Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

I think I may  have found a new favorite cookie or at least a cookie that is going on my all-time favorite list! These cookies are amazing and addictive! They are super soft thanks to the addition of a box of pudding and have a great mix of peanut butter and chocolate. I will make these cookies often and so should you... SO YUMMY!

Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe slightly adapted from Inside BluCrew Life

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 small box vanilla pudding

1 1/2  cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups reeses pieces

In a bowl combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat again. Slowly add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips and reeses.

Drop by tablespoon onto a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. 

30 by 30: Pierogies

Don't my pierogies look so yummy? Wait a minute... there isn't a picture! Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Seriously, I made them, took a picture (a pretty good picture, if you ask me!), and then proceeded to delete ALL the pictures from my camera. I thought I had transferred them all but it turns out I didn't. :( Bummer!

I will post the recipe I used, though, because it was really good. I made cheese and potato pierogies and my family loved them! It was an easy recipe and so delicious!

Enjoy!


Cheese & Potato Pierogies
Recipe from About.com

2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi

1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces

butter and onions for sauteing

ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below)

Preparation:

Pierogi Dough

To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Each batch of dough makes about 12-15 pierogies, depending on size.

Prepare the Pierogies

Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy.

Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling:

Peel and boil 5 large potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and 4-8oz of grated cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want your pierogies), adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, chives, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1" balls.

Cake Batter Pancakes

Today my sweet baby girl turned 7! Yes, I realize she isn't a baby anymore but she will always be my baby girl! :)

Since her birthday fell on Pancake Sunday (yes, it is an official day at our house!) we decided to make cake batter pancakes. It was a great start to the day and my daughter loved them!

Enjoy!

Cake Batter Pancakes
Adapted from Cassie Craves

For the pancakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3cups milk

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
6 TBSP heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, egg and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. 

2. Preheat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute more.

3. To make the glaze, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until glaze forms, adding more sugar and/or heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over pancakes and top with sprinkles or non-pareils.

30 by 30: Pita Bread

I made this pita bread over the weekend and loved how easy it was! While mine aren't perfectly round they were perfectly delicious! It was kind of a last minute decision to make the pitas and so I ended up going with a recipe that I could make right away. There was one recipe I really wanted to try but the dough had to sit overnight in the refrigerator. I still plan on trying that recipe, though, because it will enhance the flavor. :) But this was a great, quick recipe and if I ever need pita bread in a hurry again I will definitely make it!

Pita Bread
Recipe from AllRecipes

1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.               

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack (I used a pizza stone). Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

TWD - BWJ: Hungarian Shortbread

The two recipes for TWD this month are Hungarian Shortbread and Pecan Sticky Buns. I went to the store on Saturday and bought everything for Pecan Sticky Buns because I thought they were first. Right before I started making the recipe I thought I would check the TWD site. It's a good thing I did because I found out that Hungarian Shortbread was first!

This recipe calls for a layer of jam in the middle - specifically a homemade rhubarb jam. I would've LOVED to make that jam but I didn't want to make a run back to the store since I had just gotten home. I did what I had to do... I used a layer of Nutella in place of the jam. :)

These bars were amazing but then again anything with Nutella is amazing in my book!

Thanks to Lynette of 1 Small Kitchen and Cher of The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at their blogs.