For some reason, after listening to me whine all day yesterday (I do NOT recommend kidney infections with migraines!), the boy mentioned he was in the mood to make peanut butter cookies. One of the blogs I followed had posted a peanut butter cookie recipe that had intrigued me just a week or two before, so I pointed him to that one (it seems even if I'm not well enough to cook and he's been stuck doing more than his fair share of cooking that I am at least well enough to find recipes and direct!). Shortly afterwards, we had some pretty amazing cookies. The salt may seem like a crazy amount, but it works. The blogger is also right, they do taste even better after they've fully cooled, so be patient! The original recommends natural peanut butter, but that's not what we had, so we just used what was there. I'm sure natural would be even better, but this was still excellent! Warning: this recipe makes a lot of cookies.
One year ago: Kung Pao Chicken
Salted Peanut Butter Cookies (from Orangette, originally Autumn Martin and Hot Cakes Confections)
Ingredients
240 grams (2 cups plus 1 tsp.) pastry flour
5 grams (1 tsp.) baking soda
12 grams (1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp.) kosher salt (if you only have regular salt, use 1T)
275 grams (2 sticks plus 3.5 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
200 grams (about 1 ¼ cup, packed) dark brown sugar
170 grams (¾ cup plus 2.5 Tbsp.) sugar
2 large eggs
400 grams (1 ½ cup) natural salted creamy peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
170 grams chopped milk chocolate
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the pastry flour, baking soda, and salt, and whisk well.
3. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (You can also do this by hand, with a sturdy spoon.)
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.
5. Add the peanut butter and vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed to blend.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing on low speed until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Add the chocolate, and beat briefly on low speed, just until evenly incorporated.
8. Using an ice cream scoop – Orangette's has a capacity of about ¼ cup - scoop the batter onto the prepared sheet pan, taking care to leave plenty of space between cookies. (We also limited it to six cookies per pan; if you add more, they run together.)
9. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and pale golden around the edges, but their tops have no color. (The cookies will not look fully baked, and this is important! The chewy texture of these cookies depends on it. They’re not nearly as good when baked until golden and crisp.)
10. Transfer the pan to a rack, and cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan. They will firm up as they cool. (Also, they taste better when fully cooled. Promise.)
Repeat with remaining dough.
Showing posts with label peanut butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peanut butter. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
West African Peanut Soup
I was talking to someone this past week about vegetarian phases and how pleased with myself I was for shifting back to cooking meat in the past 6 months or so (of course I still tend to gravitate towards cuts of meat that I won't have to do that much hands on work with ... ground meats, pre-cut stew meat, pre-sliced fondue meat). However, maybe I haven't come as far as I thought. Last weekend I couldn't resist some sweet potatoes that were on sale at the Val-Mont. I have a pork and sweet potato stew that I copied down a while ago that I've been meaning to try, but haven't gotten around to. Before I could make the pork though, I ran across this recipe and couldn't resist. Why do I get so much more excited about cooking vegetarian (or almost vegetarian) dishes than meat-based dishes?
I've been wanting to make an African peanut stew since seeing the tennis episode on Top Chef All-Stars. I made a peanut soup a few months ago (which was delicious), but was constrained to ingredients I had on hand, so it ended up being more curry flavoured than the African soup I'd seen. According to the comments on this recipe, it's not exactly authentic, but that's okay, I'm not going for authenticity, just a general taste of peanuty tastiness.
The only changes I made to this recipe were using whole cloves as I don't have ground on hand and using peanut oil instead of vegetable oil (it is a peanut soup, right?). I also took their suggestion of drizzling with sesame oil, remembering halfway through eating. It definitely added a nice touch! The end result was a bowl of rich, peanut comfort food.
West African Peanut Soup (from Gimme Some Oven, originally Aliza Green)
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger root
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 cup roasted peanuts
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onion until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne. Sauté together 2 to 3 minutes to release their fragrance.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and sweet potatoes, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes to meld the flavors.
4. Add the stock and peanuts, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.
6. Whisk in the peanut butter and chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper and heat through.
7. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
I've been wanting to make an African peanut stew since seeing the tennis episode on Top Chef All-Stars. I made a peanut soup a few months ago (which was delicious), but was constrained to ingredients I had on hand, so it ended up being more curry flavoured than the African soup I'd seen. According to the comments on this recipe, it's not exactly authentic, but that's okay, I'm not going for authenticity, just a general taste of peanuty tastiness.
The only changes I made to this recipe were using whole cloves as I don't have ground on hand and using peanut oil instead of vegetable oil (it is a peanut soup, right?). I also took their suggestion of drizzling with sesame oil, remembering halfway through eating. It definitely added a nice touch! The end result was a bowl of rich, peanut comfort food.
West African Peanut Soup (from Gimme Some Oven, originally Aliza Green)
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger root
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 cup roasted peanuts
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onion until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne. Sauté together 2 to 3 minutes to release their fragrance.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and sweet potatoes, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes to meld the flavors.
4. Add the stock and peanuts, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.
6. Whisk in the peanut butter and chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper and heat through.
7. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Curried Peanut and Tomato Soup
I think I said the other post would be my last post for a week, but somehow I found myself cooking today. There's something incredibly nice about having a day off at home while everyone else is at work. I should be off getting my oil changed, but it's grey outside and my apartment is so cozy ... perfect weather for a warm, spicy soup.
This recipe is an example of the dangers of watching Top Chef late at night. Earlier in the evening, I had been discussing my obsession with peanut butter with someone, then the episode of Top Chef I was watching had a peanut soup featured in it. I checked my copy of Gourmet Today for a recipe and found one that would've required going to the grocery store or else outrageous adaptations. I turned to epicurious.com instead and found this recipe. The only I was missing was ... peanut butter (peanut butter is clearly too delicious for me to safely keep it on hand). Luckily, I had some peanuts on hand, so I made my own (kind of). I'm sticking with the original recipe below though and just including peanut butter.
