Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies

At work, my friend recently moved from a temporary position to a permanent one, which is reason to celebrate! We all have the favorites that we love to eat, and one day I noticed that she was having peanut butter and jelly. She corrected me and said it was peanut butter and jelly and Nutella. I knew immediately that I wanted to recreate those three items together in a cookie. 

I found a couple of PB&J recipes that I felt I could alter to include Nutella as well. I chose the recipe you see below, but I made a ganache with Nutella, instead of using peanut butter ganache. I also used the Nutella ganache as a drizzle to finish the cookies. I had thought about adding chopped hazelnuts to garnish as well, but perhaps that would have been too much.

These cookies are quite large, and they are a little fussy. The dough is sticky, but I could work with that. The cookies came out of the oven really flat, so I had to shape them a bit (using this method). Make sure the ganache cools a bit before using it, or it will be too runny. I used seedless raspberry jam, but you have lots of options, and heating the jam slightly helps a lot. These cookies, while huge and a bit delicate, are fantastic. They were so enjoyed and I had several people come to me and say they were just the best!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly and Nutella Cookies
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

1 cup Nutella
¾ cup heavy cream
Raspberry Jam

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix again on medium to combine. Mix in the peanut butter. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, until the soft dough comes together. 

Separate the dough into 24 portions. Shape each portion into a flattened bowl, and then make an indentation in each cookies. The dough is quite sticky, so it may help to wet your hands or use nonstick spray . Place on a parchment covered plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until set.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, reshape the cookies as needed, and press the center of the cookies to make a deeper indentation. Allow the cookies to set and cool. 

Make the ganache: place the Nutella in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour the hot cream over the Nutella and allow it to sit for two minutes. Slowly whisk the mixture until the ganache is smooth and shiny. Allow to cool slightly before assembling the cookies. 

Assemble the cookies: fill the indentation in the cookie with the cooled Nutella ganache, and then top with a dallop of raspberry jam (heated to make it more viscous). Abstractly drizzle some additional Nutella ganache to finish the cookies. 

Recipe inspired by In Bloom Bakery
Ganache recipe from Sugar & Sparrow

Nut Toffee Bars

It feels like the seasons are changing and I try to find recipes that reflect the sunnier days that we are having. Of course, next week may be rainy and gloomy, so it’s hard to know what direction you should go! Most of the recipes that catch my interest and more appropriate for fall, but I did recently try to sort recipes that I have saved to remind myself of these spring-friendly recipes.

This week I am still sticking with my tried and true- so this is an oat bar topped with toffee, chocolate, and nuts. I had all of these ingredients on hand (generally speaking) so they were quick to make. This recipe originally called for sliced almonds, which is a logical ingredient to pair with toffee chips, but I didn’t actually have any almonds. I had almond flour, but no almonds, which I found shocking. I did have pistachios, so I used those instead.

The base of these cookies can be mixed by hand, and it is really rare for me to find a recipe that doesn’t require my stand mixer. You then just top with the toffee bits, chips, and nuts and cover everything with sweetened condensed milk. That tends to make things super sweet, so I try to use it sparingly. These baked up well and were easy to cut (always a plus). They have a nice sturdy base, and the chocolate and toffee flavors shine through and the nuts add a nice crunch.

Nut Toffee Bars
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cup rolled oats 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter 
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup pistachios/sliced almonds
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, oats and salt. Stir in melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the base with toffee bits, then chocolate chips, then the nuts. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the bars.

Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from the pan, peeling away the foil and cutting into bars.

Recipe from Lil’ Luna

Lemon Pistachio Biscotti

I recently bought a small bag of lemons, as I was making a recipe that needed a decent quantity of lemon juice. I never know how many lemons I would need, so I bought a bag that would have more than enough. I was good, and ended up with a few lemons left. I went looking for recipes, and realized that I hadn’t make biscotti in a while. I like making biscotti as it comes together easily. 

