Peanut Butter-White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vacation was too delightful. I miss it already. I miss all of the things we did; the weather; the doggies; the people; the time spent; the love; the laughs; the company; the home-cooked meals; I miss everything about it.

To keep from drowning in my own sorrows as I sit at home alone with Izzie today (as I have been used to about 7+ people around me the past 10 days), I decided to make cookies. Pour a glass of champagne. Devour the cookies. And, cuddle with Iz.

... It's working so far. And, I've managed to take down 5 cookies without a stomach ache. ...yet.

Peanut Butter-White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter, crunchy

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon almond milk (regular milk is fine)

1 tablespoon maple-agave syrup (or vanilla)

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line your baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. In a large bowl, whip peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, maple-agave, and milk. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly, pour the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in white chocolate chips. Drop tablespoon-size balls of dough onto your baking sheet, about 1-inch apart, and bake for 10-15 minutes. Start checking at 10. Bake until a golden brown. Then, cool.

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Family Pies

Some of the beautiful, homemade pies that have graced our table thus far... (I definitely have lots of competition when it comes to homemade baked goods within this family)

Blueberry and Blackberry Pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

3 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 pound can pineapple (you can use rings or crushed)

3 eggs

1 cup organic sugar

1/2 cup juice of pineapple can

1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (heaping) teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the sides of a spring-form pan. Pour your melted butter into the bottom of the spring-form, then sprinkle the 3/4 cup brown sugar over the top of that. Drain your pineapple from the can, and reserve your juice in an extra bowl. Arrange (or if you used crushed, like I did, sprinkle) pineapple over the brown sugar. If you would like to add nuts, you would sprinkle them now over the pineapple. 

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until they are light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar. Then beat in pineapple juice and maple syrup. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add your flour mixture to the wet mixture, and stir until evenly combined. 

Pour over arranged pineapple topping. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Depending on the size of your spring-form, start checking on the cake at about 40 minutes. 

Dress with shaved almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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Cinnamon-Maple Bacon Spread

Want to create good chaos at one of your holiday get-togethers this season?

One Word...

Bacon.

And, you will have everyone (if they eat red meat) drooling.

Bacon Spread

spread:

2 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese

1 tablespoon Maple-Agave syrup

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 tablespoon brown sugar

candied bacon:

Bacon

Maple syrup

brown sugar

butter

(amounts vary, use what you would like)

Use this bacon recipe, or another here!

In a frying pan, coat bottom of pan with butter. In a small bowl, melt some butter, maple syrup and about 1/8 cup of brown sugar until melted together. Place your bacon in the pan, brushing each side with the butter/maple/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon once placed in pan. Fry up the bacon to your liking. I know most like their bacon crisp. It may soften up once mixed in with cheese spread and placed in refrigerator, so a bit more crisp is nice. Blot with paper towel once finished, leaving some grease left on the bacon, which will allow to give the cheese spread a little bit of a bacon taste, as well. 

Once all bacon is cooked, chop into small pieces and start your cheese spread.

In a large bowl, soften your cream cheese until it forms a soft spread. You can use a handheld blender or Kitchen Aide. Once soft, with a wooden spoon, stir in maple-agave syrup, cinnamon and pinch of nutmeg until well combined. Fold in your candied bacon. 

Store in airtight container, preferably mason jar, in the refrigerator. This spread pairs wonderfully with biscuits, croissants, corn bread, crackers, bagels, and waffles. 

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Chocolate-Cashew Clusters

You would think that with how often I bake treats, my boyfriend would be one who has a sweet tooth.  Right?  Wrong.  When it comes to baked goods, there are only about 3 things he will drool over and that is... 

1) anything Apple; Apple muffins, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Crisp. Apples.

2) Chocolate Chip Cookies.

3) Skittles. If you even count those as "baked goods"; He does. 

Pretty crazy guy, eh? It is my mission to find more things I can bake that he will love.

Tomorrow he arrives back home after a long (yes, long to me) 8 day work trip overseas. (Yay!) I want to surprise him with some special gifts for when I, probably more creepily than anything since it will be 8am in the morning, see him tomorrow. I need something that will blow him out of the water.

Chocolate-Cashew Clusters

With how deep of a love he has for cashews, and I don't think there is anyone that doesn't like chocolate (if there is, I'm sorry for you), I don't think I could go too wrong here. 

....Then again, I'm dealing with one picky fella. When it comes to baked goods, that is.

(I made some extra almond clusters as well, because the rest of our home-family members are coming back today as well!)

Chocolate-Cashew Clusters

Chocolate bits

Cashews

Almonds

(All of whatever amount you would like)

In a double broiler, melt your chocolate. While melting, lay a piece of parchment on top of a baking sheet. Once the chocolate is melted, toss in the cashews (or nut of your choice) and stir until all cashews look fully coated. With a spoon, fish out several coated cashews (or more) with extra melted chocolate, and drop it onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is filled, place in the freezer for 15 minutes, or refrigerator for 35m or until hardened. 

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Peppermint-White Chocolate Pretzels

One of my favorite things in life is surprises. I love seeing the look on people's faces when they are surprised with something that you give them/make them/tell them. It's a look that keeps me going. Each year, around the holidays, I try to surprise different people, people who would expect it, with little gifts for Christmas. And, let me tell you, the looks get better and better, every single year. 

You should try it sometime. And, start with these guys; Cheap and incredibly simple to make. They have become quite the little winners, in my book.

