A week ago, I made dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for a group of friends, using a recipe from the Brown-Eyed Baker’s blog.  They were only my second attempt at cupcakes, so I shouldn’t be disappointed, but the cupcake turned out dry. The frosting was amazingly delicious and light and wonderful, and the flavor of the cupcake was there, but it just was dry and crumbly. They still got wonderful compliments, though, and were all gone by the end of the evening. Considering the amazing recipes I’ve found on the Brown-Eyed Baker’s site, and the number of things that can go wrong with such an amateur baker at the wheel, I did some searching to determine what I did wrong.

I had already read that I mustn’t over-mix after adding flour, and that I must go from adding leavening ingredients (baking soda and/or powder) to the over as quickly as reasonable. So I did do those two things. Well, maybe I mixed a little too much, but not a lot more than directed.

So why are these two things important? When it comes to the leavening ingredients, the simple explanation is that they have a chemical reaction with the other ingredients as soon as they are added, and you don’t want to waste that reaction outside of the oven (where the temperatures rise and all other chemical reactions occur). As for mixing the flour, according to BakingBites.com:

“When the flour is exposed to liquids and stirred around, the gluten (protein) in the flour starts to develop into a network that will hold whatever you’re baking together, giving cookies, cakes, etc. their structure. Gluten can also make baked goods tough if there is too much of it in the dough/batter, and excessive mixing of the dough can develop the gluten to this point.”So when a recipe instructs you not to overmix, what it means is that you should just do the minimum amount of mixing necessary to make a uniform dough.  A good rule of thumb is to stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain in your mixing bowl, or if you’re going to be adding chocolate chips or fruit into your mix, you can stop when a few small streaks of flour remain, since you’re going to give the mixture a few extra turns when you stir in your add-ins.”

However, I made some other mistakes. First, my ratios were off. I may not have had a full cup of sour cream, and I may have had a little too much flour and/or baking soda and/or baking powder. Sour cream adds moisture, while dry ingredients absorb moisture. Next, I did a lot of mixing before adding the dry ingredients because, when I read the blog, it said the batter would have an almost whipped, mousse-like texture. So, stupid me, I thought to mix it a lot. Wrong. Apparently, mixing does NOT always just add airiness. You can overbeat eggs. According to JoyofBaking.com:

“Eggs, as well as flour, are the structural ingredients in baking. Eggs provide leavening; add color, texture, flavor  and richness to the batter. They are very important in helping to bind all the other ingredients together. Beaten eggs are a leavening agent as they incorporate air into the batter, which will expand in the oven and cause the cake to rise.

. . .

“If whites are over beaten the protein molecules will lose their elasticity and the whites will become dry and flaky and won’t hold as much air.”

Dammit. Finally, I probably left it in too long. I didn’t test it earlier than the time I set on the timer and I lost track of time. Also, I may have had the oven set a little too high (half-way between 325°F and 350°F), because the blog said to preheat to 350°F unless a nonstick cupcake pan is used, in which case set it to 325°F.

To sum up, what to avoid is:

1. having too high a dry-to-moist ingredient ratio
2. over-mixing eggs
3. over-mixing the flour
4. taking too long to put batter in the oven after adding ingredients that cause chemical reactions (like baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, etc.)
5. baking too long or at too high a temperature

So, I messed up. But they still looked pretty, especially in the leopard-print cupcake liners, and tasted pretty good.

This year, I made three things for a friend’s small Super Bowl gathering. I made a lot because we weren’t sure how small it would be. It wound up being just five of us (our two couples and a friend), but I didn’t mind having left-overs (although not as much as I’d expected). Plus, I’d been wanting an excuse to try making a Buffalo chicken dip, and I couldn’t not make cookies. And I couldn’t let cutting my finger keep me down.

The dip was pretty successful. My husband’s from Buffalo. For years after moving to Maryland, he’d bemoan the dearth of real Buffalo chicken wings. He said it was good but after eating it for a while, you might get a little too much blue cheese of the blue cheese taste. That sounded good to me – it meant a person might want to eat it for a while, which sounds like a large amount of snacking for a dip. I got the recipe from the Brown-Eyed Baker, and cross-checked it with recipes from Allrecipes.com. Eventually, I just switched ranch dressing for low fat blue cheese dressing and, because low fat dairy products can often be too watery, only substituted half of the cream cheese for Neufchâtel (also known as in some areas as farmer’s cheese). Next time, I’ll use an extra half-pound of chicken breast and 4 oz of Neufchâtel, to yield the recipe below.

Buffalo Dip, single serving garnished with celery rose

The next morning, I made Citrus Butter Thumbprint cookies with fig preserves and raspberry preserves, my own recipe Frankensteined from butter cookie recipes and one I found from Betty Crocker on allrecipes.com. The raspberry preserves seemed to have enough tartness to offset the sweet butter cookies, but fig was very good too.

Citrus Butter Thumbprints, with fig and raspberry preserves

Then, I created my own chocolate peanut butter cookies with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips, Frankensteined from a bunch of different cookies I’ve tried and found from allrecipes.com. These were just how I like my cookies: soft, chewy, and chocolatey but not over-sweet. The peanut butter added a saltiness that I loved and our friends keeping a bunch and the rest being snapped up by my husband’s coworkers first thing in the morning.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie

RECIPES:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yield: About 12 servings

Prep Time: About 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes plus 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs chicken breasts or tenderloins (about 4 breast halves)
• 12 oz. bottle of hot sauce (not to be confused with Buffalo wing sauce or barbeque sauce)
• 16 oz. bottle of Blue Cheese Dressing (light or low-fat)
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 12 oz. Neufchâtel cheese (1½ 8oz. packages)

Directions:

1. Remove the cream cheese, the Neufchâtel, and the blue cheese dressing from the refrigerator so they can warm to room temperature.
2. Put the chicken breasts in a saucepan with enough water to complete submerge them. Put on medium-high heat until boiling, then reduce to simmer for twenty to thirty minutes. Then cut the chicken breasts into bite-size-long pieces and shred.
3. Put the shredded chicken breast in a 3 quart baking dish (a shallow 9″x13″ dish may be preferable to a taller dish, for dipping leverage) and pour the hot sauce on top of as much of the chicken as possible.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. While you’re waiting, combine the cream cheese, the Neufchâtel, and the blue cheese dressing in a saucepan over low heat. Mix until the cream cheese is completely melted and smooth, then pour the mixture evenly over the chicken.
5. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If you wait and reheat it, use an oven. Serve with celery sticks (and/or other vegetables), tortilla chips or crackers.

Note: Many people may enjoy adding 2 cups of Mexican-combo, cheddar, or M cheese before baking (which yields a hard crust on top) and/or afterwards.

(adapted from recipe given by the Brown-Eyed Baker)

Citrus Butter Thumbprint Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, VERY mushily softened
• 1½ cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½  teaspoon grated lemon peel
• ½ teaspoon orange juice
• 1/3  cup fig or raspberry preserves

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, and Splenda Sugar Blend until smooth.
3. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon peel, and orange juice.
4. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and prepare ungreased cookie sheets with parchment paper, if desired.
6. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Using thumb or handle of wooden spoon, make indentation in center of each cookie. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon preserves into each indentation.
7. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• ¼ cup Splenda Sugar Blend
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Melt 1 cup semisweet chocolate. Let cool to room temp.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, and Splenda Sugar Blend.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
6. Stir in corn syrup, water, and vanilla.
7. Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture.
8. Fold in chocolate chunks.
9. Drop, by double-tablespoonfuls, 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
10. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

My Grandpa Bernie recently sent me a letter thanking me profusely for the gluten-free cookies I’d sent him, and mentioned he’d look forward to my future kindness (and if I sent some for Grandma Susie, that might be nice, too).

I hadn’t baked in a few weeks but I was feeling some excess energy to burn, so with the excuse of Valentine’s Day, I baked him another batch of Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies, which I discovered on allrecipes.com by Jackie. They are delicious. However, they are pretty much just pure peanut butter and egg, with a little Splenda Sugar Blend and baking powder thrown in. I folded some chocolate chips into that oily, slimy mess and put it on a cookie sheet. It bakes up wonderfully. I was a little concerned (egg whites make it glisten), so I had to eat at least one. I figured, I’d get a little fatter and might get sick, but if I sent bad cookies to Grandpa Bernie, the salmonella could kill him. So I got a little fatter and the cookie was delicious! So I had a second 12 hours later,  just to be certain. It was totally worth its weight in calories. Since the recipe, from allrecipes.com, is so straight-forward, I’ll just include it in the bottom without step-by-step pictures.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

On Tuesday evening, I got more peanut butter and chocolate chunks and chips, so I was able to start baking first thing in the morning on Wednesday (just for fun) for Grandma Susie and Aunt Patsy. For Aunt Patsy, my husband’s grandparents’ Sheltie, I decided to bake a batch of Peanut Butter Dog Cookies. Other recipes include things like pureed liver, and I really do not want to bake pureed liver cookies. Luckily, dogs seem to LOVE these human-food treats. The recipe I finally found was “Birthday Bones” from allrecipes.com by Tami. I’ve found them to be easy to make and so very appreciated. If you eat them, they’d just taste bland. Basically, you mix peanut butter and milk together, then mix in flour and baking powder thoroughly. Roll it out to be ¼” thick. Then either cut it into strips roughly 1½” wide by 3″ long or use a cookie cutter for fun shapes like doggy bones. You can place them close together on the baking sheet because they mostly puff vertically. The cookie cutter I used seemed to work well for larger dogs (like my student’s boxer) as well as smaller dogs (like my mother’s miniature poodles), because they can break and crumble easily. But don’t worry about crumbs – I have not yet seen a dog that hasn’t acted like a hoover vacuum cleaner for a good 5 minutes after eating a cookie.

Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

For Grandma Susie, I figured it would be nice to have a similar cookie. So I used a recipe from allrecipes.com by Kathy Bliesner for soft, delicious, Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies. This was a very interesting cookie to make because peanut butter was whipped with the butter at the beginning of the recipe and the result is a salty, sweet, chocolatey, peanut buttery cookie that is soft and chewy. Unfortunately, despite wearing an apron, a melting chocolate chunk fell in between my apron and my shirt and I had to change quick before going to work. I love the apron, even if the neck hole is a little large for my height – it’s blue and yellow and pink and apples, it has a pocket, and it’s girly. I bought it from Classic Confections at etsy.com, along with matching oven mitts from Plaid Apple at etsy.com

Oops! Chocolate fell inside my apron!

This is my first step-by-step pictorial recipe. I hope the pictures help.

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (or ½ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
• ½ cup white sugar (or ¼ cup Splenda Sugar Blend)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
   

   2. Combine dry ingredients.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar.
   

   3. Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars

4. Beat in the 2 eggs one at a time.
   

   4. Beat in the 2 eggs one at a time.

5. Stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla.
   

   5. Stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla.

6. Stir the flour mixture gradually into the peanut butter mixture.
   

   6. Stir the flour mixture gradually into the peanut butter mixture.

7. Fold in chocolate chunks.
   

   7. Fold in chocolate chunks.

8. Drop by double-tablespoonfuls, 3″ apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
   

   8. Drop by double-tablespoonfuls, 3" apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

9. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
   

   Cooling Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

adapted from a recipe from allrecipes.com by Kathy Bliesner

Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

Yield: 4 dozen 1½” x 3″ treats

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. Stir together the flour and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and milk. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out to ¼” thickness and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, then flip. Continue baking until lightly brown (about 10-15 more minutes). Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

adapted from “Birthday Bones” from allrecipes.com by Tami

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peanut butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease cookie sheet.
2. Combine peanut butter, eggs, sugar, and salt and mix until smooth.
3. Fold in chocolate chips, if desired.
4. Spoon dough by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 5 to 10 minutes before removing.

adapted from allrecipes.com by Jackie