Yes, you can make your humdrum peanut butter cookies more wowza. From using crunchy peanut butter, chocolate chunks, peanuts, cranberries, chia seeds, the list goes on ... But also ... peanut brittle! And why not, it’s delicious on its own, it’s fairly easy to make (side note: boiling sugar is classified as a biological weapon), and it offers a bit of crisp (when intact in the cookie) and chewy (when it melts into the cookie). Now are you intrigued to give it a shot?


Yes, it is amazing.



Yes, it does stick to the roof of your mouth. But so what?



Yes, people will ask, ‘What was that?’ and may want a recipe.



And yes, you will be inclined to make them again. And again!


Ingredients:
120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of pink salt
120 ml (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter (not natural)
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
42 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
45 ml (3 tbsp) milk
1 large egg, at room temperature
240 g (1 cup) peanut brittle, chopped

Directions:
1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the peanut butter, sugars, melted butter, milk and the egg. Alternatively, use a hand mixer, or whisk by hand.
5. On low speed, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then stir in the brittle, until just combined.
6. Scoop the mixture into the lined baking sheets, flattening it out a bit.
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes until starting to turn golden brown, rotating the baking sheets between the oven shelves 10 minutes into baking.
8. Rest in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Admittedly we have family members that are fans of chewy and soft cookies. Sometimes, I pretend I don't remember their preferences and just make cookies crispy and crunchy because that's the way I like them. Yes, you can say I'm selfish that way :D


Okay, those cookies aren't going to magically spread out and flatten to a crisp without a helping hand, so we've got to give it a slight push in that area. Then run those fork tines all over them to give it that old-fashioned PB cookie look.


And some will turn out nice and round, the picture perfect kind. Others will have jagged edges that make you want to reach out and grab that piece for instant gratification, lest it make its way to your social media posts. In any case, they will make you happy one way or another.




Ingredients:
250 g (1-1/4 cup) granulated sugar
200 g (1 cup) brown sugar, packed
225 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
250 g (1 cup) natural peanut butter, unsalted and unsweetened
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
350 g (2-3/4 cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175C or 350F. Arrange the oven racks
2. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
4. In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugars and butter until pale in colour, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the peanut butter, and continue to beat for 1 minute until the peanut butter is incorporated.
6. Reduce the speed and add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
7. On the lowest speed, fold in the flour in three additions.

8. With a medium sized scoop, portion out the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them out 2 inches apart.
9. Roll each into a ball with your hands and press gently to form a disc shaped cookie.
10. Press the tines of the fork lightly onto the disc to give it that distinct peanut butter cookie pattern, then sprinkle pink salt on them.

11. Bake for 16-18 minutes, switching the sheets between the oven racks on the 10 minute mark. Bake it for a further 2 minutes if you like it extra golden :D
12. Rest it on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring them on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cranberry and orange. Almost always paired together, and definitely a marriage where the resulting whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Cranberry and orange. The most favoured flavour of fall baking ... for me at least ;) And after I've featured cranberry and orange bundt cake and cranberry orange scones, muffins are the next baked good I'm tackling.


These cranberry orange muffins turned out really well. They are not too sweet, with just a bit of tart, just a bit of tang, just a bit of zing, and a whole lot of wowza. There were so many different textures at play ... the juicy burst of the berries, the soft and buttery batter, and that bit of golden crisp on the edges ... gotta love it when it all meets in your palate.


Please do use fresh cranberries for this recipe. They are a superfood! At 25 calories for half a cup, they are naturally sweet, bursting with juiciness, and more importantly, they are so beneficial for your plumbing, preventing gum diseases to tract infections. And we all can attest to the nutritional goodness of oranges. Just recently I read about another phytonutrient in oranges that are only found in the skin and the white pith. This was hailed as the most beneficial nutrient having the capacity to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Woohoo! More zest to you!

So if there is any opportunity to include potent superfoods into your cooking and baking, do so with gusto! More than anything, it makes your sweet treat a nourishment than just a guilty pleasure.

Ingredients:
375 g (3 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
3 tbsp flour
440 g (3-1/2 cups) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
240 ml (1 cup) Greek style yogurt
Zest of 4 oranges
4 tsp vanilla extract
60 ml (4 tbsp) orange juice
60 ml (4 tbsp) milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200C or 400F.
2. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cases.

3. In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with the 3 tbsp of flour and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

5. In a large bowl or a stand mixer, beat the softened butter with the two sugars until pale and fluffy.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
7. Add the yogurt, zest, vanilla, orange juice and milk, and beat to combine.

8. Turn off the mixer, scrape the sides and give it a last fold.
9. Make a well in the bowl of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten egg and sugar mixture.
10. Fold until no visible lumps of flour remain.
11. Toss the cranberries in, without the excess flour, and mix just to distribute evenly.

12. With a dough or ice cream scooper, scoop batter into prepared paper cases and place the muffin pans in the middle rack of the oven.
13. Bake for 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 175C or 350F and bake a further 18-20 minutes, rotating 2/3 into the baking time.

14. When the tops turn golden, test doneness with a wooden skewer, bearing in mind that the cranberries will pop and may make the skewer wet. We are just checking that the batter is dry and not 'doughy' anymore.
15. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove individual muffins to cool on a wire rack.

They are so good as is, but if you would like to make a glaze, mix
90 ml (6 tbsp) orange juice
120 g (1 cup) confectioners sugar
together until smooth and drizzle over the tops.

Enjoy warm!

I'm always eager to try my hand at different cuisines and Persian food was on top of my list. Not surprisingly because of the abundance of Persian restaurants in the Vancouver area and having friends who are always talking about their home cooked foods.



So for a simple vegetarian lunch that was Persian-themed, I made this easy and delicious dish to accompany Salad Shirazi and Javaher Polow, a beautiful jeweled rice.

Traditionally the aubergines in the recipe would be charred in a tandoor-like oven or on top of a stove. Sadly, my smoke alarms are way too sensitive for this tomfoolery, so in the oven it goes.

This recipe makes enough for 6 as a side dish.

Ingredients:
3 large aubergines
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp turmeric powder
3 tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
Toasted walnuts, to garnish


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 220C or 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a sharp knife, pierce the aubergines in several places (deeper cuts where it is thicker).
3. Bake the aubergines for 45-50 minutes until softened.
4. Let cool until safe to handle, then chop into 1 cm chunks.