Homemade Peanut Butter

This is real life everybody!  I took some peanuts and I butter-ized them.  With success!  It wasn't even a little bit hard.  It was actually a lot of bit easy.  

And then I proceeded to just eat it from a spoon nearly every day.  Like it's a socially acceptable snack to just eat some peanut butter (and maybe some chocolate chips) from a spoon in your pajamas on a Tuesday night.

This is one of those recipes I envision myself making big batches of and handing out in adorable mason jars to friends and family with handmade tags and colorful twine.  The reality is that I own one mason jar that previously was used as a cup for cold beverages because I own almost exclusively coffee mugs and I have zero twine.  A girl can dream.    

Obviously, you can expect many more nut butters coming your way in the coming weeks.  Almond butter?  Heck yeah!  Cashew Butter?  Sure!  Hazelnut Chocolate Butter?  You betcha!  Macadamia Nut Butter?  I'm sorry, but no, macadamia nuts are expensive.

If someone is willing to fund the Macadamia Nut Butter then I will gladly make it.  I will accept cash or money order.  My estimate is $2,573.  It's a rough estimate obviously, including the price of twine.  We can talk numbers later.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients: 
16 oz dry roasted salt peanuts
2 tsp cinnamon (optional) 

Instructions: 
1.  Place peanuts in the food processor and begin processing.  The process will happen in stages: crushed, paste, "dough-like" ball, then peanut butter.  Some recipes estimate about a 5 minute processing time but it took me about 2 minutes.  If your food processor gets too hot, stop for a few minutes and begin again when it's cooled.    
2.  When you've reached the final stage, process for about 1 additional minute to reach smooth consistency.  If using cinnamon, you can add it at this stage to incorporate.  
3.  Pour into a well sealed container and store in the fridge for a thick consistency.  Leaving at room temperature should yield a slightly runnier peanut butter.   Eat with a spoon.     

Notes
**I'm no food safety expert but I would expect that this peanut butter will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.  If stored at room temperature, I'd recommend about one week.

**The cinnamon flavor seems to intensify once the peanut butter sits in the fridge for a few hours.  It may seem meek upon first taste from the food processor but allow the peanut butter to sit and you should notice the flavor.   



Recipe from Averie Cooks

Homemade Oreo Cakesters

I can't believe I'm still talking about the weather.  Sometimes it's like "Shutup Ann, I know it's hot.  It's July."  But it's actually super hot, right?  It's not just me?  Because I've seen more movies this summer alone than I've seen in the last year probably and it's only because I want to be in a cold dark place for 2 hours.

Of course this also means I've been baking less.  Because my kitchen is neither cold nor dark.  And when I decided to just brave the elements and make some time consuming, somewhat tedious Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies, I overbaked them, like a rookie!  It was so sad.  It was so sad that I still ate some overbaked cookies.  I'm not on top of my game in this weather!  I'm a delicate flower and I'm wilting under the intense heat.

So maybe it's ok to just cheat a little bit.  I'm talking about cake mix, guys.  I don't use it often because from-scratch recipes truly just taste better but if you doctor up cake mix a bit (cough*buttercream*cough), it can certainly be worth using on those days when you want some time in the kitchen but maybe just not too much time.

Let's leave the real culinary adventures to rainy days and the long fall and winter months.  Let's make summer about cake mix shortcuts, ceiling fans and long movies in cold dark places.  Deal?

Here's the recipe!

Homemade Oreo Cakesters  makes about 20 sandwiches

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 18.25oz box of devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
up to 4 Tbsp cream or milk

To make the cookies:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.  Set aside.

2.  In a medium size bowl, pour cake mix and make a well in the center.  Pour oil and eggs into the well and using a wooden spoon, combine cake mix and oil and eggs until well mixed.  It should pull together as a dough but if it's a little dry, add a splash of milk to help the dough along.  

3.  Begin to portion the dough into balls, about a tablespoon in size, and place on prepared pans about 2 inches apart.  You can actually make these as large or small as you'd like, just be sure to adjust the baking time to accommodate.  

4.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges just set.  Be sure not to overbake (it's tough to tell with chocolate cookies).  The cookies will appear soft so allow to set about 3-4 mins on the pan before removing to a sheet of wax paper on the counter or a wire rack (**see note below).  

Buttercream:
1.  With  a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for  about 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  Turn to low speed and slowly add 3 cups of powdered sugar to incorporate.  

2.  Turn mixer back to medium and add vanilla, salt and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.  If your frosting seems a little loose, add more sugar.  If it's a bit too stiff, add more milk/cream.  

To assemble:
Make sure cookies are completely cool before piping or spreading buttercream on one side of an upturned cookie.  Pair with a similar size/shape cookie to make a sandwich!  Store in an airtight container.  

Notes:
**You'll likely have leftover buttercream here so toss it in the fridge until you need it again.  Or just eat it with a spoon.  Whatever.
**When I first made these cookies, I didn't have a wire rack for cooling.  Out of necessity, I placed warmed cookies on wax paper on the counter to continue cooling.  Without the rack, there's less air circulation and I think it results in a softer cookie.  The main thing is to not overbake them so if you'd like to cool on a rack, I'm sure these cookies will still be just fine.  

Cookie recipe is an Annie's City Kitchen original 
Buttercream recipe from Savory Sweet Life

Soft Pretzels

It's real guys.  It's really real.  I successfully used yeast!  Someone send me an award or a medal.  I should retire from baking because I've reached my personal best.  

My exploits with yeast in the past have been less than successful.  Mostly, I made a loaf of wheat bread that somehow resembled the texture of a very crumbly pound cake.  I don't even know how that's possible.  I somehow defied the laws of science.  So like any normal person, I decided yeast was impossible to work with, I avoided it at all costs, and didn't try another yeast recipe for two years.  I'm so normal.  

But when I saw this recipe, it just spoke to me.  It said "You will not regret this.  I taste really good with cheese."  And I've never known a pretzel to lie to me.  So I went for it!

And my goodness, it was the best decision I've made in a long time.  This recipe is simple, straight-forward and fun!  I genuinely enjoyed every moment in the kitchen and while these take a bit longer to pull together than, say, a quick-bread, the results are worth every minute.  Trust me.  Trust the yeast.  Trust the pretzel.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 oz all purpose flour (about 4 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 
vegetable oil, for the pan
2/3 cup baking soda
10 cups water (for boiling)
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for eggwash)
Toppings of your choice (sea salt, "everything," cinnamon and sugar, etc.) 

Instructions:
1.  Combine water, sugar and salt in a medium bowl (I used the bowl for the stand mixer) and sprinkle yeast on top.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until it begins to foam.  
2.  Using a dough hook (or just a wooden spoon) add the flour and butter and mix until well combined.  
3.  Turn to medium speed on mixer (or turn dough onto a floured surface) to knead dough, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove the dough from the bowl, clean bowl, and oil it well with vegetable oil.  Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to sit in a warm place approximately 50-55 minutes, until doubled in size.  
4.  When dough has risen, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line 2 sheets with parchment paper and lightly oil with vegetable oil.  Set aside.  Bring 10 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a large saucepan or roasting pan.  
5.  Turn dough onto lightly oiled surface and divide dough into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a 24 inch rope.  To form the pretzel shape, make a U shape, hold the ends of the rope, cross them over each other, and press into the bottom center of the U-shape.  For pictures on this, The Baker Chick has great instructions.  Place formed pretzels on parchment-lined baking sheets.  
6.  One by one, place the pretzels in the boiling water for about 30 seconds apiece.  Gently remove from the water using a wide spatula and place back onto baking sheet.  Brush with egg wash and add toppings of your choice.  Continue this with each pretzel and then bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly before eating to your heart's content.  

Tips:
**The Baker Chick recommends warming your oven to 200 degrees F while you prepare the dough, turn the oven off, then allow dough to rise in warmed oven.  I tried this and it worked like a charm!
**These are best eaten fresh so I'd recommend preparing them the day you intend to serve them.  If time is an issue, you can prepare the dough, allow to rise, then refrigerate the dough overnight before forming, boiling and baking the pretzels the next day.  

Enjoy!

Recipe from Baker Chick