Peppermint-White Chocolate Pretzels

1 bag of white chocolate bits

candy canes

pretzels

In a double broiler, melt your white chocolate; stirring often. While the chocolate is melting, place your candy canes in a zip-lock bag and crunch into tiny pieces. Lay a piece of parchment paper over a baking sheet; set aside. Now, once the white chocolate is melted, there are several ways you can make these.... You can 1) dip the pretzels into the white chocolate, individually, lay them on the parchment and sprinkle with peppermint pieces. And, 2) you can crunch up the pretzels, as well, toss all of the pretzels pieces into the melted white chocolate, stirring around until all are coated. Then, with a spoon, spoon out able tablespoon size amounts and set on top of the parchment paper and sprinkle with peppermint. (This makes more of a pretzel stack or pile) 

Once you have used up all of the white chocolate that you can allow pretzels to set in room temperature for about 30-45 minutes. Or, toss those babies into the fridge or freezer and they will be ready in minutes!

For a cute holiday gift, drop a couple into some plastic wrap or plastic gift bags, twist the top of the bag, and tie it up with some cute ribbon. And, viola. You have your very own holiday gift bag. 

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Pumpkin Butter Sandwich Candies

One of my favorite things about baking is that sometimes not everything is going to come out the way you planned. You may have to stop midway, toss it all out, and then start over. The end taste may not be what you expected or it may not be as pretty as you would like. But, that is what is so great. You've given it your own touch. It becomes rustic.

And, personally, I don't think there is anything more beautiful than your very own, very rustic treat.

For those of you who prefer baking their holiday gifts over buying them (I do!), we all know although wonderfully fun, it can get stressful at times. The baking itself, if you aren't patient (which most people lack when having to, usually last minute, whip up some kind of gift for their families, friends, work buddies, etc.) can become quite a handful, and, if you are me, we are more prone to missing an ingredient causing the whole entire dessert to be, well, crap. (the amount of times this has happened to me is incredible)

The cure? Having a dessert that takes little time, and has little ingredients!

I'd like to introduce you to, what may not be the eeeasiest dessert to make, but the cheapest and needs little attention! 5 ingredients, my friends. 

FIVE! Pumpkin Butter. Confectioners' sugar. Milk. Cinnamon. Butter.

 .... What I would give, and save, if every dessert had only 5 ingredients.

Although only 5, do not doubt this little treat. The over-loaded sugary taste and spiciness from the pumpkin butter work blissfully well together. 

Toss these suckers in mini-cupcake wrappers and onto a cake stand, and you have yourself dainty, yet perfect bite-size desserts for any holiday occasion. ...Don't think I am not talking about Christmas morning breakfast, either.

Pumpkin Butter Sandwich Candies

1 pound box Confectioners' sugar

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

5-7 tablespoons almond milk (or non-dairy milk)

pumpkin butter for spreading (any jam or peanut butter will do as well)

ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar, cinnamon (as much as you would like, I added 1 tablespoon, for now) and butter together until blended. (if you have a kitchen aid or handheld-electric mixer, I suggest using that. It gets a little tough, as you are preparing dough) One tablespoon at a time, start adding your milk to the mixture. I ended up usually only 4 tablespoons. Be careful, if you add too much, the dough will be too wet and too sticky. If you add too little the dough will crack and will not be sturdy. You will know when it is ready once all ingredients have formed a ball. 

Roll your dough out on a floured cutting board into a 9 by 14-inch rectangle; The dough should stand about 1/4-inch thick, at most. Split the dough straight down the middle, and spread a thin coat of pumpkin butter over the dough; leave about 1/4-inches between end of dough and filling. Sprinkle filling with more cinnamon. Chill these in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Once chilled, remove and roll dough (long ways) into logs. With a sharp knife, cut about 1/2-inch size pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator until ready to serve, as they will dry out rather quickly. Plop in a mini-cupcake wrapper and place on a cake stand to make for a great holiday party dessert plate.

Or, like I said earlier, eat for Christmas morning breakfast with a big cup of milk!

store in refrigerator-lasts 3-4 days

**pumpkin butter is homemade. You can pick some close-to pumpkin butter up in a grocery store, or buy some from me. :) Shoot me an email! racheliseber(at)gmail(dot)com

*** If you want to make this a Vegan treat, use almond or coconut milk. 

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Pumpkin Spice Loaf

One thing that I am guilty of when it comes to baking is, once adapting/developing a recipe I adore, I will make it over and over and over again in a short span of time, until, well, I grow sick of it (or I am told to stop making it). Most of those recipes include Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and during the holiday season, Pumpkin.

This loaf is so incredibly easy to make and will leave a lingering sense of comfort, and your home smelling like holiday bliss. One of the reasons loaves are some of my favorite baked goods to whip up is because they fit well for any occasion, as they can be dressed up or down. For instance, topping it with a thick, sugary streusel, or a heap of chocolate chunks (which turn this moist loaf into a rich, stunning dessert).

In this case, I left mine just the way it came out; Pairing it with a hot mug of tea and some of my pumpkin butter. Simple, and delicious. 

Sometimes I wish I could have a breakfast like this for every meal.

Pumpkin Spice Loaf

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice

1 15 ounce can organic pumpkin (not pie filling)

2 eggs

 1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix your flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and pumpkin spice together; Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, and water; Add this mixture to your dry mixture, folding until just incorporated. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, and bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.

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