Roasted Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts

 Kristen C.’s made Roasted Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts dish. I have never had a brussel sprout before and I must be honest, they frighten me a little. What do you do with this little ball of leaves? Well, the answer is roast them. Although, this proves my point that if you roast anything it is delicious. Plus, they are in season so I might have to make some little green leafy ball of my own.


Roasted Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
1 Medium Cauliflower (florets only)
1-1.5 brussel sprouts, halved
3 Shallots thinly sliced

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 400º. In a roasting pan, mix cauliflower, brussel sprouts and shallots in a large bowl. Sprinkle with olive oil and mix until vegetables are coated. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes or until vegetable are tender.

Baked Corn

Kristen L. (or Klamp to me and forever on this blog) made a baked corn dish. I thought it was a really great new twist on a corn dish that can be used all year long. This dish looked really great and actually, her boyfriend texted halfway through the event to ask if he could start nibbling on the extra one she had at home for their dinner. Unfortunately, for him that one contained raw eggs and would probably end with a Salmonella spell. I am sure he enjoyed it when she cooked it for supper that night.


Baked Corn

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 cup of sour cream
½ cup of melted butter
16 oz of canned corn (do not drain)
16 oz of creamed corn
1 package of Jiffy corn bread mix

Directions:
•Mix all ingredients together and pout into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350º for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned on top and firm in the center.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

We will start with whipped sweet potatoes by Christine. She claimed that the traditional marshmallow topping was left off by accident; however, I kinda like a simple sweet potato dish. They are sweet and perfect just the way they are. No need for the candy on top – in my opinion.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Filling

2 LBS of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup of dark brown sugar, packed

¼ cup of butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ of condensed milk

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:

• In a large pot, combine sweet potatoes with enough cold water to cover; over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, simmer until potatoes are tender, 30 minutes.

• Drain, mash, let stand until slightly cool, 15 minutes

• Preheat oven to 350º and butter baking dish

• In a food processor, whip potatoes, eggs, sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour mixture into baking dish and bake until top is browned and mixture is set in the center. About 40-45 minutes.

Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes. I am really a complex carbohydrate lover. BP II is not a huge fan. He prefers his potatoes roasted or baked. I was really craving them and thought they would go perfectly with my pork loin that I was serving that night. I decided to “compromise” by trying to spice them up a bit and see if we can teach old dogs new tricks. The result was a beautifully colored, yummy mashed potato that pleased everyone in the household.


1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
¼ cup of sour cream
3 TBL butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1.) Boil potatoes for 15 minutes, add butternut squash and cook for an additional 15 minutes of until potatoes and squash is soft.
2.) Drain and return to pot. Add sour cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

And best of all, I can make a whole new potato dish tonight with the leftovers.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

I have had this unfulfillable craving for all things pumpkin. I think it is the time of year. I want to get all the fall I can before it turns to winter and eventually Christmas. I feel like the past couple months have just gone by so quickly. So I am trying desperately to hold onto the little bit of fall I have left. Even my pumpkin spice candle ran out and now Bed Bath & Beyond only has evergreen and gingerbread scents. Anyway, back to the food. I happened to buy 2 cans of pumpkin puree during my whole foods excursion. I used one for the pumpkin pie and I have been hunting for the perfect recipe to use the second. When I came across the chocolate pumpkin cupcakes I knew that this was the one. It had everything I wanted. Chocolate, icing and PUMPKIN! The result was a huge hit. It had a lovely note of pumpkin in the chocolate that was something different and a bit unexpected. Obviously I knew there would be a pumpkin taste but I was surprised how well the two flavors went together. Also, the cupcakes turned out soooooo moist.