In terms of adaptation, I used whole Italian tomatoes because that's what I had and I think the quality is better than most of the cans of diced tomatoes, so I simmered the soup slightly longer. The original calls for mixing the peanut butter with 1 cup of hot water, which I reduced to 1/2 cup, but next time I'd omit it entirely to make the soup a little thicker. I passed on the fresh cilantro entirely. Make sure you use a good quality curry powder as that's the flavour that really shines in this dish. You could easily add some garlic, ginger, and/or lime juice to this to up the flavour (and my homemade peanut butter needed a little brown sugar), but the base of this is solid ... spicy with a hint of peanut butter that's not overpowering.
Oh and according to a reviewer on epicurious, this recipe is "A good way to sneak a little more lycopene into your husband's diet to keep his prostate gland healthy!" I can't say I've ever had that concern while cooking, but maybe you do!
I served this over rice to make it a little more hearty. If you're hoping for a lot of leftovers, double the recipe as this one doesn't make very much.
Curried Peanut and Tomato Soup (adapted from epicurious.com)
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used peanut)
2 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras masala)
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes in juice (I used whole Italian tomatoes)
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
rice (optional)
1. Cook onion, salt, and pepper in oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add curry powder and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes (with their juice) and broth and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. (I let it simmer a little longer because I was using whole tomatoes.)
4. Stir in peanut butter. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
5. Puree until smooth using an immersion blender.
6. Serve over rice.
This recipe is an example of the dangers of watching Top Chef late at night. Earlier in the evening, I had been discussing my obsession with peanut butter with someone, then the episode of Top Chef I was watching had a peanut soup featured in it. I checked my copy of Gourmet Today for a recipe and found one that would've required going to the grocery store or else outrageous adaptations. I turned to epicurious.com instead and found this recipe. The only I was missing was ... peanut butter (peanut butter is clearly too delicious for me to safely keep it on hand). Luckily, I had some peanuts on hand, so I made my own (kind of). I'm sticking with the original recipe below though and just including peanut butter.
In terms of adaptation, I used whole Italian tomatoes because that's what I had and I think the quality is better than most of the cans of diced tomatoes, so I simmered the soup slightly longer. The original calls for mixing the peanut butter with 1 cup of hot water, which I reduced to 1/2 cup, but next time I'd omit it entirely to make the soup a little thicker. I passed on the fresh cilantro entirely. Make sure you use a good quality curry powder as that's the flavour that really shines in this dish. You could easily add some garlic, ginger, and/or lime juice to this to up the flavour (and my homemade peanut butter needed a little brown sugar), but the base of this is solid ... spicy with a hint of peanut butter that's not overpowering.
Oh and according to a reviewer on epicurious, this recipe is "A good way to sneak a little more lycopene into your husband's diet to keep his prostate gland healthy!" I can't say I've ever had that concern while cooking, but maybe you do!
I served this over rice to make it a little more hearty. If you're hoping for a lot of leftovers, double the recipe as this one doesn't make very much.
Curried Peanut and Tomato Soup (adapted from epicurious.com)
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used peanut)
2 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras masala)
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes in juice (I used whole Italian tomatoes)
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
rice (optional)
1. Cook onion, salt, and pepper in oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add curry powder and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes (with their juice) and broth and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. (I let it simmer a little longer because I was using whole tomatoes.)
4. Stir in peanut butter. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
5. Puree until smooth using an immersion blender.
6. Serve over rice.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Peanut Flavoured Potatoes
This is another post-flu recipe. I had things in the fridge, but none of them were whetting my appetite. For some reason peanut butter seemed to pique my interest. I went to Kayotic Kitchen to check the ingredients for the peanut soups that had caught my eye earlier ... I didn't have all of the ingredients for one of the recipes and the other one required that you have leftover mashed potatoes on hand and I was too lazy to make mashed potatoes solely for the soup. Then I found this recipe. Simple, yet tasty looking and best of all I had all of the ingredients ... including chili pepper in the freezer! The sauce here would also be excellent for a meat dish.
Peanut Flavoured Potatoes (from Kayotic Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 pound potatoes, peeled, washed, and diced
3 tbsp peanut butter
5 tbsp chicken broth
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 small chili pepper, diced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oil
1. Place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl. Fill with water, add a dash of salt, and microwave for 10 minutes or until parboiled. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, 2 tbsp broth, ginger, curry powder, oil, and soy sauce. Whisk until you have a thick paste.
3. Stir in chili pepper and garlic.
4. Add remaining 3 tbsp broth and sugar. Still until it is a smooth sauce.
5. Drain the potatoes and place them in a baking dish.
6. Coat the potatoes in the peanut sauce. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes or so, stir the potatoes and sauce so it doesn't burn.
Peanut Flavoured Potatoes (from Kayotic Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 pound potatoes, peeled, washed, and diced
3 tbsp peanut butter
5 tbsp chicken broth
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 small chili pepper, diced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oil
1. Place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl. Fill with water, add a dash of salt, and microwave for 10 minutes or until parboiled. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, 2 tbsp broth, ginger, curry powder, oil, and soy sauce. Whisk until you have a thick paste.
3. Stir in chili pepper and garlic.
4. Add remaining 3 tbsp broth and sugar. Still until it is a smooth sauce.
5. Drain the potatoes and place them in a baking dish.
6. Coat the potatoes in the peanut sauce. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes or so, stir the potatoes and sauce so it doesn't burn.
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