Peanut Butter Banana Cookies {recipe review}

It's officially summer, but my children are still in school for another week or so and it's all a go with plays and projects and school visits. Then they will be off and it will be the juggle of work and keeping them entertained. 

Although it sounds as if I am complaining I'm not. I enjoy my time with my children and can't wait to spend time with them! I recently made them these cookies and they have requested them again so I have it on the list to make them over the summer holidays. 

Recipe was adapted from Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea book - which weirdly I have never reviewed here on my blog. Eric Lanlard has several books and I own all of them because he is one of my absolute favorites and if you ever come across one of his books you should get it! 

These cookies were amazing. I changed a few things so the recipe below reflects how I made them! 

Peanut butter Banana Cookies 

125g mashed ripe banana (approx 2 small bananas or 1 large banana)

100g crunchy peanut butter

70g butter, melted

50g dark brown sugar

85g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

200g self-rising flour

2 tsp baking powder

30g dark chocolate chips 

20g peanut butter chips 

- 50g dark chocolate chips & 50g peanut butter chips

Gently beat the banana, peanut butter, and butter together until combined. Then mix in both sugars and the vanilla bean paste until just combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the peanut butter mixture. Then fold in the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Form a dough and cover in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or over night. 

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4 - Line your baking sheets with baking paper. Using an ice cream scoop out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheets, leave space between the cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes, I know my oven has a hot spot so about half way though I rotated my baking sheets and swamped one from the top shelf to the bottom shelf. 

(Makes about 9 cookies using the ice cream scoop, you can make them smaller the baking time is roughly the same but check on them at about 10 minutes.)

Leave the cookies to cool, while cooling gently melt the dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chips together, us using your preferred method. Some people put a bowl on to a swimming pan of water, some use a microwave, I just pop them into my heavy bottom pan and melt it on a low heat. Then place the melted chocolate into a piping bag or a sandwich bag snip the tip and drizzle across the cookies. 

Bananas go off so quickly this recipe is a great way to use them up and they taste amazing!! Did you know you can also freeze your ripe bananas? If you are using frozen bananas just let them defrost slightly and drain off any liquid before using them in the recipe. 

If you make them let me know via twitter or instagram - I love sharing everyone's photos! 

Peanut Butter Cookies (recipe)

Every thing has a national or international day these days.

Not only is social media a headache to keep up with how are we meant to keep up with all these celebrations of literally everything. I mean today (June 22nd, 2018) alone is National Take your Dog to Work day and National Onion Rings Day and don't forget National Chocolate Eclair Day.  

Now don't get me wrong I have used national days to my advantage. Like the 12th of June is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day so naturally on social media I am that annoying person going 

"Hey Everyone!! It's National Peanut Butter Cookie Day didn't ya know? Why not check out these Peanut Butter Cookies I made and if you want to make them too check the recipe out on my blog now!"

But I forgot all about National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. I was going to share these with you. However that never happened, the day just passed me by. So, here ten days later I am sharing with you some peanut butter cookies.

They are still good cookies even if they weren't eaten nor blogged about on 'their' day. The worst part is I can't shamelessly promote it by claiming its National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

160g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

114g unsalted butter, room temp

150g light brown sugar

50g sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g peanut butter, smooth/crunchy

50g-75g salted peanuts

50g peanut butter chips (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. 

Beat the butter, and both sugars together until creamy and light. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until combined. Add the peanut butter and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients in three batches mixing until just combined in-between each addition. Fold the peanuts and peanut butter chips if using into the cookie dough. 

Cover the cookie dough and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 3 days. 

When ready to bake remove from the fridge while you heat the oven to 170C/350F and line the baking trays with grease proof baking paper. 

Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into a ball and place on the prepared baking tray. Once you've used all the dough, gently press down on each one with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. 

Bake for 10-13 minutes depending on your oven. The less you bake the softer the are and the longer the more crispy they are. Because cookies can look under-baked when they come out trust your timer and oven especially if you want softer cookies. 

Leave to cool and enjoy with a glass of cold milk! 

Brown Sugar Cookies

In a world where only over the top food things reign, for example the trending freak shake and anything rainbow, I think basic, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth treats get over looked just because they aren't loud and in your face.