I added a tablespoon of coffee to the batter after everything was combined. I learned from The Barefoot that coffee “awakens” the chocolate flavor and makes it more complex. I thought this was just rubbish and then one time I was making my Guinness cupcakes and I forgot the coffee- everyone noticed. There was just something missing. Now, every time I make something with coco I add the tablespoon of coffee.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes. You can find the original cake recipe here. Country Living
 
Ingredients:
 
1 1/2 cup(s) flour
2/3 cup(s) cocoa
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
3/4 cup(s) butter, softened
1 cup(s) dark brown sugar
1 cup(s) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugars together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and buttermilk mixtures in thirds.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a tester, inserted in the center, comes out clean--about 15 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting


• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 C. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 C. powdered sugar
• 1/4. t. vanilla extract
• 1/8 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 t. fresh ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If frosting is too soft, chill in fridge for 15-20 minutes.

I also spoon the icing into a Ziploc bag and snip off a corner. It turns into the poor man’s pastry bag.

Editor's note: Thank you BP II for the wonderful photography

The Apple Pie Post

I am not a huge apple pie lover. I mean it is ok but I am mainly on board for the whipped cream that is served with the pie. Anyway, after my pumpkin pie someone at work offered me money to make an apple pie. I was like of course I’ll do that. I have made this apple pie for BPII before and it was pretty amazing. However, I used store bought pie crust and puff pastry. This time around I wanted to perfect my pie dough making skills.


I used the same recipe as my pumpkin pie post but doubled the recipe to accommodate the top portion of the pie. I also used half warm butter and then half frozen butter that was grated. I am still a little unsure of exactly how much ice water I should be using. I don’t want to use to much and have this sticky mess but I also so not want a dry floury dough. The result was still a little dry and when I was making the lattice work, the dough was falling apart on me a bit. I remedied the problem by piecing it back together. Definitely not perfect but it worked and tasted great.

This was a home run at work. Everyone loved it. I definitely recommend trying it out.



Grandma’s apple pie


Ingredients:

1 Pie Crust
1 sheet of pie dough
4 Apples, peeled
1 TBL of lemon juice
½ cup of granulated sugar

½ cup of brown sugar

¼ cup of water

3 TBL of flour

½ cup of butter

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 450º

2.) Arrange peeled apples in pie crust. Sprinkle with lemon juice. (This keeps the apples from browning when exposed to air)

3.) Take sheet of pie dough and cut with a knife into strips. I used 6 wide strips. Place pie dough strips on to apples and make a lattice formation. ( Video Below)

4.) On medium-high heat melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and combine. Essentially you are making a roux.

5.) Add granulated sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil and lower heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

6.) Pour the caramel colored mixture through the lattice work and on to the apples.

7.) Place on baking sheet and bake at 450º for 15 minutes, then at 350º for 35 minutes or until the dough starts to brown.

8.) Let cook before serving.

That is it. So easy and so delish!

A Rainy Night in the City

I have had this apple crumble recipe for awhile now and keep meaning to try it out. The time finally came this weekend when it was cold and rainy here in the city. I had no intentions of leaving my apartment and decided to make a dinner and dessert for BPII and myself. For dinner I made an Asian salmon dish my old roommate used to make. So yummy and so easy to make. I recommend coating the salmon with some oil on both sides before placing in a hot pan. It is such a delicate fish and has stuck to the pan and fallen apart on me many times. Also, if the heat is too high and the skin is brown but the fish is not done yet, just pop it into the oven for 5 minutes. It should be flaky and moist.




KLamp Salmon Recipe

Ingredients

¼ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
3 TBL lime juice
2 TBL of water
1 tsp of Dijon
2 tsp of vegetable oil


Directions

• Heat pan to med-high heat and add vegetable oil
• When pan is hot, add salmon and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown
• Very carefully remove salmon from pan and place on a plate and cover with foil
• Combine honey, soy sauce, lime juice, water and Dijon into a bowl and whisk
• Pour mixture into the salmon pan and cook until a glaze like consistency. Be sure to get the browned bits from the pan.
• Pour over salmon and serve 

Now for the crumble. OMG so good. I got this recipe from and old Bon Appetit article. BP II was nice enough to whip up some home made whipped cream for us.


