Why talking with your mouth full is okay. VERY okay.

Cookies and Bars / September 26, 2016

It’s bad manners I know. And don’t you just hate people who can’t just finish chewing before they start spewing little pieces of whatever into your personal space because talking is more important than your personal comfort! Hahah! What could be THAT important???

So I hope you will accept my apology when I say I didn’t mean to fling cookie crumbs in your direction. Trouble is, you’re leaning in to your screen wishing you could taste what you see, I just couldn’t stop telling you about these treats while I’m eating them. Seriously, since the first one came out of the oven and was frosted, I’ve been shoving them in my mouth. Guess this IS that important.

It’s just the fact that when you mix cream cheese, and peanut butter, and chocolate together, crazy things happen. You certainly forget you’ve sworn off sugar for the week. And I can guarantee the concept of “portion control” is meaningless.

For all the evil that these cookies may represent, I submit that endorphins are underrated. And there is a smidgen of protein in them for sure, as well as the heart benefits of chocolate that make these actually health conscience treats! And if all of that sounds like baloney, perhaps it’s just that it’s Monday. And everyone deserves a little bit of cookie happiness on the first day of the week.

Go ahead, talk with your mouth full. And then, have another one, and another one…

Peanut Butter Cookies With Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Inspired by Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

½ C shortening
½ C + 1/3 C creamy peanut butter, divided (I like Trader Joes no-stir organic PB)
½ C firmly packed light brown sugar
½ C white sugar
1 large egg
1 T + 1 t vanilla
1 ¼ C all-purpose flour
½ t kosher salt
¾ T baking soda
2-3 T heavy cream
2 ounces full fat cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
Milk to moisten
¾ C semi-sweet chocolate chips to sprinkle

Direction:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, sugars, eggs, and 1 T vanilla on high until creamed together. Add the soda and salt to the flour and add these dry ingredients one third at a time, blending each time until the flour is well mixed. After the second batch of flour, add a bit of cream if it looks crumbly. (When you’re using a more pure peanut butter, without the additives, it may need a little more liquid.)
Preheat ove to 375. Take some dough and make it into about a 1 inch ball. Set on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes or until the bottom is brown and the top starts to crack JUST a little. Remove and cool.
To make the frosting, add the 1/3 C peanut butter to the 2 ounces of cream cheese as well as another teaspoon of vanilla extract and blend well with a fork or hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and blend well. Can cut with a little cream. It really helps the consistency. This frosting will stay tacky which makes it easy to set the little semi-sweet morsels atop the cookies but hard to cover the cookies! You can freeze them but the icing won’t be quite a pretty. I recommend you eat them all!