Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

Impulse items at the store (you know that odd assortment of goodies that line the checkout stands?) don't usually get to me. But I was doing some grocery shopping and they had these packages of Better Crocker cookie mixes as their item of the week at Albertsons - just add water and a little oil and bake, for a $1 each! I figured I'd give them a try, it might be nice to have on hand during a cookie emergency, so I bought a couple peanut butter cookie mixes. I got home and thought, "Well I can't just make cookies with these, what else can I do?" and decided to use them in a brownie recipe. This is my current favorite brownie recipe (rich, fudgey, deep chocolate flavor) on a smaller scale to fit an 8x8" pan, with big swirls of peanut butter cookie dough throughout. I added a little extra peanut butter to the cookie dough mix after I tasted a bit before baking and thought they weren't peanut butter-y enough. These are amazing - Jeremy was supposed to take them to work and promptly declared they would be going NOWHERE, and he planned to spend the next two and a half days eating them (I'm not sure how he calculated that timeframe, but he seemed very scientific about it). I literally had to hide these from myself (yes, I know where they are since I hid them, but having them out of sight is a good thing). They're very decadent, rich, and downright evil. Definitely do not overbake - I started checking them around 30 minutes and guesstimated on the overall cooking time. It's better to have them gooey and falling apart than overbaked, but isn't that true with most things? :)

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS:
For brownies:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2oz semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

For peanut butter cookie dough swirl:
1 (8.6oz) package Betty Crocker Peanut butter cookie mix (snack size pouch)
2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons peanut butter


DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 8x8" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa and beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat until just combined. Fold in chopped chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. In a medium bowl beat together cookie dough mix, water and oil until combined. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough mix onto brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl.

4. Bake until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean - about 40 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars and serving.

Roasted Squash and Bacon Pasta

Ahhh, it's time for Fall! There's a chill in the air, cute sweaters and coats to buy, and warm comforting food to cook! I roasted a turkey breast for dinner and wanted to use an acorn squash I had for the side dish. Usually I just roast them with a little butter & cinnamon, but I wanted something a little different. This pasta dish was adapted from this recipe from Cooking Light. I made a few changes: acorn squash instead of butternut, onion instead of shallot, and I ended up using my own base for the white sauce. I tried the original version and it looked like wallpaper paste, so instead I made the base of a classic Bechamel sauce before adding the cheese. You might not think these ingredients would go together - squash and cheese?!? But it was really good! It was a nice blend of sweet from the squash and caramelized onions, smokey from the bacon, and creamy from the cheese sauce. Jeremy quite literally licked his plate clean (he was kidding around, but he really did like it!) and even our little girl ate a good amount for dinner. I'll definitely make this again during the chilly months ahead!

ROASTED SQUASH AND BACON PASTA

INGREDIENTS:
6 slices bacon, diced
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1 acorn squash peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes, and roasted
8 oz rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 oz provolone cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a medium sized casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, reserving 1/2 teaspoons dripping in pan. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and caramelized. Combine roasted squash, bacon, onions, and cooked pasta and set aside.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to combine - cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, but do not brown. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly to remove lumps and heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in provolone and Parmesan cheese, cook until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Pour over pasta mixture.

3. Spoon pasta into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle top with additional Parmesan cheese if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until top begins to slightly brown.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made a batch of these to take up to my sister, who just gave birth to twins! Sometimes as a new mom you have to eat whatever is handy - I remember after Mikayla was born I basically lived off toasted english muffins for weeks. And sometimes, when you're sleep deprived and stressed and feeling frumpy, a cookie just makes everything better. ;) These cookies were adapted from this recipe from the Hershey website. I stayed close to the original recipe except I omitted the peanut butter chips (they were pricey, I couldn't justify paying almost $5 for a bag!) and added the equivalent amount of peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. I thought they were pretty good, but I have come to the conclusion that I'm not a huge peanut butter cookie fan. They just never taste "peanut butter-y" enough to me, and the texture always seems a little off. Maybe I haven't found the right recipe though? But, lots of my friends and family members love peanut butter cookies, so I'll keep baking them! :)

DOUBLE PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped peanut butter cups

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat liners or parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and peanut butter until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture and stir until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. Drop by rounded teaspoons on baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes or light golden brown around the edges. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.