In My Kitchen

Who: My Mom- these are her go to, no fail cookies

What: Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

When: years ago

Where: My kitchen, Monday morning first thing before we hit the beach for a play date with friends

Why: who doesn't love a good cookie? This recipe is purely for fun!


How:

1/2 cup butter                                             1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar                                   1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar                                     1 cup flour
1 egg                                                           1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter

- cream butter; add sugar gradually, beating until creamy- mix in egg, peanut butter, salt & baking soda.
-blend in flour, slowly. Add vanilla & mix well
- roll into small balls (or drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet) place on parchment lined cookie sheet
- press into balls flat with a floured fork
- bake in a moderate oven- 350 degrees- 10-12 minutes
- makes about 36 cookies

* just a note- I made these gluten free and replaced the wheat flour with chickpea flour- they turned out really good- a bit crisper than the original recipe but equally delish!

In My Kitchen

 Pumpkin Bread

      It needs to be said- I love pumpkin- pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin donuts- oh and those famous pumpkin lattes? Yah I love them too- but only as a special treat! Haters be hatin' on pumpkin lately but I'm not going to cave- it's one of my favourite parts of fall! With this in mind I thought I would share one of the most popular recipes in my book- Pumpkin Bread- all spicy and moist it is more of a cake in loaf form but lets call it bread and overlook all that melty brown sugar on top- this is healthy!

Dry Goods:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oat bran
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
           or
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger

Wet Goods:
1 cup pumpkin puree ( make sure it isn't pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup egg whites
1/3 cup water
2 3/4 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup walnuts ( optional)

Topping:
Pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp brown sugar

The Deal:
Preheat oven to 350 degree F

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients, except walnuts, and mix well. Add wet mixture to dry and mix until all ingredients are incorporated- fold in walnuts.

Pour into a greased loaf pan- sprinkle pumpkin seeds and brown sugar on top. Bake for 50-55 min, or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Serves 10 pieces.


p.s.- I will admit that I did not come up with this recipe on my own- like most of my recipes I have changed things around a tad and made it my own- I have no idea where I got the original from- but  as the glued in piece of paper in my cookbook can attest to, it came from some random magazine years ago!