Don't get me wrong I am the first to hit that like button on something loud, big, and amazing because they are amazing. Drooling over food pictures is a daily occurrence for me. Food is a form of art and I am always impressed with the creativity of chefs and home bakers.

For some bakes there is only so much you can do to it. Cookies for example can be sandwiched or iced or be 'overloaded' with add-ins, but they will always be a cookie. And sometimes there is nothing better then a good old plain sugar cookie.

And sometimes there is something better .... a brown sugar cookie.

Brown Sugar Cookies

340g plain flour
2 tsps cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
228g butter
300g dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsps vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 170C/350F and line your cookie sheet(s) with grease proof paper.
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together and leave aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just combined.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time and mix well between each addition.
Scoop out with a large scoop and leave each mound of cookie dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. They don't spread much, but they will spread.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Once out of the oven leave to cool on the sheet for a couple minutes before leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.

Although these cookies may not be something to look at they are delicious and it is very hard to just have one! It is always fun experimenting with different sugars when baking because the results will always be different. The dark brown sugar gives these cookies a deeper flavor then regular sugar cookies.

Pumpkin Pie Swirls - cookie or pastry?

In one of my previous posts I had made a delicious pumpkin spice cake - the recipe only calls for half a can of pureed pumpkin, so not wanting to be wasteful I thought I'd use it in these delicious cookie-pastry-cross swirls/pinwheels.

Sounds a little confusing, but it's not really they are cookie like, but the dough is more pastry like. Whatever you want to call them they are sooooooo good!

It's the time of year for pumpkin. I used to think that pumpkin pie was only for Thanksgiving, but in reality pumpkins are totally a Halloween thing. So, pumpkin pie and cake and lattes are comfortable in October and November. Neither month owns the pumpkin. It even flows over into December.

Perhaps I should stop sharing my random thoughts and get to the recipe! The dough or batter or whatever you want to call it needs to spend some time in the fridge so be sure to read the recipe through and note the times!

Pumpkin Pie Swirls

270g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter
225g cream cheese
225g pumpkin puree
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
115g light brown sugar

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy and there are no lumps. If using a free-standing mixer or hand mixer slow it down and add the flour and salt mixture little by little. Continue to mix until completely smooth. It is a sticky dough. Lay out a piece of cling film and lightly dust with flour, also lightly dust your hands and form the dough into a ball and place on the cling film tightly wrapping it up and chilling in the fridge over night.

The next day.....

Before taking the dough out of the fridge mix the pumpkin puree with all the spices and sugar.
Lay out a piece of grease proof baking paper and as the dough will still be a little sticky sprinkle a little bit of flour over the top and bottom to avoid stick-age. Then roll it all out into an oblong shape. Spread about half of the pumpkin puree mixture over the top and leave about a half an inch border. Add more filling if you need it, if you don't then don't!
Starting with the longest side towards you and using the baking paper for support start to tightly roll up the dough. Some of the filling will squish out and that's okay. Once rolled pinch the edges to avoid too much of the filling squishing out and wrap in the baking paper and then cover tightly with cling film. Place in the fridge for a minimum of

2 hours later.....

Heat the oven to 200C/400F and line your baking sheets with grease proof paper. Take the roll out of the fridge and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on the prepared baking sheets with space between the pinwheels and bake for 12-14 minutes. They should be a light golden brown in color. While the swirls are cooling make the frosting.

frosting:
40g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3 tbsp boiling water

Beat the butter, icing sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. I tend to add my icing sugar a little at a time to avoid it exploding everywhere, but to each their own. Add a tablespoon of hot water one at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. tip - to make these even more pumpkin pie like add about a tsp of cinnamon to the frosting and beat well! 

Once the swirls are cooled spread the frosting on top of each one with a spoon! Then enjoy!

These are one of those treats that ticks all the boxes - they are easy, although they take a bit of time. Also they taste good and best of all they are full of all the spices I associate with comfort and winter!