Apple Crumble

Ingredients

Topping
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
10 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Pippin or Golden Delicious apples (about 2 3/4 pounds), peeled, quartered, cored
Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Topping

• Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until small moist clumps form. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Filling

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sugar and butter in large skillet over medium heat until smooth sauce forms. Add lemon juice and cook, stirring, until caramel is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in salt, then apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated, about 1 minute. Scrape apples and caramel into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; spread evenly. Sprinkle topping evenly over.
•  Bake crisp until apples are tender, sauce is bubbling thickly, and topping is golden, about 50 minutes. Let crisp cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

My First Ragu

I have never been a huge fan of red sauce on my pasta. I am not sure why, I mean I love tomatoes. When I was younger, I would ask my mom to just put a little sauce on, enough to make it pink. As I got older, I started putting olive oil and garlic salt on my pasta. I know it sounds like the grossest thing ever put it tastes so good. BPII is not this biggest fan because well you know what happens with garlic. Anyway, I saw this recipe from bitten.com about a quick ragu. I thought that would be a great way to spice up a bla weeknight pasta. It turned out really yummy, even though I do not like red sauce. The recipe calls for milk but instead I used 1 part heavy cream and 1 part water.

One day soon though, I want to make a real ragu that you have to simmer on the stove for hours. That sounds like a Sunday project.

Ingredients


1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound Italian sausage, removed from casing if necessary
1 cup milk
1/4 cup tomato paste
Salt and pepper
1 pound pasta
At least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup white wine

Directions

Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Put the oil in a 10-inch skillet, and turn the heat to medium; a minute later, add the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage in bits, and turn the heat to medium high; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is nicely browned, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Reduce until wine has evaporated.

Add milk and tomato paste, along with some salt and pepper; stir to blend, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until thickened but not dry. Keep it warm if necessary, and if it becomes too thick, add a little more milk or water.

Meanwhile, salt the water and cook the pasta. When pasta is tender but not mushy, drain it. Toss with sauce and Parmesan; taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

I Told You There Would Be Pie

So after an entire week of telling people I was going to make a pumpkin pie, I finally did. I found the elusive pumpkin puree at Whole Foods (or as some would call it Whole Paycheck). It is amazing how much better run that store is then my local Food Emporium. Employees asked if I needed help finding items and located my free environmentally friendly shopping bag for me (Thanks Food and Wine Festival). Too bad I don’t shop there more often; I might have a satisfying shopping experience. I am telling you I was so close to roasting a pumpkin for this puree. Lord knows the amount of havoc that would have caused.



Anyway, back to the pie. I have never made my own pie crust before and wanted to try it out. The problem is I do not have a food processor. How did grandmas make pie dough before the food processor? Well they do it with a fork. I found a video on YouTube and it was easy enough. Simply, mash butter into a flour and salt mixture, then add spoonfuls of ice water until it turns into a ball of dough. The end result was successful. Next time though I want to freeze the butter and then grate into little butter pieces. I think this would make the mashing easier and keep the butter cooler for a more flakey crust.


The recipe for the dough and pumpkin pie are from FoodandWine.com



All-Butter Pie Dough

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water



DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the salt. Add the butter and pulse until the size of peas. Drizzle in the water and pulse until the crumbs are moistened; turn out onto a work surface. Gather into a ball, flatten, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS

All-Butter Pie Dough
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Pinch of salt
One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to a 13-inch round a scant 1/4 inch thick. Fit the dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate and trim the overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold the dough under itself and crimp decoratively; refrigerate the pie shell for 10 minutes.

2. Line the pie shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the center of the oven until nearly set, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the crust is pale golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, cloves and salt until smooth. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, then the cream. Working near the oven, pour the filling into the crust. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the custard is set. Let the pie cool on a rack.

Everyone at work seemed to enjoy the pie. I must say this is a very classic recipe and with that there was no WOW factor. It was good but not OMG.

On another note, I entered a cooking/baking contest in the 5th grade and decided to make a pumpkin pie. I have always loved pumpkin pie and I guess I thought I could make it. I called my Aunt Pat up and asked her for her recipe. My Aunt Pat has always been the best cook. She gave me detailed instructions and believe it or not, I won 3rd place with that pie. I was so proud. I think that was the start of my love for cooking.

