Peanut Sugar Snaps

It's 3 PM and hunger strikes. Do you know where your snacks are?

Look no further than your peanut snack jar! Remember all of our good times with the National Peanut Council? Well, today we're adding another tasty treat to the canon.

Peanut Sugar Snaps
Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well-beaten 
2/3 cup chopped salted or roasted peanuts
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(little loaf dog optional--do you see her?)

1) Cream shortening and peanut butter. Add sugar gradually. Beat in eggs.

2) Add peanuts and extract.
But first, you'll want to chop your peanuts. I used a food processor for this part, while my stand mixer kept the mixing going. You know, with all the mentions they get, KitchenAid should really be sponsoring this blog. Someone get KitchenAid corporate headquarters on the phone. K thanks.

 3) Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into first mixture.

4) Shape in 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. 

Ooh, look, an action shot! Honestly, I have no idea whether these are 1-inch balls or what. Does anyone ever take linear measurements when they're baking? Maybe I should keep a ruler handy.

5) Press flat with bottom of small water glass covered with a piece of damp cheese cloth.

I didn't have any cheese cloth handy, so I just took my chances with the glass. It turned out okay and the cookies didn't stick to the glass.

6) Bake in a moderately hot oven at 375 degrees F. for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Here's a thought--I could probably better approximate the size of the cookies by seeing how many cookies my mixture is yielding. I think I ended up with about 3.5 dozen cookies, so probably could have made each ball a little smaller. Guess we didn't need a ruler to tell us that. Oh snap. (See what I did there?)

In hindsight, I also probably could have smooshed each snap a little more with the glass to get them a little...snappier. They turned out chewier than your typical sugar snap, but still tasted great. No one complained in my house.

So there you have it! A snappy solution to satisfy your 3:00 snack needs!

Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwich

It's been about two weeks since I opened my Peanut Butter Sandwich poll. If you recall, the agreement was that Taylor would eat whatever sandwich received the highest number of votes. I bet you've been dying to know the winner.

Well, wait no longer. The winning PB combo is.......

Peanut butter and bacon!

In a close second was peanut butter and cream cheese, followed by peanut butter and jelly, and a rogue fourth place vote for peanut butter and nutella. Still, bacon came out on top, so let's get to it!

Peanut butter and bacon sandwich
Blend 1/2 cup peanut butter with 1/4 cup cooked minced bacon. Makes 3 full-sized sandwiches.

Sounds simple enough! Clearly the biggest task in this exercise would be cooking and mincing the bacon. I've made bacon a handful of times, and it's pretty easy. I put a few slices in the pan, turned up the heat to medium-high, and let the bacon do its thing.

Once the bacon was extra crispy, I patted it dry with a paper towel and chopped it up into tiny little pieces.

Then I folded the minced bacon into the peanut butter, and spread the mixture onto a couple of slices of toast.

And there you have it! A peanut butter and bacon sandwich. I poured a glass of milk and set out my test kitchen creation for Taylor. Sheila was on standby.

Like a good sport, Taylor took a big bite...

 ...carefully considered it....

 

...took a swig of milk...

...and asked me, "why are we doing this again?"

I reminded him that peanuts are good for him and that he should find more creative ways to eat them, specifically citing this blurb from Powerlifting Peanut in the National Peanut Council cookbook:

Look what he gets in a handful of peanuts:
More protein than a serving of beefsteak
More iron that a serving of spinach
More B Complex vitamins than a serving of oatmeal
More niacin than 5 slices of enriched bread
More calories than a big dish of ice cream.

That last one isn't so much a selling point for me, but otherwise, wow, go peanuts! That's impressive!

After a few more bites, I asked Taylor what he thought of the sandwich. His review: "It's dry, crunchy, and I can't really taste the bacon." I took a taste and would probably add "super salty" to that description, but overall, not bad. I think we were both surprised that the recipe called for the bacon to be minced. Taylor pointed out we could have achieved a similar taste and texture (without the cholesterol) if we'd just swapped the bacon for some rice krispies. But where's the fun in that? Bacon.4.Life.

It's Peanut Butter Sandwich Time!

I hope you all enjoyed sharing a snack with Professor Peanut and the gang this week. There's plenty more where that came from! Check out this spread from the Snack Jar Plan:

Presenting: the six most popular peanut butter sandwich ideas!

What I love about this page is the implication that there are other peanut butter sandwich ideas, but these are the six MOST popular ones. What a curated collection, National Peanut Council! Who would have thought to add chili sauce, tomato, or watercress to a peanut butter sandwich. Genius.

I can't decide which sandwich to make, so I thought maybe you could help. Let's do a poll. The winner by a popular vote will be fed to Taylor. And he has to eat it. And like it.

In the comments, please write which of these "popular" peanut butter sandwiches should Kaitlyn make for Taylor to eat?

1) Peanut butter and chili sauce
2) Peanut butter and jelly
3) Peanut butter and watercress
4) Peanut butter and bacon
5) Peanut butter and tomato
6) Peanut butter and cream cheese

Cast your ballot! The poll will close Wednesday morning, August 26th, so vote early and vote often!

The votes are in! Click here to see which peanut butter combination won the poll.

Peanut Macaroons

With many kids returning to school this week, many of you parents are probably thinking, "What's the plan for after school snacks?" Well, no need to worry. I give you:

The Snack Jar Plan! This booklet was published in 1946 by the National Peanut Council, Inc., and yes, that is a small faction of peanuts pulling a young child through the woods on a cart full of peanut cookies. Snack time--and after-school childcare--solved. You're welcome.

As you'd expect from the National Peanut Council, this booklet is full of propaganda to get people to eat more peanuts.

Each page contains a peanut-based recipe, photo, or factoid. For example, did you know:

The rapidly growing child may need more food than he can get at three meals. It is best to make regular provision for a small extra meal such as an after-school lunch. --U.S. Children's Bureau

That's a fact, people. Professor Peanut affirms your kid needs second lunch.

So why not make some peanut macaroons?

Let's gather the ingredients:
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup finely chopped salted or roasted peanuts (I used my food processor here) 
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups of ready-to-serve flake cereal (You mean corn flakes? Okay, got it.)

1) Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually.
2) Beat in egg, and add peanuts, almond extract, and cereal. Mix thoroughly.
3) Press mixture into rounded bowl of tablespoon. Drop on greased baking sheet 2 inches apart.

I learned the importance of really packing the mixture into the spoon, because these cookies have a tendency to crumble apart before they're baked. I used an ice cream scoop for this step, and a friend decided to drop by to help. That's Sheila! She's our part-Corgi, part-Australian Cattle Dog. I'm surprised she hasn't made an appearance on this blog before now because I'm super obsessed with her.

4) Bake in moderate oven of 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes, or until well browned. Makes about 3 dozen.

Because I used an ice cream scoop and not a tablespoon as suggested, this recipe yielded only 2 1/2 dozen macaroons for me. And they are delicious! The chopped peanuts and corn flakes give the macaroons a great crunch, and the flavor is just right--much lighter than a regular peanut butter cookie.

By the way, are you wondering what is the difference between a macaron and a macaroon? Read this.

So there you have it! A pretty delicious after-school/after-work/after-breakfast/after-midnight snack for you, courtesy of your friends at the National Peanut Council. Bon appetit!