stitchesandstews: March 2010

So I was on one of my favorite food blogs/websites; The Tasty Kitchen. A great place that The Pioneer Woman started. I love her too. While I was there looking I saw that today was National Peanut Butter Lovers Day! So I thought we should celebrate too!!

Here is a recipe for my Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies w/ Sea Salt. You read that right- double peanut butter, chocolate and salt. Yes sometimes I just call these heaven.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Sea Salt

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C peanut butter, go creamy here
1/2 C sugar, I use turbinado in my baking. In case you were wondering
1/4 C brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C flour, I love White Whole Wheat Flour. Lighter than regular WW flour and oh so good!
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3-1/2 C roasted and salted Peanuts
1/2 C dark chocolate chips
1/2 C milk chocolate chips- you of course can use 1 cup of just either kind. No need to mix and match if you don't want to. But why wouldn't you want too?

In your bowl add your butter, p. butter, sugar, b. sugar and egg. Beat this until well combined.
In a smaller bowl whisk your flour, b.powder and soda until well combined. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. YUM! I could eat this right now. Wait. Oh wait!
Ok now add your peanuts and chocolate chips and stir until combined. These are going to look crumbly, like they aren't going to hold together and you are just going to have to eat all the cookie dough. But now get out your cookie sheet.
Go ahead and turn your oven on to 350 degrees. (one of these days I will learn how to put the little degrees symbol up there...but until then)
Roll your dough into balls, not to big not to small. You will have to push the ingredients together getting chocolate, peanuts and some more chocolate into each bite, umm I meant cookie.
Place on cookie sheet. Next take a fork and lightly press down on each cookie flattening it and leaving a forkable imprint on each! yum!

Place in oven and bake about 10 minutes until you notice a nice golden color. You still want them a little soft. As soon as they come out of the oven sprinkle with salt. Not just any salt - this kind:

I am sure I have talked it about it before and trust me I will talk about it again. I. LOVE. THIS. STUFF. YUM.! Sprinkle it on top and well sure you can wait for them to cool but what fun is that!

Enjoy!

This isn't a great picture of them but it shall suffice for now! Gosh maybe I should make some of these...

So after not being very "crafty" as I use those terms loosely I have decided I must change that! I have tried knitting, a few different times. I am proud to say I MADE A SCARF. Yep one scarf made and retirement from knitting soon followed. There is just something about it, it seems to take FOREVER! I am one that loves instant gratification. Quick, simple and done.

When I cook, I can hear the sizzle or smell the aroma from sauteing garlic. Baking you can taste those chocolate chips before you throw them in the cookie batter, you can smell the fresh bread baking in the oven. I love that. Simple and progressive. It took me weeks of knitting before what I could have used as a hanky. It took me all winter to make a scarf which I then gave to my husband, because I wasn't going to wear that holy thing. Ha. And well he is my husband, he HAS to wear it. Right?

So last Christmas my mom got me a sewing machine. Ahh, so a year after getting it I have finally pulled it out of the closet and have been learning how to use it.

Funny how a little machine can do so much. This little machine has created my Craft Day Wednesday's. Pretty much an open house for the day where mama's and babies can come in eat, laugh and craft. Did I mention too that we cry, complain and often ask for advice. I love craft days...

Here are a few pictures of my set up, some crafts I have made and hopefully more to come soon!

the good ol self portrait in my ring sling