Doeden: Black Friday kicks off holiday baking season
Pretty plates and small shallow bowls from second-hand stores are inexpensive. Load them up by baking homemade Christmas goodies. Your gift recipients will think of you each time they use the dish.
Throughout the year, I save recipes that sound like they might be a good addition to the holiday cookie gifts. And each year I prepare one new recipe.
Sometimes it makes it to the holiday notebook. Sometimes it gets tossed out.
Peanut Butter Thumbprints is a recipe that comes from “Food in the Fast Lane,” an old Beta Sigma Phi cookbook that I’ve had on my shelf for years. I’ve gotten several good recipes from it. In the book, the cookies, made with oats and peanut butter chips, are filled with jelly. I prefer chocolate.
A mixture of semisweet and milk chocolate is a perfect blend to satisfy dark chocolate aficionados, yet has just the right amount of sweetness to make those who prefer milk chocolate happy. I’ve piped the chocolate mixture into my traditional thumbprint cookies for the last couple of years. It marries perfectly with peanut butter.
This cookie makes the cut and will be added to my holiday notebook of family-favorite recipes.
Happy baking season.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Thumbprints
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
1¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups quick-cooking oats
1½ cups peanut butter chips
Chocolate Filling:
½ cup milk chocolate morsels
¼ cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon solid shortening
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in oats and peanut butter chips. Cover and chill for several hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shape chilled cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press thumb gently into center of each cookie. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly on baking sheet. Lightly press indentations again. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Fill centers with Chocolate Filling. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
To make Chocolate Filling, combine chocolate morsels and shortening in a small heavy saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup, half-and-half and vanilla extract. Makes ¾ cup. Make 2 batches to fill 6 dozen Peanut Butter and Chocolate Thumbprints.
Tips from the cook
- I’ve discovered the end of my Swedish wooden butter knife is just the right size to make uniform “thumbprints” in my cookies. Maybe you have something in your kitchen that will make “thumbprints.”
- I wouldn’t bake cookies without first lining my baking sheets with parchment paper. No sticking and no scrubbing.
Sue Doeden is a food writer and photographer from Bemidji, Minn., and a former Fargo resident. Her columns are published in 10 Forum Communications newspapers.
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