Baking Recap

Anyone remember my post a few months back about my excitement on purchasing our very first Kitchenaid Mixer- the Professional one at that??!  Well shame on me for not posting the first official recipe that was made while using it.  Of course it had to involve peanut butter- what else?  So here goes:

Photos = Not that hot considering I was a hobo around the house all day, lighting in the kitchen is lame, and please don't judge my apartment style kitchen (it's horrid and my promise to myself and hubs is that when we are owners of a home, we'll design an awesome white, clean looking kitchen).  These renter's laminate countertops have been killing me for years now!

Getting Set up:

Getting the hang of it:

Waaa laaaa:

So I really wish I would have taken a final photo of the sandwich version, as these had a filling made and two cookies were pressed together with yum filling.  They were AMAZING!  Props to my awesome recipe from Cottage Living Magazine which I sadly misplaced the torn out recipe (boo)- but I found it online:

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Prep: 20 minutes; Bake: 12 minutes.

Yield: Makes 12 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.

2. Beat together first 3 ingredients and 1/2 cup granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Stir in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture until fully incorporated.

3. Scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheets, 1 rounded tablespoonful at a time, about 2 inches apart. (Dough should yield about 24 cookies.) Press cookies flat with the back of a fork dipped into remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle cookies with any remaining sugar, if desired, and bake 12 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Remove from oven, and cool 5 minutes on pan; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Spread about 1 tablespoon Creamy Peanut Butter Filling onto flat side of 12 cookies, and top each with another cookie, flat side down, to make a sandwich.

Peanut Butter Filling:
Yield: Makes 1 cup

Ingredients
2 (3-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation
Beat all ingredients until smooth.

Official recipe here

These were awesome and I already want to make them again!  And a little tip:  If you make the sandwiches and put them in the refrigerator, they taste even better the next few days, as the cookies get soft from the filling- SWEET!

Did I mention this is all I've made in my mixer to date?  What is my problem- lame-o, I must get crackin on some more baking.  Anyone have any to-die-for recipes they'd like to share?

Today would be rad if.......

Don't forget to check out the S&S giveaway, details here

Usually in the morning, I sit and wonder how the day could be much more rad if I was going to do ____ instead of going to work.  Usually, the thoughts are pretty realistic like: going out for a lunch date with hubs to get pizza, going to the coast to walk around and get gelato, or staying in comfy clothes all day and doing whatever the heck I felt like.  Well today I have some much more *wishful* hopes, but hey, once in a while it's okay to think this way:

Today would be rad if it started out like this:

Photo via PegandAwl

Then it would be rad to make a breakfast in this awesome kitchen (yes, it's the kitchen inspired from the movie Something's Gotta Give), which hubs and I have decided we will one day create a kitchen just like it when we own a home.

Photo via Google

Then I'd like to walk around all day with this huge bloom on my head because it's just gorgeous!

Photo via Sweetpea and Fawn

Even though I won't do any of these things, I'll still attempt to make it a rad day!

Accomplished

So this weekend was awesome.  I wish it could have lasted longer, because I could have taken every last second of relaxation possibly available.

WE FINALLY DID IT!!!!!  Hubs and I got our very own KitchenAid Professional mixer, and oh heck, we're already in love with it.  Don't ask me quite yet when the first time will be that it's used, as I'm already feeling a bit intimidated by it's awesome-ness.  Hubs made a special spot for it on the counter and it's so pretty to look at.  I promise I'll post a photo of the first official 'something' that gets made in it.  And after a back-and-forth of which color to get, we stuck with neutral and got white.  It was going to be graphite for sure, until I saw Barefoot Contessa's show and her ultra clean kitchen and shiny white mixer- the decision was made.

And the other big event of the weekend.................I completed my very first half-marathon!  My personal goal was to finish all 13.1 miles non-stop all the way through, no stopping to walk, no stopping to strech, no stopping on the hills, just do it.  And I did it.  I also wanted to be within the metal time which was less than 3 hours, as it was something my sister really wanted and she's been my training partner and somewhat of a coach throughout the whole process.  We got our metals.  I can't really explain the accomplished feeling it brought to me.  It's been months of training and keeping to a strict schedule, and it all paid off.  I couldn't be more proud of myself and more honored to see how proud my husband was of me.  Thinking of him waiting at the finish line for me was one of the biggest motivators to finish, and my sister kept reminding me of it as we continued through our miles.  I couldn't ask for a more.  It was a very memorable day.