Are you feeling the pumpkin love? Check out some of my other pumpkin bakes: Spiced Pumpkin Cake; Pumpkin Cupcakes; Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies; Pumpkin Pie; Pumpkin Pasties (another great recipe for half a can of pumpkin puree); Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins; Pumpkin Spice Latte Meringues; Pumpkin Cake.

*recipe is adapted from a recipe in Sugar Sugar: every recipe has a story by Kimberly Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero

Easy Choc Dip and Drizzle Cookies from Dr Oetker {recipe/product review}

I don't have a microwave. Some people find that weird and others don't have them either and so can relate. It really hasn't affected my kitchen life. 

Until I agree to try out a recipe from the Dr. Oetker website and even picked the recipe I thought looked great, only to find out that the White Easy Choc pot suggests it to be microwaved. It was at this point I was annoyed with myself for not paying attention to all the details. 

However, as I re-read I was excited to see I didn't need a microwave at all because I could just put the pot in a bowl and then pour hot water around it just like a bain marie aka water bath aka double boiler type situation. Perfect! 

This recipe is one of the easiest cookie recipes I have tried and would be a great one to make with kids, once the cookies are dipped you could easily let them decorate them with all sorts of sprinkles! I kept mine plain because I was lacking in sprinkles... I should really stock back up..... 

Back to what I was saying these are easy cookies to make and what I haven't said yet is that they are soft and chocolatey! They would make a perfect treat after school or dinner or bake sale! As Dr. Oetker are the proud sponsors of the Great British Bake Off I think I can safely say .... 

Get ready, set, bake! 

Easy Choc Dip and Drizzle Cookies

100g unsalted butter

75g dark brown sugar 

1 medium egg yolk 

100g plain flour

25g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 pot of Dr. Oetker White Easy Choc

Heat the oven to 190˚C (170˚C fan oven, 375˚F, gas 5). Line 1-2 baking trays with baking parchment. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and well blended. Beat in the egg yolk.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Divide the mixture into 16 rounds approx. 4cm (1 ½ inches) in diameter and place on the baking trays, spaced slightly apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until just firm and lightly cracked on top. Cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the Easy Choc as directed on the pot, and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Arrange the cookies on a board lined with baking parchment. And, using a teaspoon, thickly drizzle half of them with the melted Easy Choc. Half dip the remaining cookies and place back on the parchment to set.

*Dr. Oetker got in touch with me and sent me a few of the products mentioned above to bake these cookies from their website, the recipe can be found here  link no longer available. There was no other compensation given - all opinions are my own for more information please see my contact/policy page above. 

New Look and M&M Cookies

It's no secret that my blogging days have been waning. I haven't been baking as much as I used too with life and other activities taking up my time. It was a debate, after the last couple of years, if I was going to continue blogging.

It is a lot of work to keep a blog up and running - all the writing, editing of text and photos, and of course self promotion. It's all about balancing it all and I think it's about time to get back to blogging, with a new look and a new outlook on life!

I thought I'd start with something fun and easy - M&M cookies! I was doing my weekly food shop and they had the bags of M&M's hanging in in the middle of the isle and I was like I want those. More specifically I want those in cookies. So, I made it happen. About a month later, but I still made it happen!

M&M Cookies

150g soft unsalted butter
125g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, fridge cold
1 egg yolk, fridge cold
300g flour
½ tsp bicarb of soda
100g milk/dark chocolate chunks
165g M&M's plain or peanut!

Heat the oven to 170*C/gas mark 3 and line your baking sheet. Melt butter and let cool a little bit, put both sugars in a bowl and then beat in melted butter. Then beat in vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until light and creamy. Slowly mix in the flour and bicarb until just blended (I mixed it in a couple of batches) fold in chocolate chunks and M&M's. Use a medium ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup to divide the cookie dough into a dozen cookie dough balls. Keep cookie dough in the fridge between baking. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes.
*adapted from Nigella's recipe in Kitchen

I can't tell you how much of the cookie dough was consumed before being put on the baking tray or I might have to kill you - as the saying goes. Although I can hint that it was more then a little. Cookie dough is so good.... I know you're not suppose to eat it with raw eggs and flour and stuff....but it's so good!!

