Peanut Butter Molasses Spice Cookies

There are few things cuter than a fat baby hand holding a cookie.

This little hand keeps sneaking cookies while I'm not looking.

I can't blame him.

These cookies are soft and molasses-y, they have peanut butter, they're a little spicy...

...and they're the perfect afternoon treat to accompany tea or a good book.

Peanut Butter Molasses Spice Cookies

(Eat Shrink and Be Merry)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice and salt

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Set oven to 350*.

Sift together flours, soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt.

Beat together sugar, peanut butter, butter, molasses, egg and vanilla.

Stir wet ingredients into dry with a wooden spoon. Mixture will be very thick.

Place 1 1/2 inch rolled balls onto a lined cookie sheet. Press down lightly with a fork.

Bake 7-8 mins.

Peanut Butter Cracker Jacks

Clara has been asking for Cracker Jacks.

And, since today is Family Day, I thought it would be a great time to try and make some.

I tried to make ours a little healthier than the stuff in the red box.

This recipe makes a ton and takes no time to make.

We used our trusty Whirley Pop popcorn maker but microwave popcorn would work too.

Clara requested peanut, marshmallows and honey in her corn and I think it is a swell combo.

We scooped ourselves a large bowl if it and settled in to listen to The Railway Children on Librivox.org.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cracker Jacks

(adapted from thekitchn.com)

15-20 Cups popped corn (about 1 cup unpopped kernals)

salt

1/2C honey

1/4C brown sugar

1/2C unsweetened natural peanut butter (if youre using a sweetened PB here just dont add any brown sugar)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C micro marshmallows

1 C peanuts

Pop corn.

Pick through and try to remove all un-popped kernals.

Pour popcorn into a huge bowl, salt popped corn to taste, add marshmallows and peanuts.

In a small pot, over med heat, stir together honey and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes to dissolve sugar. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until well combined.

Pour honey mixture over popcorn and stir to combine.

Spread mixture out on a large cookie sheet and bake at 200* for about 10 minutes or so.

Eat warm if you want to....we sure did.

Peanut Butter-Cereal Balls

I could say I make these for the kids...but to be true...I make these for Jim and I. (We let Jibs and Clara have a few.)

Jim made these at home when he was a kid and I was introduced to them on a visit to his family's home years ago.

You have to love peanut butter to love these, we do...and we love these balls!

Cereal, honey, peanut butter, and some chocolate or raisins rolled into a ball.

Peanut Butter Cereal Balls

1 cup honey

3 cups peanut butter (I used crunchy)

1 1/2 cups rice krispies

1/3 cup applesauce

1 cups coconut

1 1/2 cups crushed cereal (I used Cheerios)

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup golden raisins

5-8 tablespoons powdered milk

1-2 cups crushed shredded wheat (or mini-wheat cereal)

Mix all but last two ingredients and mix until well combined.

Add powdered milk. Mix.

Form into smallish balls and roll in crushed wheat cereal. Refrigerate or freeze.

I like mine frozen, Jim likes his refrigerated.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

These are not your usual sugar-butter laden peanut butter cookies. They're reasonably healthy, easy to prepare and will surprise the skeptics.

I was a bit skeptical myself. Sugar-free, spelt cookies don't sound very promising.

If you don't know what spelt is and you have never baked with it before, go to the bulk food store, buy just what you need for these cookies and be pleasantly surprised at how normal it feels to use it.

Spelt actually gives these cookies wonderful flavour. The batter will look a little more gritty than regular flour but will taste perfect when they're baked.

I took these to share with a group of friend last night and everyone agreed, they're good!

...(despite being healthy)

One thing I will mention, Heather from 101cookbooks recommends you buy a well combined peanut butter and not a super oily one. I used PC Crunchy and it worked beautifully.

Heather's Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

(101cookbooks.com)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 cup organic, chunky natural peanut butter

1 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* degrees. Place racks in the top third.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla.

Stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture

and stir until barely combined - still a bit dusty looking.

Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two.

Now drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork.

It's a loose batter, so if you're set on doing criss-crosses,

go ahead and chill the batter for an hour or so before this step.

Bake for 10, maybe 11 minutes - but don't over bake or they will be dry.

Let cool five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Peanut Butter Bread

Well it seems that day has come.

Jibs no longer needs to start his day with a banana.

It is always a striking to me when little routines change. Routines that seem so definitive of a certain time.

Baby Jib loved bananas, toddler Jib does not. (Though I'm sure he will always love Caroline's Banana Gelato!)

We have moved on to bigger, better, and more mature things such as peanut butter.

Peanut butter on apple slices, crackers, toast. Peanut butter in cookies and now in bread.

This bread has tons of rich peanut butter and banana flavour .

The house will smell amazing while it's cooking!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (3-4)

1/3 cup buttermilk

heaping 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseeds(optional)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Whisk together flours, wheat bran, soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl. (I used my kitchenaid.)

Mash banana in a medium bowl. Stir in buttermilk, peanut butter and butter. Add eggs and sugar.

Beat banana mixture into flour mixture, just until combined.

Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean.

**I don't think this bread needs anything else, but Cooking Light suggests making a peanut glaze.

If you want to try it, here is the full recipe.