The BEST Peanut Butter Cookies

It's been HOT here this summer but sometimes, a girl just needs to bake. I didn't want anything that involved chocolate for fear of melting so I made plain peanut butter cookies. Plain peanut butter cookies that are super yummy and easy to make.

I would also like to point out that I use only Skippy when I bake. Not because Skippy is giving me free peanut butter, because I have tried others and my cookies don't taste as good in my opinion. Generic brands have too much oil so the cookie doesn't hold up well. You don't have to use Skippy, I just do.

What you'll need
1 C Butter softened
2 Egg
1 C Peanut Butter
1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
1 t Vanilla

Cream together. And then add...

3 C Flour
1 1/2 t Baking Soda
1 t Baking Powder

You might have to get your hands into the dough to really get the flour mixed in.

Roll into balls about the size of a big gum ball, think "the quarter size" gumball:).

Roll in sugar. Place on pan and use a fork to press the ball down and make a criss cross effect. Push gently or the cookie dough will stick to the fork. Put on pan and bake at 375 for about 7 minutes until bottom is lightly browned. Makes about 60 cookies.

Cream the butter, vanilla eggs and sugar

Add dry

Roll balls in sugar. If you don't want the extra sugar, you will have to dip fork in sugar so it doesn't stick or gently press down with just your fingers. But I think the sugar adds a little something something.

Press down with fork gently. I've always wondered why peanut butter cookies are the only ones with the criss cross pattern. I think it's the universal sign that it's peanut butter so no one with a nut allergy ever makes the mistake of grabbing one but I don't know for sure and wikipedia didn't know either. Yes, I checked:)

Done. These freeze well so do what I do and put them in snack bags and freeze for lunches later.

Panic

Max's traveling team just finished their season. We finished 3rd in our final tournament, one spot away from going to regions. This photo was the highlight of Max's weekend. He hit a BOMB out to center field, it hit the 340 foot fence. The smile was large ladies and gentlemen, the smile was large.

As for me...Is it wrong to feel kind of panicky because I have two entire weeks without one sport on the schedule!! 2 whole weeks?!?!

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

I found this recipe on line and the name caught my eye. I only changed it a tiny bit, using all purpose flour instead of half whole wheat. The final answer...these were more crepe like, than pancake. That means, I liked them better, which is strange because I don't like crepes..go figure;)

The only issue I had was that the batter didn't bubble up to let you know that it was time to flip. You had to check to see if they were browning and go from there. I would say it was about three minutes each side. I used a griddle set at 350 (I tried different temps and this appeared to be the one that worked the best). If I was doing them on the stove, I'd go medium heat.

Here's what you'll need:

2 C Flour
1/3 C Sugar
1 t Sea Salt
1 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Cinnamon
2 1/4 C Buttermilk
2 Eggs
2 T Butter melted
Zest from 1 1/2 Lemons
2 1/2 C Blueberries

In large bowl mix your wet ingredients and zest until well mixed. Add the dry until just combined, a few lumps are ok, don't overmix). Leave blueberries OUT.

Heat griddle over medium heat and brush with butter (yes, I did this for this recipe instead of my handy cooking spray~I think the spray would have worked fine). Drop 1/3 C batter onto skillet and throw some blueberries on top. Gently press berries into pancakes. Cook pancakes until underside is a deep golden, reduce heat to low, flip and cook for two minutes more (I didn't reduce the heat).

Zest your lemons

They didn't bubble like normal pancakes,
Breakfast is served

Pow Wow

Pow Wow weekend is coming and I found a couple of my favorite photos.

This is Max and Papa after we presented him with the vest we made for him. Max was so PROUD that they matched.

Mara and Claire dancing and having a good time..

State Runner Up

Our first state baseball tournament was this past weekend and it was LONG and HOT. Max's team played 7 games in 3 days. 3 of those 7 games were on Sunday in the 90+ degree heat. We got to the field at 8 a.m. and I pulled into my driveway at 5 p.m. I have a cute little raccoon tan from my sunglasses going on because my sunscreen dripped from my face, don't be jealous;)

But it was all for something!! They took 2nd in the state tournament!! Or does it sound better to be "Runner Up"?? At any rate, it was pretty exciting for a team that only plays together weekends to accomplish something like this.

They made the local paper and you can find the article here.

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

Is it hot and sticky outside but you still want dessert?? Easiest thing EVER and my son's absolute favorite. Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows. Put them on a stick, dip them in some sprinkles and TA DA...special treat! Or dip them in crushed graham crackers for Smores on a Stick:)

For these you'll need:

Bag of Large Marshmallows
2 C Chocolate ~ This time I used White Chocolate Melts golden colored that you get at Michael's but you can also use milk chocolate chips
Sprinkles
Lollipop stick

Melt your chocolate. For me that means 1 1/2 minutes and give the chocolate a stir. Put a stick into marshmallow and dip into chocolate. I also dipped into some sprinkles but you can skip that step if you want. Put on wax paper to dry. Store in air tight container and eat within a week.

Homemade Pizza

This is where the Pioneer Woman comes in. I think she has cured me of my fear of working with yeast. I tackled another of her recipes. This time for pizza crust and it was a hit. Pizza delivery just dropped off to probably never.

I intended on making one pizza for the kids and one with spinach, feta and fresh mozzarella for Dylan and myself but Dylan didn't come over that night. I didn't want to torture my children so they had Pepperoni and Cheese 2 different nights. Another reason why I LOVE the dough...it's good in 24 hours and it's still good at 72 hours!!

Here's what you'll need:
FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):
1 t Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 C All-purpose Flour
1 t Kosher Salt
⅓ C Olive Oil

Jar of your favorite sauce~we use Traditional Ragu
Pepperoni
4 C Mozzarella Cheese~I actually used a mix of Romano, Mozzarella, Provolone

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Preheat oven to 500

Set dough on counter for a couple of minutes so it's easier to stretch. Brush some olive oil on the pan and stretch your dough out. Top with sauce, toppings and cheese. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Dough ready to go.


Stretch it out.


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Dinner is served~I think I should have taken this out a minute earlier, but I was kinda busy playing bejeweled while it cooked. Claire, the cheese pizza eater in our house, loved it.