Cookies fresh out of the oven are irroestiable! This cookie recipe is my go to cookie recipe. I have used it over and over again and I just add whatever I want to it! M&M's today white chocolate and macadamia nuts tomorrow and Revel's the next day! 

Hey! So, what do you think of the new look? A big thank you to Anna at Designer Blogs for giving my blog an awesome makeover! 

Five Ways to Use Betty Crocker Box Mixes {five on Friday}

Recently I was sent a variety of Betty Crocker box mixes to use in my baking. Every time I make something with a box mix I am worried about those “only from scratch” bakers getting on my case. However, I do use a box mix from time to time and have written about it on United Cakedom several times before.

There are a couple of reasons why I, an avid baker, would choose a cake mix. First there is very little you can do to mess it up and therefore is a good choice when in a pinch. Secondly cakes made from box mixes always turn out fluffy and soft and taste good so make great bases for special toppings or fillings.

Besides all that there are other ways to use cake, brownie, or cookie mixes and here are my five favorite ways: 

Bundt Cakes:

Using a stylish baking tin is always a way to dress up you cake mix. To Make: Follow the instructions on the box and add a 150g or a ½ cup of peanut butter to the batter. Make sure that the bundt is properly greased and floured before baking. Bake time will be a little longer then the time on the box, but it depends on shape and your oven. So, set the timer for the suggested time. Check the cake and if it’s not cooked add another 10 minutes, if it’s still not cooked add another five and continue adding five until it’s completely done. Use the skewer test to be sure. Leave to cool in the bundt pan for at least 10 minutes before gently tapping it out. Then glaze it! For a Peanut Butter Glaze (pictured): Whisk 250g/1 ½ cups icing sugar, 60ml/ ¼ cup milk, 75g/ ¼ cup peanut butter, and  ½ tsp vanilla extract together until combined. Pour over the top of the cake. Sprinkle 1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate very finely chopped over the top.

Cupcakes:

This is one of those obvious reasons, but cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser and there is so much to make cupcakes fancy or fun! I made these on my recent visit to my parent’s house in America. I used a Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix to make cupcakes and stuffed a limited edition Red Velvet Oreos in the middle before topping with a Cookies and Cream Frosting. To Make: make the cake batter according to box instructions. Fill the bottom of each cupcake case with a tablespoon of batter, then place an Oreo on top of the batter in each case, top each Oreo with the rest of the batter (about 3-4 tablespoons). Crush up any leftover Oreos and mix in the frosting for a delicious cookies and cream frosting! note: Since these Oreo’s don’t exist here in the UK feel free to use regular Oreos in any flavor cake!

Red Velvet Brownies:

These make a more cake like brownie, but are chewier which is how I like them! To Make: Heat the oven to 180C/350F; line a square tin with grease proof paper. Mix 1 box of red velvet cake mix; 60ml/ ¼ cup vegetable oil (or sunflower); 75ml/ 1/3 cup water; 1 egg together until combined. Add 100g white chocolate chunks and pour into the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Once cool cover with Betty Crocker’s Vanilla Icing and Rainbow Sprinkle frosting.

  

Cake Batter Cookies:

Sally’s Baking Addiction blog’s most popular post is for her Cake Batter Sprinkle Cookies. I adjusted her recipe to suit a UK market. To Make: Sift 1 (450g) Betty Crocker Classic Vanilla Cake Mix and 1 tsp baking powder into a bowl. In a separate bowl beat 2 eggs, 75ml/1/3 cup sunflower oil, and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until combined. Heat the oven to 180C/350F and line the baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Form one-inch balls with the cookie dough and place on the baking sheet leaving space between each dough ball. Place a few chocolate chunks in the cookie dough. Bake for 9 minutes. Don’t let the cookies go brown, take them out and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack. They will look pale and under baked, but they will harden while cooling. note: want red velvet cookies? Use Betty Crocker’s Red Velvet Cake Mix and white chocolate chips!

