Cookies & Compost = Yummy Deliciousness

Huh?

Say what?

Yup...cookies and compost equal some pretty darn yummy creations...especially when that creation is from the uber-renowned NYC restaurant Momofuku.  Ok, so it's not really compost per se, but basically you take whatever you have on hand and throw it into this cookie.

This is actually the cookie that you saw my kids were sharing.  That cookie was out of pure laziness since I ran out of room for the initial shaping & chilling stage of the cookie and dumped it into a bowl.  I then proceeded to dump said bowl onto the cookie sheet & baked it as is.  Yeah, I'm lazy a rebel like that.

For our cookies, I threw in chocolate, peanut butter, & butterscotch chips:

Ok, yes, that's quite normal...so here's where we make it interesting:

See that?  That, my friends, is a melange of pretzels, Oreos, potato chips, & coffee grounds...and yes, it all goes in the cookies.  I know I made my sister throw up a little in her mouth when I mentioned my add-ins.  Whoops.

But, if you're a person who likes sweet & savory creations, give this a try!  Christina Tosi, pastry chef of the Momofuku restaurants and David Chang, chef/owner/culinary bad-a$$ of the Momofuku restaurants serve this cookie in the Momofuku Milk Bar.  His other Momofuku restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar was named of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.  David has been nominated/won several James Beard awards over the years and was one of Times 100 Most Influential People for 2010...plus he's a DC native...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  His cookbook Momofuku was released last fall.

My friend Linda, a fellow foodie and restaurant owner tipped me off to these bad boys.  You can find the recipe here.  Christina Tosi was on "Live with Regis & Kelly" showing how to make them.  On that segment one of the things they used was Goldfish crackers...I'm adventurous, but I'm not sure I could use those.  Anyhoo...if you have a stand mixer, you're in luck...'cause these bad boys need a total of 10 straight minutes of butter/sugar beating!  Also, definitely follow the chilling time.  I actually chilled mine at least overnight and even waited the 36 hours as recommended by Shirley Corriher when making cookies.  Ooh and my last rec would be to use the coffee grounds (which I used fresh coffee grounds and I've seen as used, dry grounds)...they lend a depth to the cookie which is ridiculous!

Again, find the recipe here and ENJOY!

Let's make whoopie...

whoopie PIES, that is.

Sicko.

Dude...joooooooooking.

Anyhoo...I somehow managed to include my fairly brand-new copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book with my library books and didn't catch the goof until a few weeks later.  Of course, a brand new cupcake book will not stick around long and lo & behold...I had to get a new copy.

So, with the order of my 2nd copy I also had to order a buddy for it...Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Since the hubby is nearing the end of his current sea tour (department head tour), I've made it a goal to bake something everyday for his last week.  Except, his last week was supposed to be last week and here we are.  With that being said, I've taken time off here and there.

Last night, however, peanut butter whoopie pies.  I'm not a fan of chocolate but chocolate and peanut butter has always been a favorite flavor combo of mine.  This recipe is no exception.

Of course I read correctly and saw that I needed to drop the cookie batter in 1.5 TABLESPOONS and not the 1.5 TEASPOONS that I did.  Whoops.  So, I *did not* manage to make almost 4 dozen whoopie pies for my husband to take to the submarine...which were gone apparently 10 minutes after he arrived onboard.

With that being said, it's off to plan what will be his final treat of his final day of being the Weapons Officer on the USS TN.

ENJOY!!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

YES! I did it! My first cookie that's not flat! Not only was it not flat, but it was puffy! Shoot...I'll just take anything that wasn't flat. Oops...maybe not my first. Starbucks recipe for its Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie was another success. But, I don't think I even took photos of that one. Hmmmm...have to check on that.

Anyhoo...I stumbled on this cookie recipe on one of the blogs I read when I get the time...My Baking Addiction. Besides having me at the words "oatmeal" and "peanut butter chip"...she also had me at "all butter"...no shortening needed to make this cookie un-flat! SCORE!

I doubled the recipe making enough for my fam to hork it down, share some with the neighbors, and send a gallon-sized bag with the hubby to share with the officers on the sub. Yea-uh!

So...make it, love it, and enjoy!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from My Baking Addiction adapted from allrecipes
makes: about 18 cookies

½ cup butter
½ cup white sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup rolled oats
1 cup mixed peanut butter and chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls (I used a medium cookie scoop) on to lightly greased cookie sheets (I used Silpats).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown.

Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.