When I started this blog, I didn’t set any serious expectations for myself, but I did have some hopes of getting something posted once a week, if not more. Obviously, I’ve been nowhere near that, but I’m still here, and still hoping to keep sharing what’s coming out of my kitchen with all 5 of you that follow along.

There are some women out there that work full time jobs, cook every night, have impossibly clean houses, home school their children, grow all their own fruits & vegetables, raise chickens for eggs, volunteer at the local pet shelter, AND blog everyday. I mean, jeez. I am so not one of those women. I’ve loved this blog, but some things will take priority over it, like showering.

Now, to get to business, let’s talk breakfast. If you remember the recipe I shared for slow cooker overnight steel cut oatmeal, you’ll remember that I’m all about fast & easy in the mornings. I’ve seen recipes for overnight oats all over pinterest for awhile now, but was usually pretty skeptical. The whole concept of cold, not actually cooked oatmeal? I know, believe me, I know. But you guys, this is pretty great, and so easy, which counts for bonus points. Also, if you follow me on instagram, facebook, or twitter, you might recall that I just broke my crock pot the other morning. So, until I get that replaced, these are the only overnight oats we’ll be eating. I’ll be taking donations for the crock pot replacement fund.

Now here’s the thing. There are lots of very specific recipes around the internet for overnight oats. This is not one of those. Remember? These are supposed to be easy. I’m going to tell you what I put in them, about how much I use, and how I make them happen. That’s it. There are lots of ways to customize, and it’s definitely hard to mess them up. So, give them a chance.

Chocolate Peanut Butter
Overnight Oats

Rolled Oats
Chia Seeds (yes, like a chia pet)
Greek Yogurt (or any non-dairy yogurt you like)
Maple Syrup (the REAL stuff)
Cocoa Powder (I used dutch process, it’s a darker/richer flavor, and just what I keep on hand)
Peanut Butter (or any other nut butter)
Milk (I use whole milk, Tim likes his with almond milk)

I always make mine in a pint sized mason jar, and use the one-piece lids, to make it easier. I love those lids for making salad dressing too. Sometimes liquids are a pain in mason jars if you’re using the two-piece lid with the ring.

So I start by dumping in rolled oats, about 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of the jar.

In goes a spoonful of chia seeds.

Next is a couple big spoonfuls of yogurt.

Then I add cocoa powder, a spoonful for Liam, a couple spoonfuls for Tim, just depends on how chocolatey you want it.

I usually add about 1 spoonful of peanut or almond butter. A note on this, it will likely stay in a clump or a few clumps, so rather than being a super evenly disbursed flavor, every once in awhile you’ll get a bite of nut butter, which I love. Anytime I’ve just about emptied a jar of nut butter, I like to make my oats in that jar. Then I can scrape up the little bits of what’s left of the nut butter as I eat.

Then, to sweeten it a bit, I add a splash of maple syrup, maybe a tablespoon, at most. Start with just a little and you can always add more once you shake it all up.

Then I fill the jar with milk, about to the top, screw the lid on tight, shake everything up, and stick it in the fridge until morning.

I’m usually in a hurry on the mornings we have this for breakfast, but if I had the time, some sliced banana or even some raw nuts would be a yummy addition. You also might find that you prefer a thicker mixture and decide to add more oats, but you’ll never know until you try.

I keep thinking that these would be great in a pumpkin variety, because it is October, of course. So, when I get around to trying that out, I’ll share, if they’re any good. In the meantime, give these a try, and if you come up with any great combinations, I want to hear about them.

love and butter,
amy

Some people know all the right things to say. That’s not me.

Some people are great at making things happen. That’s not really me, either.

When times are tough and things are sad, all I know is food. I feed people. I might not even have the opportunity to cook at home, but I’m always thinking about making sure people have something to eat. I don’t know about you, but when I’ve had a long day, making a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies is a great way for me to unwind. Is it a good idea to eat your feelings? No, probably not, but that doesn’t change the fact that food is comforting.

This past week, my grandpa passed away. He had been fighting a hard battle for the past several months. On Tuesday night they brought him home to keep him comfortable, and he passed away very early on Friday morning. We spent most of the week at my grandparents’ house, talking to grandpa, sharing memories about grandpa, and just being together. It was one of those times when it just felt better to be with family, even if we couldn’t do anything to help.

On Thursday morning, Liam and I made cookies to take over to share with everyone. What I really wanted was chocolate chip cookies, but the weather hasn’t been oven friendly, especially in our no a/c house. We ended up making a batch of no-bake chocolate, peanut butter, oat cookies. I know it’s not a new recipe, or a fancy recipe, but it’s actually a recipe that I learned from my grandma. It seemed like a good fit.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

2 cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Butter (I always use salted)
3 tbspn Cocoa Powder (I have typically used the natural kind, but had dutch process in my pantry and tried that. It made a darker, richer cookie)
1/2 cup Milk (I used whole)
1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I’ve made them with natural, peanut-only kind & the kind with added oils, sugars, etc)
3 cups Rolled Oats
1 tbspn Vanilla Extract

• Before starting these cookies, be sure to measure all of your ingredients out and line a couple of cookie sheets with waxed paper. There are a couple of time sensitive steps and you’ll want to be prepared.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and milk.

• Over medium heat, bring to a boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. If you allow them to over cook, they will set up too dry and crumbly later.

