Peanut Butter Blossoms

Our house could be claimed a disaster zone. We have clothes, clean and dirty everywhere. Papers and mail cover our kitchen table so much so that we cannot find room to eat.  Boxes from mails Christmas presents are stacking up. I find this most interesting as we said no presents this year.  Regardless I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.There seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it.

It is starting to effect my sleep. The other day I got up bright eyed at 4am. I tried. I really tired to go back to sleep but by 4:45 I got up.  This lead to a much cleaner kitchen table and cookies. I still have a long list of Christmas cookies I want to make up.  I am going to call them holiday cookies as I think my baking is going to extend to New Year's Day.

These are some of Mr. J's favorite cookies. These are pretty simple and basic.  Chocolate. Peanut butter. Nothing too special for Christmas but they have much meaning that just the ingredients. His grandmother makes them every year at Christmas. Since we won't be in Maine to have any of her cookies I thought it would be fun to make some of our own.  I know they are not the same as grandma's but they are pretty darn tasty. It is great to be able to bring some of his family's traditions into our own. 

I know they are not the same as grandma's but they are pretty darn tasty. It is great to be able to bring some of his family's traditions into our own. 

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate peanut butter cookie

6057863

Ingredients (48 cookies)

• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Additional granulated sugar

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

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What I am reading lately...

I use Grammarly's grammar check because having bad grammar is like a monkey dancing around in a Santa suit in the middle of July.  You look very foolish.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom was on my list of reads for a long time and I just never got around to it until I finished a book on a plane with two hours left and it was the other unread option on my Nook.

I am sorry I waited so long as this historical novel captured my attention right from the get go.

Seven year old Lavinia is saved by a wealthy plantation owner after being orphaned at sea.  This white servant girl is then left to live and work with the slaves in the kitchen house.  She becomes closely attached to her new "family" but upsets the order of the plantation by being a white person in slave quarters.  

As she grows up she learns the world is much more complicated than her little kitchen house home.  She forced to learn that whites and blacks are seen as very different.  This makes her question her adopted family, her loves and her loyalties.





Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Grammarly's grammar check but all opinions are my own.

Vacation Detox and WIAW

Let's chat. This week has been crazy. I have been trying to play catch up from last week's vacation and get ready for the holidays.  I think all the to dos got to me and I woke up at 4am yesterday.  It was annoying but very productive.  Is it sick I am kind of happy it happened?  After an hour of organizing mail and sorting the stack of papers cover our kitchen table I had a green smoothie and a cranberry orange muffin.

Lunch all week has been one of these Healthy Choice frozen meals along with some fruit.  Partially because I need to detox from all the rich food of last week and partially because it was the easiest thing to grab in the morning and then heat up at lunch.  I think the pumpkin squash ravioli is my favorite. 

Dinner was baked eggs. Mr. J was coming back from a work trip yesterday and was severely delayed due to the ice storm.  I was on my own for dinner and this is my go to dish. Red sauce, two eggs and cheese.  

I should have gotten the wife of the year award yesterday because not only was I up early and ended up making Mr. J's favorite cookies at Christmas time.  (His grandma always makes these for him but we won't be up to see her this year.)  But I also shoveled the whole driveway before he got back from his trip.  This is after my afternoon conference call ended after three hours and everyone else in the office had left due to the storm. 

It was quite the long day and full of activities.   Mr. J finally got home about 8:30 and we enjoyed the finally episode of Homeland.  No words for the show and wondering what could come next. 

Did you shovel snow yesterday?