"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~Lin Yutang

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

yum-diddly-upcious cookies

my friend (and sister) called me the other day and said she had created the most wonderful cookies ever.  this was a big statement, especially from her!  she's much like me:  a cookie monster!  we love cookies.  and yes, i truly mean L.O.V.E. from the bottom most depths of my heart. 
so, she explained that she pretty much just added peanut butter in substitution for a little butter she was missing in her basic chocolate chip cookie recipe.  i was surprised that peanut butter could be substituted for butter because even though they both say "butter" i've never thought of peanut butter that way.  i can't remember if she said she did anything else to the recipe, but she kept raving on how good they were.
i'm not nuts about peanut butter.  i'll eat a peanut butter cookie if it's offered while it's fresh (like, made that day), but i've been known to turn them down otherwise.  --i don't really know if it's true to say "i've been known..." because i highly doubt anyone has KNOWN me for something as silly as that... especially since i've also been known for not being sweet on sweets in general.  *for reals there.*  i L.O.V.E. cookies, but i can surely turn 'em down if i'm not in the mood for 'em.  i guess i'm just a walking contradiction...--  but back to what i was saying, i guess i was anxious to try out the new goodness added to the most delicious cookie ever: chocolate chip.
over the weekend otter pop had been asking me to make a batch of cookies.  i meant to make some on saturday, but rested instead.  then i just forgot on sunday because i was enjoying a life of leisure and more relaxation.  well then yesterday, on monday, otter gave me a guilt trip and i made them alongside dinner (because it was an easy low-maintenance dinner that was bonus awesome because it was also a new recipe AND delicious!).
so, were the cookies good?  no, they were awesome!  but i threw in a banana too.
  • they were the perfect texture:  soft and chewy. 
  •  they looked perfect:  round and plump. 
  • and they had the great taste:  yummy and delicious.  just a hint of banana and peanut butter.
here's the recipe (and how i tweaked it):
OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter (i decreased the amount to about 3/4 c.)
(added the rest of the peanut butter in the jar... :)  i think it might have been about 1/4 or 1/3 c.)
(added 1 banana (peeled)  :))
mix and mash until it's all creamed together
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
mix together more
2 c. flour (i used whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. chocolate chips (i used four handfuls)
1 c. oatmeal (whole oats)
stir together until the dough looks and tastes PERFECTO... mm mm, i could've eaten all the dough had i let myself!
drop on large cookie sheet (20/sheet.  4X5.  they don't grow too much, so you can jam quite a bunch on the sheets) and bake for about 10 minutes (with convection setting, maybe 12 without) at 375.

too bad i can't upload the smell or taste because that photo doesn't do it justice!

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

1 comment:

Nicnic said...

mmmmmmmm! Glad you liked the added peanut butter! I would make another batch around here, but I'm still feeling pretty guilty about how many I consumed last week. Maybe I could make a batch and send them to work with Trent. That way I would only enjoy 1 or 2.
yours look DELICIOUS! I think i'd better go post my recipe, that way people can have a banana free choice, if they like to follow recipes instead of winging it!