No-Bake Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies

Source: Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Makes: about 4 dozen bite-sized cookies

Are you ready for cookies? I hope you are, because I’m declaring this Cookie Week on my blog.

Why? Because it’s almost December, otherwise known as the Season of Cookies. Plus, I’ve been obsessed with cookies for the last month, trying new recipes every weekend and, um, also during the week. I’ve been baking so many cookies lately that when I had time to bake an apple cake for Thanksgiving, I had to look up the definition of “cake” in the dictionary. No lie.*

See, I’m trying to find the perfect recipe that will win me the “Best in Dough” competition my office holds every December, and I’ve used this as an excuse to try pretty much every cookie recipe that has caught my eye. The competition is next Tuesday, December 8, and I think I know what cookie recipe I’m going to use. You can read along as I post all these cookies I’ve tried and see if you can guess which one is my choice for competitor.

So, let’s talk about these no-bake peanut butter cookies. These are titled “Holy Crap These Are Amazing” Cookies on Susan’s Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy blog, so of course I had to try them. “Holy crap, these are amazing” is pretty much the reaction I’m looking for from my coworkers.

You’ve probably had the traditional butter, sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, and oats no-bake cookies before — they were one of the first things I learned to make when I was a kid, and they are deliciously simple. These cookies follow that formula, and they are indeed ridiculously easy to make. They are also very good. Crunchy and chewy and very, very peanut buttery. Rich and mellow at the same time. I’ll admit, though, that my first response was not “holy crap, amazing.” It was more “mmmm, yummy.” So if you’re looking for a simple, tasty cookie recipe that’s ready for eating in about 15 minutes, these are for you.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz.) peanut butter
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz chocolate of your choice (I’d recommend milk chocolate — I used bittersweet and it didn’t really do anything for me)

Mix together sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter; mix well.

Place corn flakes in a large bowl. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the corn flakes and mix well, making sure to coat all the corn flakes. Scoop out cookies and form into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

If you’re using chocolate, melt it in a small bowl in the microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies. (I put the melted chocolate in a plastic bag and poked a hole in the corner, then drizzled from there.)

*Yeah, actually a lie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Terwilliger and I are heading up to Joshua Tree National Park today for a camping trip with friends. We’ll be heating (not cooking) our Thanksgiving treats over the fire. I roasted my first-ever turkey breast yesterday to take along, and I was surprised by how long it took. I was also reminded that I’m not a fan of handling uncooked meat. But the finished product looks pretty good. I also made apricot-glazed yams and an apple cake. I am much more excited about those two things.

And in the spirit of the holiday, five non-sentimental things I am thankful for:

*my husband’s sense of humor
*living in a warm climate
*lemons & oranges & pomegranates in my backyard
*baked goods
*feather pillows

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pecan Blondies

Source: Adapted from Baking Bites
Makes: 20 bars

A letter to squash:

Oh, pumpkin, you irresistible minx. You lure me in with your promise of mingling so sweetly with cinnamon, buoyed by brown sugar. And then the health benefits! You are full of vitamin A and fiber! You are a wonderful, delicious squash, and I very much like you. I especially like you when you are paired with butter and sugar in a delectably moist bar cookie that takes all of 15 minutes to whip up and put in the oven. I daresay you are exquisite that way.

Love, Jill

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in spices and salt, then add the egg and the pumpkin puree. Stir in flour until just combined, then add pecans and distribute evenly.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the blondies are lightly browned at the edges and the center is set (it may look moist, but it shouldn’t be sticky when lightly pressed).

Cool in pan, then slice and serve.

Butternut Sage Orzo

Source: Simply in Season
Serves: 4 – 6

Oh my God, this was good. I feel like I should just leave it at that and tell you to go make it. But it’s Thanksgiving week, and this is a food blog, and I should probably explain why this dish deserves a place at your holiday table. And even if you don’t want to make it this week, since you probably already have traditional dishes that will take up your time and stomach space through next Sunday, you should give it a try the week after, when you’re tired of rich food but are still craving the quintessential flavors of late autumn.