The accident that was the sweet potato fry

I wanted to make roast chicken last night for me and BP II as an easy after work meal. The dish kinda fell flat. Usually, when I roast some chicken breasts I use my conventional oven. However, lately I have been using my toaster because it seems more environmentally friendly. I only heat up this little baby oven instead of my big clunky oven. The result I have come to find is that the skin is not as crispy. The chicken is ok and moist on the inside but there is definitely something lacking. I will go back to using my conventional oven and let you know if that makes a difference.



The sides of the dish were corn on the cob and sweet potato fries. The corn was easy. I just boiled, buttered and seasoned with Old Bay (yes, the crab spice but OMG it is delish!). The sweet potato fry was not so easy. UGH! The sweet potato fry. I am not sure why I decided to make this. I really don’t even like fries that much. It was a spontaneous disaster that went horribly wrong. I do not have a fry thermometer so that could be a huge issue. I heated some vegetable oil in a pot and waited until the oil was hot. I tested by dropping a bit of water. If it sizzled, I assumed the water was hot enough. I cut the sweet potato in matchsticks and dropped a few in at a time. I removed the potato when it started to brown, about 5 minutes later. Then laid them on a paper towel to remove extra oil and sprinkled with salt. The result tasted a little soggy but edible. BPII ate his with ketchup.


I probably should have just baked them like I always do but I wanted something different. I will keep away from the frying for now. Anyway, I have included a recipe for baked sweet potato fries below from the Neely’s at foodnetwork.com. These seem like a much better option.



Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sweet potatoes , peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch wide strips
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, paprika and cinnamon. Toss the potato strips into mixture, to coat well, and spread onto baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and brown sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes

Red Wine Stew

I wanted to make a stew because the weather was changing and I was ready for something hearty and warm. I brought the idea of stew up to BPII and he was less then thrilled. He doesn’t like stew and would rather have a chili. I hate chili. We were at a stalemate. Until, I found this recipe. It was hearty and just what I was looking for but not too creamy which made BPII happy. I planned on making it Saturday night and was in fact in the process of making it when some unexpected Yankee playoff tickets landed in my lap. I couldn’t just let those pass me by so I browed the meat, added the red wine simmered away for about 2 hours. When it was time to leave for the game, I popped the mixture in my refrigerator and let the guy marinate until 8:00 Sunday.


After my football nap (I take a nap after the 1:00 football game to recover from the heavy day drinking) I took the stew out of the refrigerator and put on low heat. In the meantime I boiled the bacon (the recipe calls for pancetta but I had bacon on hand. Pancetta is the Italian form of bacon and is less fatty) and prepared the veggies. I also added some beef broth to the red wine and meat mixture because it looked like it had evaporated a bit. It retrospect, I did not need to add it. The result was pretty delightful. The red wine sauce was sweet and the veggies were tender but not mushy. I will definitely use this recipe again.



Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

Recipe by Jacques Pépin (From FoodandWine.com)


INGREDIENTS

2 pounds beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1 bottle of red wine
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
15 cipollini or pearl onions
15 cremini mushrooms
15 baby carrots
5-ounce piece of pancetta
1/4 cup water
Dash of sugar
Chopped fresh parsley


DIRECTIONS

1. Buy about 2 pounds of beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder. Remove the skin or sinew from the top. Alternatively, use lean beef chuck in the same manner. Cut the meat into 8 pieces.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron pot that is attractive enough for the table. Arrange the meat in one layer in the pot, and season it with salt and pepper. Cook on top of the stove over high heat for about 8 minutes, browning the meat on all sides.

3. Add 1 cup of finely chopped onion and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic. Cook over moderate heat for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix in well so that the flour doesn’t form lumps. Stir in 1 bottle of red wine. Add 2 bay leaves, a sprig of fresh thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well and cover.

4. Place the pot in the oven and continue to cook for about 1 1/2 hours; the meat should be soft and tender and the liquid properly reduced. The recipe can be prepared to this point up to a day ahead.