Now, I will admin that I don’t like super dry, crunchy biscotti. When you make your own, you can adjust to your own taste! The baking times mentioned below are guides, and I tended to use the shorter of the baking times. That is especially true for the biscotti once they are cut into individual cookies. I think I baked the cookies about 6-8 minutes per side. They were crunchy, but not too crunchy.

I think that lemon pairs wonderfully with pistachios, and I was so happy I had recently picked up pistachios at the store. I always think that I have pistachios, but then I check and often I had already used them. For once I was proactive and stocked up ahead. While biscotti are never my favorite, I really like the pistachios in these cookies. They add a good crunch, with the biscotti themselves being ever so slightly softer. I have made a few recipes with lemon and pistachios, I should look and see what other recipes are out there. 

Lemon Pistachio Biscotti
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3  eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup salted pistachios

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk again; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, eggs, and sugar on medium until light. Add the lemon extract and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in the pistachios with a spatula. 

Shape the dough into a log, about 4” wide and 1” tall. The length of the log will vary, probably 15” to 18”.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a cutting board and cut the log into ¾” slices. Place the cookies on the baking sheet cut side down. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, then turn the cookies and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool before icing.

Once cool, make the icing: in a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add additional lemon juice until the icing is the correct consistency. Allow the icing to set before serving. 

Recipe from Lord Byron’s Kitchen

Almond Paste Bars

I have been looking through the recipes that I have bookmarked, trying to find some gems that I had forgotten about. I came across these cookies, called Dutch Letter Bars, and I’m a big fan of anything that uses almond paste. During the holidays, I had stocked up on almond paste, so I had two packages on hand! The original recipe called for 8 ounces of almond paste, but you will often find 7 ounce packages and that’s absolutely fine.

I don’t know anything about Dutch Letter Bars. The blog talks about the tulip festival in Iowa that inspired these bars. I have also heard about the tulip festival in Michigan and also the tulip festival here locally in the Skagit Valley. These bars reminded her of Dutch Letter Bars with their crunchy, sugared top. Ok…I renamed these Almond Paste Bars.

These are super easy to make; my biggest challenge was getting the almond paste mixed in fully. Next time, I think I would mix the butter, almond paste, and sugar until smooth and then add the eggs and flour. I sprinkled the top with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, and it made a lovely crackly top. These bars are so good- almond paste makes everything so fantastic. These were easy and are such a treat!

Almond Paste Bars
1 cup butter
7-8 ounces almond paste
2 cups sugar 
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Additional sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a large mixer bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until blended and smooth. I found it helpful to break the almond paste into pieces so it blends more easily. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle with additional sugar. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the bars are set and light golden in color. Allow the cookies to cool completely before cutting into bars. 

Recipe from The House on Silverado

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars

I had been looking for recipes to use the cinnamon pear caramel that I had on hand. I found a recipe and then looked in my cupboard, and I thought that I had grabbed the cinnamon pear caramel, but I had not. Who knew that I had both cinnamon pear caramel and cinnamon pear preserves? While I found this to be shocking, it also meant that I needed to find a recipe for the caramel. 

I found this recipe and since the caramel contained cinnamon, I had planned on making my own version of cookie butter, using cinnamon graham crackers. Biscoff is already cinnamon based, so I ended up using the store-bought product. This saved a little time, which was good since the layers of these bars take a bit of effort.

You par-bake the bottom crust and then add the caramel and finish baking. My caramel needed to be heated a bit in order to make it spreadable, but 25 seconds in the microwave was all it needed. I refrigerated the bars before cutting, and I do think they taste better once they were at room temperature. I thought that the layers would be more distinct, but they weren’t obvious. I really love these cookies- they have a terrific cinnamon flavor from the caramel and Biscoff spread. They are gooey from the caramel, and the oats give them good substance. They are a great combination!

Biscoff Caramel Cinnamon Bars
2 cups flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup Biscoff cookie butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup caramel sauce

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, cookie butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture, stirring until the dough just comes together. 