This faux risotto is light and buttery from a kiss of parmesan, sweet and creamy from tender butternut squash, and zesty with fresh sage. It is like November in a bowl, comfort food laced with good-for-you squash.

It took a while to prepare, what with all the chopping and sauteing and simmering, but it’s easy prep. I was on the phone with a good friend for the duration and didn’t make any critical errors, so I consider it an excellent meal for multi-tasking, actually.

Try it. Phone-chatting optional.

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil
1 C. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 C. butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (what you’ll get from about two pounds of squash)
1/2 C. vegetable broth
1/2 C. white wine
1 C. orzo, uncooked
4 C. water or broth
1/2 C. parmesan
2 T. fresh sage*
salt and pepper to taste

*I definitely recommend getting some fresh sage for this recipe. But if you use dried, throw it in with the squash while it’s cooking, instead of stirring it in at the end.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and saute until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute longer. Add squash to pan, stirring to mix all veggies together. Add broth and white wine. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until squash is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 12 – 15 minutes. (Or longer if necessary — you want the squash to be very tender but still holding its shape.)

While the squash is simmering, bring 4 cups water or broth (I used one cup of broth and 3 cups of water) to a boil. Add orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in colander and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Stir butternut squash mixture into pasta. Add parmesan and sage and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Savory Kale

Source: Simply in Season
Serves: 2 – 4 as a side dish

I am currently obsessed with kale. Before last Sunday, November 8, I had never eaten kale in my life. And now? I’ve cooked and eaten it four times in one week. Because it is awesome. It tastes kind of like a cross between spinach and romaine lettuce, but with a piquant bite to it. It’s earthy, green, and dry. Smooth and sharp at once. It’s what they would serve as the pièce de résistance at banquets for rabbit royalty.

Molly Wizenberg piqued my curiosity about this unruly leafy green with a delightful essay she wrote for the October issue of Bon Appetit. She references her own fear of kale and then describes a friend coming to visit, bringing a bunch of kale, and cooking it with olive oil, butter, and squeeze of lemon. I was intrigued.

I found a recipe for kale in my Simply in Season cookbook, and I gave it a shot. And you know what? I now have it memorized, because I’ve made it so much. I mean, it’s not that hard to memorize, as you will see, but still… I have a recipe for kale committed to memory. If I ever lose all of my cookbooks along with access to the internet (in the apocalypse), I will still be able to make this kale side dish. And if I am dedicated enough to this leafy green to want to make it after the apocalypse, you know it’s gotta be good.

Ingredients:
One large bunch of kale
1/2 an onion, very thinly sliced into rings*
1 – 2 T. olive oil
1 T. tomato paste, stirred together with 1 – 2 T. water
Additional water for steaming

*The original recipe calls for a whole onion. I haven’t tried it that way. But if you’re a fan of crispy-sweet fried onions, go ahead and increase the amount.

Wash and dry the kale. Snap off exposed stems. Stack leaves together and roll into a large cylinder, then slice across in 1/4-inch cuts. Pull out any obvious stems. Set sliced kale aside.

Heat olive oil in a large frypan. Saute onions in pan until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Be careful not to burn the slices – it’s a fine line between crispy-and-brown and crispy-and-carcinogenic, I’ve discovered. Spoon onions into a bowl and set aside.

Add kale all at once to frypan. It will crackle like spitfire. Saute kale, turning over leaves with spatula, for 1 minute, or until slightly wilted. Add a few tablespoonfuls of water to pan, reduce heat, and cover. Kale will take 10 – 15 minutes to become tender. Remove kale from pan, drain in colander, and set aside. (It may not need draining if you’ve steamed off all the water. But still, set it aside.)

Add onions back to pan and stir until heated. Stir tomato paste mixture into onions, adding more water if needed. (It shouldn’t be gummy.) Return kale to pan, stir together with onions and tomato paste, and heat through.

Serve. Swoon. Over kale.