Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Giant, chewy and soft peanut butter cookies. These peanut butter cookies pair perfectly with a large glass of cold milk.

Peanut butter is one of those things that you either love or hate. Personally, I love it! I may or may not eat it by the spoonful. I remember the first time I made peanut butter cookies using the recipe off the back of the jar. It made SO MANY cookies - or that's what it felt like. Those cookies were amazing right from the oven but once they cooled they were no longer soft and chewy. I wanted  to create a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie that stayed that way once they cooled.  Using a mix of cake flour and all purpose flour the cookie develops a soft and chewy almost like cake like texture. These peanut butter cookies make the perfect snack paired with a large glass of cold milk. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: Approx. 9 Giant Cookies

Adapted from: Sweet Bake Shop

Ingredients:

3/4 c cake flour

1 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter, at room temperature

1/2 c smooth peanut butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

In a medium bowl sift together first four dry ingredients

In the bowl of stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed cream together butter and peanut butter until incorporated

With the mixer on medium beat in sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes

Beat in eggs one at a time, scrapping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.

On low speed, slowly add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture until just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix

For giant cookies, scoop out 1/4c of cookie dough and roll into a ball. Flatten on cookie sheet. Bake max 6 cookies per sheet

Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes or until edges are brown and centre looks set

Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely

Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days

Classic Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

A delicious moist cupcake topped with fluffy buttercream makes this vanilla cupcake an instant classic! 

I will be the first to admit when given the choice I will almost always pick chocolate over vanilla. However, while not it might not be the most decadent of desserts there is definitely something comforting and nostalgic about a classic vanilla cupcake. As a baker, a good vanilla cupcake recipe is a must. This particular recipe uses the classic method of creaming together your butter and sugar to add a light airy-ness to the cake. Additionally, I've used cake flour which also helps to produce a lighter cake. Like with any recipe using high quality ingredients makes a big difference in the final outcome and the overall flavour of your cupcake. The quality of the vanilla extract that you use will determine the overall flavour of the cake. I like to use a pure vanilla extract when making these cupcakes. 

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes                  Bake Time: 15-18 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c cake flour*

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c butter, at room temperature

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c milk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light, fluffy and pale in colour

Beat eggs into butter mixture one at a time, scrapping down sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, mix in half the flour mixture into the butter mixture, until just incorporated

Slowly beat the milk into the mixture. Finally beat in the rest of the flour mixture until just incorporated

Fill cupcake liners until they are about 2/3s full.

Bake cupcakes in the centre of oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean

*If you don't have cake flour handy - it is really simple to make using All Purpose (AP) Flour and cornstarch. For every 1 cup of Cake Flour needed: measure out 1 cup of AP flour minus 2 tablespoons and replace the 2 tablespoons with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Be sure to sift to combine. 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe

The vanilla cupcake is elegantly topped with a swirl of fluffy vanilla buttercream and a medley of sprinkles. I used Wilton's Pink Icing Gel Colours to dye my vanilla buttercream and achieve this soft pink pastel. Start with a small amount of gel colouring and gradually add more until you reach your desired colour - just remember the colours tend to darken a bit over time. Check out this video to learn how I create my signature frosting swirl when frosting cupcakes.

Share your vanilla cupcakes with me in the comments or on Instagram with #ByJaclyn

Gilded Pumpkin & Leaf Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial

Simple, beautiful with a touch of sparkle these gilded pumpkin and leaf sugar cookies will bring sophistication and style to any autumn dessert table or gathering.

The ghost pumpkin trend combines my love of all things neutral and fall!  I have been seeing ghost pumpkin sugar cookies popping up all over my Instagram feed for the past couple of years now and I knew I wanted to to hop onto this bandwagon. I actually first made aversion of these decorated pumpkin sugar cookies last year but I updated them this year using a bronze luster dust instead of the lighter gold that I used last year.  I used my Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Maple Royal Icing recipe instead of a traditional sugar cookie recipe to really up the fall factor. These sugar cookies have a beautiful simplicity about them with just the perfect hint of sparkle. 

When it comes to decorating cookies using royal icing patience and practice are definitely key factors.  The more sugar cookies I make, generally the better they turn out (usually, as long as I am patient). I have learned that keeping it simple also helps! These cookies are relatively simple to decorate making them perfect for beginners!  Be sure to give yourself enough time to decorate these cookies, having patience and allowing the royal icing to dry or set up between steps will help you achieve a better result overall. I made and decorated these cookies over a three day period. I baked, outlined and flooded the cookies on the first day, added the royal icing details on the second and painted the luster dust on the third. 

The Cookies

I like to use one consistency icing when outlining and flooding my cookies. The icing consistency I use is in between a typical flooding and outlining consistency. It will hold its shape when I outline but it is still fluid enough that by lightly shaking the cookie it will settle and dry smoothly. I used a wilton tip 3 to outline the flood the cookies. When flooding the pumpkin cookies start by outlining and flooding the centre part, allowing it to dry for 15-20 minutes before I go back and flood the sides. By flooding the pumpkin cookie in stages you will be able to create the "sections" of the pumpkin achieving a more natural look.  

Once the main part of the cookie was completely dry (4 hours - overnight) I added the stem and vine details, using an ivory coloured royal icing. For the details I used a wilton sized tip 1.  For the pumpkin cookie, I wanted a textured stem. I left some space in between the lines of the stem and went back to fill them in later.  You can watch the video below to get a better idea of what I mean.

Using Luster Dust

Luster dust adds a beautiful colour and shine to your cookies. For these cookies, I mixed my luster dust with a small amount of vodka to achieve a paint consistency.  I usually use a clear alcohol when painting with luster dust but I know others use water, lemon juice or clear vanilla extract - use whatever works best for you or what you have on hand.

You Will Need:

• Pumpkin & Leaf Shaped Sugar Cookies

• White Royal Icing

• Piping Bags

• Couplers

• Wilton Tips 1 & 3

• Wilton Ivory Gel Colour

• Bronze Luster Dust

• Water, Lemon Juice or Clear Alcohol

• Small, food safe paintbrush

Directions:

Share your Gilded Pumpkin & Leaf Sugar Cookies with me in the comments below or on Instagram using #ByJaclyn