• As soon as the minute is up, remove from heat and allow to cool for 1 minute.
• Add the peanut butter, rolled oats, and vanilla to the pan, and mix to combine.

• Scoop the mixture out onto your waxed paper lined cookie sheets. You can use a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a cookie scoop, or whatever size cookies you want to make.

• Allow the cookies to cool and setup for at least an hour.
• Store in an airtight container for a few days.

A couple of variations that you could make on this recipe…other kinds of nut butters (maybe even nutella), adding a couple of tablespoons of instant coffee, adding chopped nuts, etc.

So, next time someone is having a rough day (even if it’s you), maybe you can make them some of these cookies. Or if you don’t have time to make them cookies, you can always buy them ice cream. On Friday, we took some pistachio ice cream to great grandma, because it’s her favorite.

love and butter,
amy

When I started to think about what the first recipe I wanted to share with the world(or more likely all five of you that read this) was, I knew it had to be a cookie, because of course. And when I started to think about *the* cookie, I instantly thought of this recipe. Is it my favorite cookie in the whole entire world? Probably not. But this is one of the first cookies that I can remember making on my own, and it’s probably the recipe I’ve made more than most other cookies. I can’t take much credit for this cookie, though.

The first time I ever had this cookie was at Brooke’s house. I’ve known Brooke since we were younger than I can remember. She stood next to me as I married my best friend six years ago and I can’t wait to watch her marry hers next May. Brooke’s mom, Tanya, has whipped up many a sweet treat over the years, all of it delicious. This cookie is just one of the sweets I enjoyed at their house. I’m fairly confident that you could always find some of this cookie dough in the freezer, because you never know when you’re going to need a hot-out-of-the-oven cookie or let’s be honest, some cookie dough in all its raw goodness. Growing up, I burned my mouth on plenty of these cookies in the McLeod house, we just couldn’t wait. So, thanks, Tanya, for baking cookies for us, for french braiding my hair every time I slept over(my head hurts just thinking of how tight you pulled those braids), and for starting me on the road to this little blog.

A couple little disclaimers before we jump into the real reason you’re reading this…to get the recipe for these yummy cookies! I don’t know about you, but when I’m trying out a recipe for the first time, I want it to turn out well. If I can get super detailed and specific instructions, I’m thrilled. I want to be told what tools to use, how things should look, smell, feel, taste, etc. As I pass along recipes to you, I hope and plan to give as much information as I would hope to find in a recipe myself. Also, I don’t know how you usually measure your dry ingredients(flour & sugar), but after hearing & reading about weighing them instead of the scoop & level method, I’m a firm believer in the weigh method. In a nutshell, the way that you measure out flour can result in varying amounts of it, ranging by an ounce or more in either direction. To keep things as controlled as possible, when you weigh, you always know how much flour you have. Unfortunately there are also different opinions of how much a cup of flour weighs. Unless a recipe tells me how many ounces or grams it requires, I use the standards from America’s Test Kitchen of 5 ounces for a cup of unbleached all purpose flour and 7 ounces for a cup of sugar(brown or white). I use this scale, although there are lots of options. Just be sure it has the option of grams or ounces.

Now, let’s get to the good stuff.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup Softened Butter (I always use salted)
1 cup Peanut Butter (I grew up using creamy Jif, Skippy, etc, but now the only peanut butter in our house is the kind that’s made with only peanuts, and it’s crunchy. The cookies were just as delicious, and with a tad less sugar)
¾ cup Sugar (5.25 ounces)
¾ cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar (5.25 ounces)
2 Eggs (room temperature is best, helps them incorporate better. I try to at least get them out of the fridge as soon as I start making cookies, so they can warm up a bit)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2½ cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (12.5 ounces)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (This amount is definitely up for interpretation if you love a loaded cookie)

• Preheat your oven to 350º (I always, always, always have a thermometer like this in my oven because it can’t be trusted. When I set it to 350, it ends up around 375.)
• Prep some cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. I always use parchment paper and I needed 4 trays for this batch of cookies.
• Measure or weigh out your flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
• Add both sugars and both butters to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl.
• Cream together the butters & sugars on medium speed for 1 minute.
• Turn the mixer to low and add in the vanilla and 1 egg. Once incorporated, add the other egg and mix just until combined or you don’t see any super shiny streaks of egg left.
• Turn the mixer off and add in about a third of the flour mixture, turn the mixer on low, just until mostly combined.
• Add the rest of the flour in two more batches, just the same way.
• With the mixer off, again, add in your chocolate chips and mix on low until evenly disbursed.

• In order to get uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop to portion out dough onto the trays. I use a scoop like this, which got me 52 cookies that weighed 1 ounce each. I want to make sure my cookies have plenty of space to bake evenly, which means 12 cookies per tray.

• Bake for about 8 minutes, 2 trays at a time, or until just barely starting to brown on the edges, which yields a soft cookie. Again, interpretation is up to you on how well-done you like your cookies. I’m always an advocate of under-cooked cookies.

• Allow cookies to cool on the trays for a few minutes, and then move to cooling racks until completely cool.

One other option with these cookies is to scoop out the dough as individual cookies on the tray, then throw the tray in the freezer until the cookies are frozen. Once they’re frozen, you can put them in an airtight ziploc bag and back in the freezer. Bake them just the same way, adding only an extra minute or two. Perfect for those moments when you just HAVE to have a fresh out of the oven cookie.

love and butter,

amy