Recipe Swap: Magic in the Middles

This week's recipe swap was Blogger's Choice.  See the roundup at A Taste of Home Cooking.  I was assigned the blog Cookies on Friday.  I bet it comes as no surprise to you that Nicole, the voice behind this blog, primarily posts cookie recipes.  But, she doesn't just make or post them on Fridays :).  In fact, I was impressed that she has OVER 500 different types of cookies on her blog.  I didn't even know where to begin!  Somehow I narrowed it down to Peanut Butter Nutella Sandwich Cookies, Momofuku's Compost Cookies (my cousin Laura's favorite!), and Magic in the Middles before letting my husband, the resident sweets connoisseur  make the final decision.  He believed in magic.

This cookie is basically a soft chocolate sugar cookie with a surprise peanut butter center.  Think of it as cookie stuffed with a buckeye candy filling.  Oh and as you can imagine, it is extra MAGICAL when you eat them warm from the oven or zapped in the microwave for a few seconds so that the filling gets nice and gooey.  *Drool*.  I'm embarrassed to say that I ate two of them straight from the pan.  I just couldn't help myself!  And this is exactly why we decided that sadly, the cookies had to go for the sake of our health and off to work they went.

To say my co-workers LOVED these cookies would be an understatement.  One had one for breakfast (yes cookies are the breakfasts of champions don't ya know?) and then subsequently came back throughout the day for two more, another messaged me and said they were "awesome!!!" (yep, it warranted 3 exclamation points), and one stopped by my desk after their cube neighbor "came back drooling" over the cookies.

Looks like my husband picked a winning recipe.  Thank you so much Nicole for sharing and can't wait to go back and try more cookies from your blog!

Magic in the Middles

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cookie Dough

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg

For the Filling

• ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• Additional sugar for dipping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
2. To make the filling, combine the peanut butter and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Shape the mixture into 26 level teaspoon-sized balls.  Put shaped peanut butter balls in refrigerator while you make and shape the chocolate dough.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; Set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.   Mixture should not be dry/crumbly.  If it is, add a small amount of milk to smooth it out (it will continue to dry as it sits).
4. Shape the chocolate cookie dough into 26  level Tablespoon-sized balls. Make an indentation in the dough and press one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation. Mold the chocolate cookie dough around the peanut butter ball, sealing completely and rolling the dough back into a ball shape.  Do not worry if some peanut butter is showing...unless you're a perfectionist then by all means take the extra time and labor to make sure the peanut butter is totally secretive!  Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
5. Roll the dough balls in sugar and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Using a drinking glass, flatten the cookies to about ½ inch thick. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until they are set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Source: King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion as seen on Cookies on Friday

Pasta with Grilled Plum Tomato Sauce

Who has fresh vine ripened tomatoes ready to be eaten?  Or, have lots of green tomatoes that are soon to be ripe?  My tomato plant is looking rather sad.  It got burned up by the 100+ degree heat wave that we had recently and despite my daily watering, the leaves are rather crisp.  But, I did get a few good tomatoes off of it and also am getting some lovely heirloom tomatoes from my Cedarmore CSA share.  And my oh my what lovely flavor these home and farm-grown tomatoes have when compared to their tasteless grocery store counterparts!

This recipe is very simple and relies on the grilling to add depth.  I'd only consider making this with farm fresh Summer tomatoes and the highest quality ingredients.  It's the simple pleasures in life that you have to come to appreciate :).

One Year Ago: Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three Years Ago: Honey Lime Grilled Chicken - to this day still one of my favorite grilled chicken recipes!


Pasta with Grilled Plum Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 10 medium plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
• 4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch red pepper flakes (add more to taste)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tbs minced fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound pasta (I used Angel Hair)
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Prepare grill. Lay the tomatoes on a large baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the tomatoes on the grill and cook, turning once, until the flesh is streaked with dark grill marks and the skins are charred and blistered, about 8 minutes. 
2. Transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and cool them slightly. Peel and discard the tomato skins, and chop the tomatoes.  Transfer to a large bowl, and combine with the garlic and oil, basil leaves, parsley leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, salt the boiling water and cook the pasta until al dente, and drain.
4. In a small skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium heat, and add the garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook until just fragrant and beginning to turn golden-brown, one to two minutes.  Remove from heat.
5. Toss the pasta with the tomato sauce and mix well.  Divide evenly among serving plates, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve immediately.

Source: Originally from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, by Jack Bishop as seen on and adapted by Pink Parsley.

SRC: Pineapple "Ice Cream"

It's that time of the month again!  This month for Secret Recipe Club (SRC) I received Erin's blog, A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures.  Erin started her blog much for the same reasons that I did.  And that's to document the cooking and baking that we do.  When I was browsing Erin's blog, I was greeted by some pretty delicious looking cupcakes in her header and found lots of drool-worthy desserts.

Because my husband and I are watching our weight and we absolutely LOVED the 5 Minute (Healthy) Chunky Monkey Banana "Ice Cream" that I made last year, I thought I'd give her pineapple version a try.  It was very simple to make and definitely tasted of summer.  Not as custard-like and creamy textured as the banana version but I think adding more yogurt could help with the creamy taste.  Or, leave it out entirely for a vegan sorbet treat.  I did leave out the booze in this instance since we ate it right away but you can add it back in if you're into that or plan to save for later.  I hollowed out a pineapple half and scooped the "ice cream" inside it for serving.  It also serves as a great freezer mold :).

Thanks Erin for this healthy recipe and I look forward to going back to try some of your more unhealthy treats like the Frozen Reese's Peanut Butter and Oreo Pie, Peanut Butter Toblerone Cheesecake, or Truffle Filled Chocolate Cupcakes.

As usual a special thank you to April of the blog Angel's Homestead, SRC ring leader and Angela of the blog Big Bear's Wife, our Group C Hostess!

Pineapple "Ice Cream"

Ingredients

• 1 whole pineapple, cut up into bit size chunks and frozen
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp spiced whiskey (omitted)
• 3 heaping Tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in food processor until smooth and combined.  Scrape down as needed.  Enjoy!

Source: A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures