake or batch of brownies, and only a few cookies. I went with oatmeal chocolate chip. They are puffy and perfect… And remind me of the cookies they served in the college union at Geneseo. Those cookies were massive and fantastic – chocolate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar. And in my book, being reminded of my alma mater makes me smile. That and the weekly zoom calls with my Geneseo crew – Helen, Christine, Susan, Mark, Jeff and Steve. Life can throw you a lot of curveballs and I feel fortunate I can always rely on my group of friends.

Couple of notes – I used a mix of cake flour and all purpose flour. You can use all AP flour if you want. And if you go all AP, toss in a tbs of cornstarch if you want. I used milk chocolate chips. You can use old fashioned or quick oats. I forgot to take the butter out in time for it to really soften up, so I used a cheese grater, and grated the cold butter right out of the fridge so it could mix easiee with the sugars. I also recommend forming the dough and then chill,it. Lastly, remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter
• 11/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 11/2 cups flour
• 1 cup cake flour *
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups oats (old fashioned or quick)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• *if you don’t have cake flour, you can completely use all purpose flour. You can also make your own cake flour by sifting together 1 tbs cornstarch to 1 cup AP flour.

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients and oats. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and chill for an hour. Preheat oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Stagger cookies on a sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. (There will be light golden patches on top). Let cool 10 minutes on sheet. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely. Store in covered container. Makes 12 large cookies.

Anyone else craving chocolate? I find that with winter hanging around far too long (I mean, we had wind chills and snow squalls last Saturday.. But that’s climate change for you), chocolate just seems so appealing, and really has been beckoning me. So I obliged and made THIS chocolate cake. It reminds me of the Linda’s fudge cake from the Cheesecake factory. (I love it when I make something I feel is on par with a famous restaurant, bakery etc). This cake is pretty rich, so I kept it to one layer. You can double it if you want and make a double layer cake, should you choose. Couple of recipe notes – If you don’t have chocolate extract, you can use vanilla. You can omit the chocolate chips, use another flavor, or toss in some walnuts. Once a month, I open a new baking soda to make sure it is fresh (and will work properly in your fecipe) also, scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup.. And remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes to get the right temperature.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper. combine butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and extract. Stir in dry ingredients. Add water and slowly stir until batter is just blended (don’t overmix). Stir in chips. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. (Toothpick inserted in center comes out with some moist crumbs). Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan, bottom side up, on a cake platter and cool completely.

• Frosting ingredients
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbs sugar

Directions – heat cream to a simmer. Pour over chips. Whisk smooth. Add sugar. Spread over cooled cake. (If you feel frosting is too thin, you can let it sit at room temp for a bit, or add a tbs or two of powdered sugar to thicken it up). Store frosted cake in covered container.

Today, I present browned butter blondies with chocolate chips and m&ms. I went with browned butter because, by the time the request came in, I did not want to wait for the butter to soften. So i needed a recipe that called for melted butter. Browning butter is pretty easy. You melt it in a pan and keep cooking over medium heat (stirring occasionally) until you see little brown bits. Remove from the stovetop, let it cool for 5 minutes and you are all set to bake. It gives a different flavor that I think you will like. I also tossed in m&ms and chocolate chips. Mix up the toss-ins, or keep them plain. I always have a need to add things or at least frost treats!

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mini m&ms
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line and 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. brown butter in a frypan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you see brown bits. Pour into a bowl and cool,5 minutes. Mix in brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt. Fold in chips and m&ms. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes (no longer). Let cool. Store in covered container. Microwave them the next day for 12 to 15 seconds to make them taste like they are right out of the oven.