Brownie Bites:

Brownies are already smooshy so they are a lot easier to make then cake pops (another great use for cake mix). To Make: Make brownies according to the box instructions. Once they are cool enough to touch break some up and roll it into about a 1-2 inch ball. Cover in melted chocolate or candy melts. Decorate however you want! Check out the time my sister made Golden Snitch Brownie Bites!(picture above)

If you like this post you might like:     

Star Bar Cake

Slutty Brownies

Hawaiian Coconut Cake

notes: cake mixes were provided for this post all opinions are my own please see above tab for further information. 

Brazil Nut Chocolate Cookies

I like chocolate covered Brazil nuts. It was only natural that I should then make chocolate cookies and put Brazil nuts in said chocolate cookies.

I know I am not the first person to think of putting Brazil nuts in chocolate cookies. However it was the first time I put this combination together and it was delicious!

There seems to be a lot of stresses on being the first to do something. It starts at such a young age. Not that long ago I had my youngest throw a tantrum because her sister went down the stairs first.

This was first thing in the morning and I was standing in the bedroom door half awake trying to reason with her that it doesn't matter who is first because the end result will be the same. They will both be down the stairs.

Whatever logic I was trying to instil in her that morning wasn't working. My patience having reached its limit, I yelled to her sister get up here and walk down with her. The reasoning being that that way they would both be “first.”

It’s kinda like that with these cookies. Someone else may have made chocolate cookies with Brazil nuts before me AKA going down the stairs first. However once the cookies were baked the end result was the same we had cookies! AKA we all ended up at the bottom of the stairs.

So that we are all at the bottom of the stairs here’s how I made these cookies…

Brazil Nut Chocolate Cookies 

200g dark chocolate

100g butter, room temperature

100g caster sugar

150g light brown sugar

2 large eggs

130g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

100g dark chocolate chunks

150g brazil nuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 160C fan/180C/gas mark 4 and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Leave to cool.
Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until just combined. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, and salt together before adding half to the butter mixture. Once it’s incorporated add the rest of the flour mixture. Once it’s all combined mix in the melted chocolate, before folding in the chocolate chunks and brazil nuts.

Using an ice cream scoop scoop out the batter and place them on the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges get a little crispy. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

notes: Today is the first of a new year for all of us! I still like to go on social media at midnight to tell my friends in America that the New Year has arrived. It’s my way of bragging that I am in the New Year first! This recipe is adapted from The Boy Who Bakes by Edd Kimber. AKA or also-known-as.

Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies

Every year stores bring out holiday things early. Every year people, including myself, complain about this.

Yet, I have been thinking, since the stores do it every year, they must find it beneficial. There must be people out there already stocking up on Christmas stuff.

Who are you people?!? 

I would actually like to know.

To me it seems completely absurd. Well, I did…. 

See this summer I was at my parent’s house in Minnesota and if it weren't for stores bringing out autumn-y food and decorative stuffs then I wouldn't have been able to make these cookies.

Then the answer to my question is that I am one of those people. Who knew I would ever lump myself with that sort of crowd? I sure didn't.

These cookies turned out a little gooeier then I wanted, but that is just because I should have given them a little bit more time in the oven.

Besides that they turned out super pumpkin spicy and autumn flavored. The flavored M&M’s really didn't add too much to the over-all flavor so regular M&M’s could be substituted. 

Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies:

280g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp cornflour

2 tsp pumpkin spice

½ tsp salt

170g butter, melted

150g light brown sugar

100g sugar

1 medium egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

80g dark chocolate chunks

90g Pumpkin Spice M&M’s

Line 2 large baking sheets with grease proof paper. Mix the flour, baking powder, cornflour, pumpkin spice and salt together and set aside. Whisk both sugars with the melted butter until it thickens to a paste like substance. Then add the egg and whisk until just combined, then add the egg yolk and vanilla and whisk until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and M&M’s.

Keep in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Take the cookie dough out and set the oven at 170C/325F. When the oven is almost at temperature take about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into an oblong ball and place on a lined cookie sheet. You should be able to get 8 on each sheet, so a total of 16. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on how soft you want them. They will look pale and under cooked, but if you leave them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes or more after taking them out of the oven they will set. Don’t fret!

notes: If you can’t find Pumpkin Spice try making your own: 1/3 cup ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace, 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cloves, 1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice.