Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Mmmmm peanut butter everything!

Friends, I have a dilemma.

I absolutely LOVE peanut butter cookies. As a kid, my sister and I would make them all the time. They were so easy, required very few ingredients, and our mother would trust us to be able to make them with minimal supervision.

Fast forward sound effects to years later, and I met and married this wonderful dude who is my best friend and husband. He only has one teeny tiny flaw, though. He HATES the aroma of baking peanut butter cookies. I know, right?! Because of this, my enjoyment of peanut butter cookies is limited to those rare occasions when he's not at home.

Like recently! Yay, friends, peanut butter cookies! I didn't want to make the usual, I wanted to make over-the-top-peanut-butter-awesomeness-in-a-cookie. These are oatmeal peanut butter cookies, with chopped, roasted peanuts, peanut butter chips, and sandwiched around the creamiest, peanut-butteriest peanut butter frosting ever. I am dying over these, they are so good. I keep them in the freezer, and that makes them even better, if you can believe it.

Try one of these Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies – frozen! Wow!

Soft Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Soft, chewy, Oatmeal Cranberries Cookies go well with a cup of tea!

My favourite cookie in the whole, wide, wonderful world is the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. I love the soft, chewy texture and the rich bursts of sweetness from the raisins. In my opinion, they must always be enjoyed with a cup of tea. Unfortunately, my family does not share my high opinion of these cookies. This is a typical exchange: "What are you baking? It smells great!" "Oatmeal raisin cookies," I smile. "Yuck!" is the usual reply.

It's time for tea!

As a result of my family's raisin revulsion, I rarely have them in the house. When I get a craving for oatmeal raisin, I am usually out of luck. This time, I decided to try dried cranberries as a substitute. Guess what happened? I loved them! They are even better than raisins, in my opinion. The tart cranberries are a bright counterpoint to the rich butter and brown sugar cookie base. Now I have a new favourite!

Click through for the recipe and instructions

Gifts from the Kitchen: Cookies for Santa

Better hurry Santa, those look mighty tasty

My sister and I left cookies out for Santa on Christmas eve. It was always a big debate: chocolate chip or shortbread? Chocolate chip usually won the day. Tradition ruled that we also leave carrots out for the reindeer. 

Oatmeal Rolo Cookies

Soft 'n' chewy Oatmeal Rolo Cookies

One day at work, I was discussing the awesomeness of oatmeal cookies with my friend and co-worker, and the age-old debate of Raisins vs. Chocolate Chips came up. I am a raisin fan, while my friend is in on Team Chocolate Chip. I was defending the raisin version when she said, "But have you ever tried oatmeal cookies with mini Rolos in them?"

Doesn't everyone have baking debates at work?

My eyes glazed over and my jaw hung open stupidly while I pictured just that: soft, chewy oatmeal cookies studded with droplets of caramel-filled chocolate cups. "Challenge accepted," I vowed. I went to the store that very day and picked up a package of Mini Rolos.

Mini Rolo candies! Mmmmmm....

Fruit & Almond Power Bars

Fruit & almond power bars to power you up the mountain and down again.

As the snow melts away and my favourite hiking trails are revealed fresh, my thoughts once again are pulled outside to be in the great outdoors. I love to be outside, but walking and hiking in the damp, chilly air takes extra energy. I like to take a "stick-to-your-ribs" energy snack along on longer walks to keep the blood pumping and the mind on the birds and trees, not my empty stomach!

Heart-Healthy Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies with almonds – perfect with a cup of tea.

Happy New Year! If you are like me, you may have included 'eating healthier' in your New Year's resolutions. Eating healthier meals doesn't necessarily mean that you need to stop enjoying dessert! Besides including lots of fresh fruit in your diet, you can easily whip up some of these heart-healthy cookies for a special treat.

Health Benefits
Dried Cherries: I used dried Montmorency cherries in my cookies. Montmorencies are tart, or sour, cherries. Cherries are high in the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin, which has been shown to be beneficial in preventing many diseases, including cancer. Dried tart cherries also contain high levels of melatonin, which can help regulate sleep and slow the aging process.

Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate is also high in antioxidants. Chocolate increases blood flow to your brain and heart. It can help control blood sugar. Chocolate is high in the minerals potassium, copper, magnesium and iron. It also makes you feel happier by elevating your mood. And it tastes great!

Oatmeal: Oatmeal contains a fiber called beta-glucan. Including more oatmeal in your diet can lower cholesterol, boost immunity, and stabilize blood sugar. Oatmeal also is high in magnesium, which can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Almonds: Almonds are high in the antioxidant Vitamin E, cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fats and are a good source of protein. Almonds also contain Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), manganese and copper. Don't care for almonds? Substitute walnuts, pecans or chestnuts; all of which are also high in good fats and antioxidants.

Chewy little yummy nummies

I found these cookies to be a little too mounded, so I flattened them with a spatula slightly before baking. The dried cherries I bought were really huge; next time I will chop them up. I'm not a fan of chopping chocolate, so I might use dark chocolate chips next time.

I hope you enjoy these heart-healthy cookies!

I ate four. They're healthy, so it's OK. Right? Anyone?

Heart-Healthy Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Based on a recipe by Cooking Light
Makes 42 small cookies

Ingredients
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries (chopped up if you like smaller bits)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips)
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine flours, oats, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
3. Melt butter in a small bowl. Mix in brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate and almonds. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information
Amount per cookie (based on 42 cookies)
Calories: 67
Fat: 2.3g
Saturated fat: 1.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.43g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.14g
Protein: 1.2g
Carbohydrate: 11.2g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 7.1mg