The humble, yet complex, peanut butter cookie

Those who know me well, know that I do not have much of a sweet tooth. When I do crave something sweet, I seek something that has a nice balance of savory. Honestly, my idea of a perfect dessert is a glass of red wine paired with a cheese plate. Yet, when I am pregnant, I just love sweets which has led me in search of the perfect peanut butter cookie. Peanut butter cookies have that salty/sweet combination that I look for in a snack. Otherwise, if the treat is too sweet, you find yourself doing the, "well, now I got the sweet, but now I need a bowl (bag) of chips to offset it" routine. That's just a calorie disaster waiting to happen! And, let's be honest- we've all done it!

So let's talk peanut butter cookies. I have never had a great recipe, often they end up too dry. I pulled out all of my cookbooks and started reviewing. I landed on American Brasserie, a great cookbook that I picked up a while ago. I love anything bistro or brasserie related. It reminds me of being in Paris or Italy, sitting outside at a little table with a bowl of onion soup, a salad with goat cheese crostini, or an espresso. Typically, these types of restaurants have limited menus focused on seasonal ingredients. The recipes are inspiring, yet not intimidating. Anyhow, this book has a recipe for peanut butter cookies that I decided to try. Here is the recipe, including their introduction, which is over half the reason I decided to try it.

Big Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
from American Brasserie, Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julie Moskin

People always say that peanut butter cookies are great for kids, but we suspect that grown-ups like them just as much. After all, this is a pretty serious cookie, with a salty-sweet flavor and crumbly richness that could even be called sophisticated.


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chunky or creamy peanut butter (I used creamy)
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. *
2) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3) In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and cream with the butter. The mixture will look a bit grainy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat until fluffy.
4) Mixing at low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. If using, mix in the chocolate chips by hand.
5) Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.*
6) Let cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

* I use parchment paper so I don't have to grease the baking sheets, making for easy cleanup. I also used convection bake and lowered the temp to 325F. This made for a longer baking time- nearly 20 minutes.

I have made this recipe twice now. The first time, I just made them as instructed without chocolate chips. The cookies do not look like typical peanut butter cookies, where you roll balls and then flatten with a fork to make the criss cross pattern. They look more like a chocolate chip cookie. They tasted excellent, but it got me thinking, would they be different if I used the traditional method? What about adding chocolate chips? So, I gave it another go yesterday, using all 3 methods. After all, texture and appearance do make a difference to your sensory palate. Yet, I have to admit- all 3 were good. I'm still not completely sold on adding the chocolate chips. I feel like the peanut butter stands very well on its  own and the chocolate is sort of a distraction. Rolling the dough and then flattening with the fork tines, gives the cookie its traditional appearance and I think more of an even outer layer, a little more crumble. The simple drop cookie method, is very chewy which has its own merit. My conclusion is to leave the recipe stand without adding chocolate chips. The next thing that needs to be tested is whether chunky peanut butter would be better... any guesses?

Oh no she didn't!

It took two recipes, one bag of flour, and four weeks- but I did it! I made sourdough bread- and it was delicious! I now have a strong starter and a method that works. The bread came out fantastic- chewy, yet airy. A perfect crust. I am basking in culinary glory. The end.

Sourdough Debacle

Ok, so as I had warned- this had a possibility of failing. This was in fact, a bust! I attempted my first loaf of bread and it didn't rise. I think the starter is just too weak. Maybe I shouldn't have "dumped that hooch!"

So- we have two options: Try again or Visit the Bakery...

Well, those who know me well- I am not a quitter! So- I am starting all over with a new recipe that I found off of the King Arthur Flour website. They call for using a packet of yeast- which let's face it- I need all the help I can get. I will let you know when I actually get a loaf of sourdough bread. They also have a recipe for a grape sourdough starter but from what I can tell- you need wild grapes. I should have taken some when I visited the Finger Lakes!

Quick Sourdough Update

Ok, I looked at my sourdough starter this morning and there was a layer of water that had separated from the doughy section. I went and googled this and apparently it's not a big deal- some referred to it as "hooch." Hooch is where the yeast creates a sort of alcohol-like liquid. Some advised to pour that out and some advised to just stir it in. I decided to dump the hooch. Wow, never thought I'd write that sentence on this blog! I poured half the starter out and added more flour and water. I am making soup so I placed the starters next to the simmering pot- hopefully, we'll get some action soon.

Day 5 of the Sourdough Project

Day 5- life is confirmed- foamy sponge under an air-dried crust. Peel off and discard crust. Whisk 1 cup warm water into the starter, then strain through sieve into a bowl
Happy to be discarding the grapes at this point. They were beginning to gross me out.
Add 1 cup flour to form a thick paste.

Divide the starter between two canning jars, cover the jars with cheesecloth, and secure with the metal-ring bands. Put them back in a warm spot. If the starter triples in size within 4-6 hours, it is strong enough to make your bread rise.

If it doesn't, feed it each day with 1/4 cup each warm water and flour. If the jars get too full from feeding, discard some of the starter.

When the starter is strong enough, remove 1 cup to make bread.

So, now we wait...

Day 2 & Day 3 of the Sourdough Project

Ok, feed the beast was not that interesting. I added 1/4 cup of warm water and 1/4 cup of flour. It does have a sweet smell as it should according to the recipe. My kitchen is freezing cold though- so I turned on the oven for a few hours and placed the bowl next to it.

By day 3- there should be a foamy sponge under an air-dried crust. Well, it's morning of day 3 and there is no such thing. The book says that if this is the case, the kitchen might be too cold and you must warm the starter by the oven again and then let sit for a couple more days. Ok, so no life confirmed yet; I'll keep you posted.

An example of some of the weird crap I do to entertain myself...

So have you ever found yourself wondering what you would do if you didn't have to go to work each day? Well, this stay-at-home adventure I'm on has led me to some interesting hobbies- from taking day trips and writing about them, knitting a ridiculous number of hats, gardening, cooking, to well, making a sourdough starter from scratch.

My mom gave me a cookbook for my birthday: Family Meals, Creating Traditions in the Kitchen, by Maria Helm Sinskey. The author actually grew up in upstate New York. It's a great book that discusses how to create meals as a family and getting your children excited about food, etc. It also talks about the importance of knowing what goes into a meal by making things from scratch. In a world as fast-paced as ours, it's kind of a nice reminder to slow things down and appreciate some simple things. There is a recipe for a sourdough starter that has intrigued me since June and I have decided to take it on. First, I did a little research on various recipes. See, it's a little freaky. You have to think about what makes it "sour" dough.

My recipe calls for grapes, flour, and water. The grapes will ferment and create a yeast naturally. Another recipe calls for milk- but for some reason, milk grossed me out more - so I decided to stick with the grape method. After all, fermented grapes do produce wine, so how bad can this be? In fact, when I was on the wine tour at the Finger Lakes, the winemaker discussed this very thing- how grapes create a natural yeast. I found this sort of fascinating and decided it was a sign that I must not ignore this experiment.

As my garden has winds down, I will take you on a new adventure with me. Now- full disclosure, this could completely blow up and be a tremendous failure! But, what the hell, let's try it out!

Day 1:
1 cup organic grapes
1 cup unbleached bread flour and 1 cup warm water, whisked together in a metal bowl
squish grapes with your hands (secretly wishing you were making wine)
Add the grapes to the flour paste and stir. Put the bowl, uncovered, in a warm place.

Stay tuned for day 2- where we "feed the beast"