well...ain't t that a 'sumbitch!

"You should try making some 'Sumbitches..."

I remember agreeing with my husband when we watched the train episode of How I met Your Mother. Since then, I've made a mental note in the back of my brain to try and re-create those little suckers.

Fast forward to now. We've recently been deployed back to the states and living in Georgia means getting ingredients much more easier and much more cheaper. Huzzah! But first things first...I wanted to find a good base for my cookies. In came google search...

I knew that I wanted my base to be a peanut butter cookie. But I also wanted them to be soft and chewy so that it would go along the texture of the caramel. Also, I wanted them to stay soft and chewy for days. Enter this recipe! I loved that it promised all those things that I was looking for AND the fact that I didn't need to flatten them out! These were perfect for just a scoop and drop method that I was looking for!

The next thing to consider was the chocolate and caramel. I rewatched the episode online and, wanting to be close as possible, knew that I didn't want to go the Rolos route. While that may have been easier, I wanted the chocolate and caramel to be evenly distributed and not centralized. So, I opted for tossing in some caramel bits and some semi-sweet chips.

The result?

Oh, my god, the chewiest, nut butteriest, chocolate and caramel cookies in the world! Adapting the recipe, I love that these have two types of nut butters in them: crunchy peanut butter and almond butter. The almond butter is from Costco and was an impulse add-in. Since the only ingredients are roasted almonds, I think it really toned down the sweetness of these cookies (not to mention add to the amazing chew). The caramels were perfectly spread out and every mouthful had that caramelly goodness along with a bite of chocolate. PERFECT!

And guess what? I must have done something right, because I've already made these twice and each time they've disappeared in just a few days. And there's only two of us here, lol. These, by far, are the hubby's newest favorite cookies! Huzzah!

---- o o o o ---- 

'Sumbitches
(adapted from Alaska From Scratch)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup almond butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 cup caramel bits

 
Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and almond butter together until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugars until combined, then incorporate the egg, followed by the milk and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture, chocolate chips, and caramel bits until thoroughly combined.

Using a medium cookie scoop or one rounded tablespoon, place dough on baking sheet allowing room for cookies to spread out while baking.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, being careful not to overbake. The cookies will look slightly underdone in the center. Let stand 5 minutes to set on baking sheet before transferring on a sheet of wax paper to cool completely.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

sharing food.

Now that I don't have instant access to my mom's cooking anymore, I found that I'm eating less Filipino food and more American food. Especially in the things that I cook nowadays for my husband. Being Caucasian, he's got a thing about textures and isn't overly fond of most Asian cuisines outside of Panda Express. In an effort to expose him to more Filipino food besides the usual adobo and pancit (and to help me reconnect to my heritage), I thought that I would make him one of my favorite Filipino dishes: my mother's kare kare.

Kare Kare is a traditional Filipino stew usually made with oxtails and veggies in a savory peanut sauce laced with annato and shrimp paste. It's another of my favorite dishes that my mom makes. In her version, she would use the less expensive beef chuck cuts for stew marbled with a little fat. Also, she adds cabbage to hers and usually blanches the vegetables in the beef broth. I remember that whenever my mom made this, I would eat a couple (sometimes three!) platefuls of it with a heaping dollop of spicy bagoong mixed in the rice. Those were some tasty goodness, right there!

While I might rant and rave about how good this dish is, I wasn't so sure if the hubby would have such a similar response. For one thing, it has eggplants...one vegetable that he's not so keen on. Also, another "weird" ingredient that he might be wary of was the peanut butter. I only had crunchy peanut butter so texture and taste was really something that I was worried about. But I went ahead and made it... hoping for the best. And to cut time, I skipped the blanching of the vegetables in the broth and hoped it would still taste the same...

I really shouldn't of worried. When the hubby walked in, the first thing he commented on was how good the house smelled. Yay! Then, after further investigation in the kitchen, he also remarked on how good the stew looked. Double yay! So when he finnaly took the first few bites, his only complaint was that he wished there were more bok choy (which was funny because I had left out the cabbbage for fear that he wouldn't like it). And you know what the best part of all this was? It tasted just like how mommy makes it! Fuck yeah!

