Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted by on Nov 1, 2023 in Blog, Bready or Not, chocolate, cookies, nutty | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

You cannot get a more classic American pairing than chocolate and peanut butter. These Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies are a dose of delicious nostalgia.

Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies contain some rolled oats, but I wouldn’t term them oatmeal cookies. They don’t have that much density. Rather, these cookies are light and chewy.

Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

The dough doesn’t need any chill time in the fridge. Mix it and bake it right away.

Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a classic cookie recipe, simple and delicious.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, cookies, oats, peanut butter
Servings: 46 cookies
Author: Beth Cato

Equipment

  • teaspoon scoop or spoon
  • baking sheet
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chunky or creamy
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats also called rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla.
  • In another bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Gradually combine the contents of both bowls. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to place rounded balls of dough spaced-out on the cookie sheet. Flatten them slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set and golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transitioning cookies to rack. Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.

OM NOM NOM!

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    Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    Posted by on Oct 25, 2023 in Blog, blueberry, Bready or Not, breakfast, cake | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    This Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake is really, really good, people. It has a soft, tender crumb and loads of fruit inside.

    Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    Plus, there’s some flexibility to the recipe. You can use Greek yogurt in vanilla or plain (you want it thick, not runny), or go with sour cream or crème fraiche.

    Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    You can flex with the berries, too. I used a mixture of frozen (not thawed) and fresh berries. If you use fresh berries, make sure they are washed and thoroughly dry. I had the fresh and frozen mixed in both layers within the cake.

    Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    This is the kind of bundt that is nicely sweet, not heavily so. This would be a showstopper for a breakfast or brunch for company, but is also divine as a dessert.

    Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Yogurt Bundt Cake

    Use fresh or frozen fruit, or a mix, in this luscious cake! This is the kind of cake that is nicely sweet, not heavily so. This would be a showstopper for a breakfast or brunch for company, but is also divine as a dessert.
    Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
    Author: Beth Cato

    Equipment

    • large bundt pan
    • nonstick spray

    Ingredients

    Cake batter

    • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature
    • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
    • 4 large eggs room temperature
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt or plain yogurt or sour cream, or crème fraiche

    Filling

    • 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
    • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or a mix

    Glaze

    • 1 cup confectioners' sugar plus more if needed
    • 1 to 3 Tablespoons half & half or milk plus more if needed

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Generously coat the interior of a large bundt pan with nonstick spray. If using fresh blueberries, wash them and gently pat them dry with paper towels, picking out any stems.
    • In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.
    • In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture alternatively with the yogurt. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times during the process.
    • In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the filling: brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
    • Spoon about a third of the batter into the bundt pan. Sprinkle about half the dry filling mix over the top. Sprinkle about half the berries over this layer.
    • Repeat the process. Spoon about a third of the batter to cover the blueberries. Distribute the rest of the dry mix around the ring, followed by the blueberries. Top with the remaining batter. Use a spoon or uneven spatula to even it out across the top.
    • Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the middle of the cake comes out free of crumbs. Cool for 20 minutes in pan, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely to room temperature.

    Mix the glaze

    • Stir together the confectioners' sugar and 2 Tablespoons of half & half or milk. The glaze needs to be thick so that it doesn't all run off. Add more sugar or milk, as necessarily, to get a thick glaze that can just dribble. Spoon over the domed top of the cake. Let set at least 20 minutes or place in fridge. Slice and serve. Store cake under a cake dome, within plastic wrap, or in individual slices encased in plastic wrap. As individual slices, it can be frozen for later enjoyment.

    OM NOM NOM!

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      Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      Posted by on Oct 18, 2023 in biscoff spread, Blog, blondies, Bready or Not, brownies, cheese galore, chocolate, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      These Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars are thick and luscious with just the right balance of chocolate and cookie dough flavors.

      Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      If you’re one of those people who had just to discover the joys of cookie butter–you’re in for a treat! Think cookies blended with oil to create a spreadable mass just like peanut butter. There is nothing healthy about it, but it tastes like cookie dough. You can find it at Trader Joe’s as Speculoos and at other stores as Biscoff or as a generic.

      Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      Cookie butter can pretty much replace peanut butter in any recipe, or even on something as simple as a sandwich. Here, it’s great swirled in with brownie batter. Chocolate and cookie dough, ever the perfect combination.

      Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      Since the swirl-in includes cream cheese, be sure to refrigerate these after they’ve baked and cooled. They are divine straight from the fridge!

      Bready or Not Original: Swirled Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

      These gorgeously-swirled bars infuse the gentle flavor of cookie butter with rich brownies, a perfect combination.
      Course: Dessert, Snack
      Keyword: brownies, cookie butter, cookies, cream cheese
      Author: Beth Cato

      Equipment

      • 13×9 pan
      • aluminum foil
      • nonstick spray
      • uneven spatula
      • cutting board

      Ingredients

      Brownie base

      • 3 large eggs room temperature
      • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted
      • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
      • 2 cups white sugar
      • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
      • 3/4 cup baking cocoa sifted
      • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
      • 1/4 teaspoon salt
      • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

      Cookie butter swirl-in

      • 2 boxes cream cheese (8 ounces each) softened
      • 1/2 cup creamy cookie butter
      • 1/4 cup white sugar
      • 1 large egg room temperature
      • 2 Tablespoons milk

      Instructions

      • Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
      • In a big bowl, beat together eggs, butter, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the brownie dry ingredients and gradually add them to the egg mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside 1 cup of the brownie batter for the topping. Scoop the rest into the prepared pan and use an uneven spatula to even it out.
      • In another bowl, beat together the cream cheese blocks, cookie butter, and sugar. Once that is blended, add the egg and milk. Use an uneven spatula to spread the mixture in a thin layer across the top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the reserved brownie batter on top. Use the tip of the uneven spatula or a butter knife to create swirls.
      • Bake pan for 35 to 40 minutes, until the very middle passes the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack for an hour, then place in fridge to completely chill. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice up and store in a sealed container in the fridge. Keeps for at least 3 days.

      OM NOM NOM!

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        Recent Publications and Promo Stuff

        Posted by on Oct 13, 2023 in anthology:nonfiction, anthology:story, Blog, podcast, Thousand Recipes for Revenge | Comments Off on Recent Publications and Promo Stuff

        Someday, I’ll feel like I am no longer playing catch-up from the move. Today is not that day.

        I’m doing such much-belated updating on my Bibliography page. In particular, the sections for short stories, interviews, guest blogs, and podcasts. The poetry section needs many new entries and will be done soon.

        Short Stories

        “Apocalypse Playlist” (reprint), The Big Book of Cyberpunk
        Birds of London,” Abyss & Apex
        “Monsters of the Places Between,” Stupefying Stories #24
        “Believe Nothing Said by Clouds,” Stupefying Stories Showcase

        Interview

        6 Books with Beth Cato at Nerds of a Feather
        eSpec Books interviews Beth Cato, contributor to Other Aether: Tales of Global Steampunk

        Guest Blogs

        Scalzi’s Big Idea: A Thousand Recipes for Revenge
        My Favorite Bit from A Thousand Recipes for Revenge

        Podcasts

        H. P. Lovecast Podcast – Ep 22 – Tom Starita and Beth Cato
        Russ’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster Ep #97– The Writer’s Chair: How to Build Magic Systems in Genre Fiction featuring AARON ROSENBERG, BETH CATO and SHERRI COOK WOOSLEY
        “Headspace” reprint, CatsCast (only subscribers have access to full content)

        #SFWAPro

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