Press half of the dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. 
Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully pour the caramel over the partially-baked base.
 
Flatten pieces of the remaining dough and place on top of the caramel. Continue with additional pieces of dough until the dough covers the caramel. You can spread the dough slightly with damp hands, but the top layer won’t be perfect. Make sure that the dough is even and press the dough down gently.

Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool completely and the caramel sets before cutting into bars. 

Recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Blackcurrant Thumbprints

Ok, I really need to do a better job of using the cookbooks that I have! I am so used to finding a recipe online and going with that. I had gotten this cookbook, Some of My Best Friends are Cookies, by Australian MasterChef winner Emelia Jackson. This book has fantastic recipes! Some of the ingredients are slightly different, so I have to make sure I am stocked with vanilla bean paste, hazelnuts, and those sorts of things.

This week I was determined to make something from this book. I had already ear-marked many recipes and I had some blackcurrant curd that I wanted to use, so this thumbprint recipe was the winner! The original recipe called for plum jam, but you could use any jam or curd that you would like. I also used a lemon instead of an orange, as I felt the lemon was a better accompaniment. 

These are different, with the addition of ground hazelnuts. I love hazelnuts and many recipes in this book calls for them, so I am happy. The recipe has you heat the curd/jam with a little citric acid, which I haven’t used. I looked online and it’s an acid, so I used a little lemon juice. Heating the curd helps it set; I was skeptical but it worked! This made about 20 cookies, and they are really picture perfect! They aren’t too sweet, but the hazelnut flavor shines through, so I am a big fan.

Blackcurrant Thumbprints
125 grams flour
100 grams hazelnuts, ground
½ teaspoon salt
120 grams butter, room temperature
60 grams sugar
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

About 100 grams blackcurrant curd
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground hazelnuts, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla paste. Beat on medium for two minutes, until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into balls, 20-25 grams each. Flatten the balls slightly and then make an indentation in the top of each cookie with your thumb (or other device).

Bake for 10-12 minutes until barely browned along the edges. Once the cookies come out of the oven, press down to reshape the indentations. Allow the cookies to cool for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the filling. In a small saucepan, mix the curd/jam and lemon juice. Heat on medium until the mixture boils, and then boil one minute. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a minute or two. Carefully spoon the curd mixture into the indentation in the cooled cookies. Allow the filling to set before serving.

Recipe from Some of My Best Friends are Cookies by Emelia Jackson

Pearl Sugar Cookies

I had planned the cookies for this week, but it’s been a bit of a strange week, and I ended up not having enough time to make that particular recipe. That left me to look through recipes that I have bookmarked, and look at some blogs for recipes, to find a recipe that I could make. I didn’t want to go to the store, so that limited my options somewhat. I keep a well-stocked kitchen, but I don’t have fresh lemons and oranges, and I don’t exactly know if I have things like toffee chips.

I have been trying to avoid Pinterest, since it is the bastion of AI, but I went there and on the homepage was this recipe. It was a simple sugar cookie, but with the addition of Belgian Sugar Pearls. These are large, abstract, sugar clusters, about ¼” across. I had purchased these for a different recipe, and I knew that I had some remaining. This recipe contained standard ingredients, so I jotted down the recipe, and I was good to go!

Since I wasn’t taking these cookies anywhere, I halved the recipe that you see here, which made just under two dozen cookies. These cookies are simple, and the only challenge is stirring in the Belgian Sugar Pearls. They seem to want to bounce or something, so I had to carefully add them to the dough with a spatula. These cookies do look a little plain when they come out of the oven, not as crinkly as expected, but that was ok. These cookies have such a classic sugar cookie flavor, but you occasionally get a crunchy bite of the sugar pearl. These are just fantastic!

Pearl Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup Belgian Sugar Pearls
Additional sugar

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the Belgian Sugar Pearls with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and roll the balls in additional sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Allow the cookie to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Great Taste Buds