5. For the garnishes, peel 15 cipollini or pearl onions, wash 15 cremini mushrooms and peel 15 baby carrots. For the lardons, you will need one 5-ounce piece of pancetta. Bring the pancetta and 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes; drain. Cut the pancetta into 1/2-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.

6. Combine the onions, mushrooms, carrots and pancetta in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water and a good dash each of sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes; at this point, there should be practically no water left. Uncover and cook over high heat, sautéing the vegetables until nicely browned on all sides, about 4 minutes.

7. To serve, mix some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and sprinkle the rest on top as a garnish. Add a little chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Nectarine Pie

After the Food and Wine Festival, me and BPII went to the Union Square farmer's market. I love getting my produce from a farmer's market instead of going to the local Food Emporium. I feel the prices are better (as long as you are not buying the all natural and organic beef they keep in those coolers) and the produce just looks more appetizing. Anyway, I am mingling around looking at all the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob and pumpkins. Then I see BPII by the peaches. I tell him that we can make a tart or a pie out of them if he wants to buy some peaches. I started to go through the peaches bin and they were bruised and sticky from the peach juice. Definitely not a good sign. Right beside the peaches bin were white nectarines. They looked great and I decided to scrap the peaches and go for the nectarines instead. BPII was skeptical but bought the nectarines. I found the following recipe at allrecipies.com but I did not follow the recipe exactly.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup white sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

5 nectarines

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.)Place a large pot of water over high heat, and bring to a boil.

3.) Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, heavy cream and almond extract. Set aside.

4.)Place the nectarines in boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. Immediately place nectarines under cold running water and remove skins. Cut nectarines in half and remove pits. Place halves in the pie shell with the cut side down. Pour the cream mixture around the nectarines.

5.) Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Good served warm or cold.

I boiled my nectarines for 35 seconds and promptly put them in an ice bath. I tied to take off the skins with much difficulty. I think I should have boiled them a bit longer. In the end, I decided to leave the skins on. I recommend you sprinkle a little lemon juice on the nectarines before they start to brown (You can use a Vitamin C tablet crushed up if you have that on hand) I did not have almond extract and used vanilla extract instead. The result was still pretty yummy. I forgot to cover the pie edges with aluminium foil so the crust is a bit brown but I figured we were going for delicious and not necessarily looks.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nectarine-Pie/Detail.aspx

Peanut Butter Cookies

My Mom's birthday was October 8 and I am always grappling with what should I get her. She is your mom, so you want to give her something special and something that makes her feel appreciated for all the things she does for you. However; when you get to a certain age, everything has been done. Flowers, perfume, clothes, and even a mixed MOM CD have already been done. So I was thinking and thinking, until it finally hit me. The way you show someone you love them is to cook for them. So I decided to make these cookies for her and send them home in a care package. Again, I got this recipe from allrecipies.com but did not follow the recipe exactly. You can probably see a pattern forming here. I use the recipe as a loose guide to cooking, improvising as I go.


INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2.) Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.

3.)Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.

4.) Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.

5.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

These cookies turned out really well but do not make 40 cookies like the recipe says. I made 24 cookies with this batter. I made the following deviations from the recipe: chunky peanut butter instead of creamy (Life needs a little crunch, right?) and 2 TBL of heavy cream instead of milk (I had heavy cream on hand from the pie I made earlier and the "correct substitution" for milk is 1 part heavy cream 1 part water but whatever they are COOKIES!). I also, did not have little baby muffin tins (umm who does?) so I just rolled little cookie dough balls and put them on a cookie sheet. I did everything the same except I baked them for 7 min, stick in a PB cup into the cookie and then bake again for 1 minute to melt the cup a little. But if you like peanut butter cookies and peanut butter cups, these cookies are for you. Very Yummy.

Minor anecdote: My oven started to smoke halfway though my cooking process, filling my entire apartment. The cookies did not burn, sooooo I am unsure if my oven can handle lots of cooking in one night or maybe something spilled and was burning. So that is a mystery.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Cup-Cookies/Detail.aspx