So now, whenever I make this in the future, I won't be plagued by worry or doubt because I know that the hubby will eat it...but most importantly, *like* it as well. Huzzah for sharing cultures!!

P.S., you might notice that the directions don't match the pictures. The instructions below are for my mom's "real" kare kare...with cabbage and banana heart. :)

---- o o o o ---- 

Kare Kare
(Beef Stew with Vegetables in Peanut-Based Sauce)

2.5lbs beef chuck roast, cubed
6 to 8 cups water
1 medium-large banana heart, blossoms separated and heart chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 heaping tbsp annatto powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp shrimp paste (bagoong)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup rice water (first wash)
2 to 3 small eggplants, sliced into chunks
1 bundle Chinese long beans, cut into 3-inch length
1/4 of a cabbage
2 to 3 baby bok choy, halved
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, add beef and enough water to cover the meat by about 1-2 inches. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. Strain the meat out once tender, and keep the stock. Set aside.

Take prepared banana heart and blossoms and place in a large saucepan. Add enough stock to cover blossoms then boil until tender. Strain, discard stock, then set aside.

On medium-low, heat the oil in another large pot and stir in the annato powder. Let the annato infuse the oil for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and onions. Increase heat to medium and let cook for a couple of minutes until onion is slightly translucent. Stir in the shrimp paste (bagoong) then add the beef. Cook for another few minutes, stirring constantly.

After the meat just starts to brown, add the rice water and let simmer for five minutes. Stir in the peanut butter. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some reserved beef stock 1/4 cup at a time as needed.

Add the eggplant and banana heart and simmer for another 3-5 minutes. Then add the beans and cabbage, simmering for another 5-8 minutes. Check the consistency of the sauce and add stock as required. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Lastly, add bok choy, and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes to finish steaming the bok choy. Serve with shrimp paste (bagoong) over hot plain rice.

portable granola.

I love granola. seriously, I do. I like them plain, with nuts, with fruit, on yogurt, in bread...you name it, I like 'em with, it, on it, and made from it. I remember a few years back, I went out on a granola binge and for days on end granola would be the only thing that people would see me eating. I had six or seven boxes at any given time and they would all be gone in a couple of weeks. that's not even including the bars i kept everywhere. yeah..it was bad.

but for all that granola loving that I did, I never once made my own granola or granola bar. which is weird, considering it's relatively easy to make. so I decided to make some bars. I decided on this recipe since the pictures looked so damn good. I love them chewy granolas! I made some substitutions based on what i had on hand and the resulting granola bars weren't as chewy as i'd hoped. but! they were good none the less and came out having a strong peanut-butter taste. next time, i'm gonna follow the recipe and see what they're supposed to taste like. :) here's the original recipe:

Thick and Chewy Granola Breakfast Bars
(from Smells Like Home)

1 2/3 cups oats (quick-cooking or old fashioned)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for a sweetness akin to most purchased bars; use less for a mildly sweet bar; omit altogether if your add-ins are super sweet)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
2 tbsp finely ground flax seed (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, coconut, seeds, etc. (total of 10 to 15 ounces)
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (optional but recommended)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons corn syrup (light or Lyle’s Golden)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper leaving the ends of the paper to hang up and over the two opposite sides of the pan. Lightly grease the paper and the exposed sides of the pan.

2. In a large bowl, stir the oats, sugar (if using), oat flour, flax, salt, cinnamon, and your dry add-ins together. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the peanut butter, vanilla, butter, honey/maple syrup, and corn syrup together until will combined and smooth. Immediately pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula, mix everything together until the oats are well-coated and sort of crumbly.

3. Transfer the granola mixture to the pan, pressing it down firmly and evenly into the pan. Make sure the granola is tucked into the corners and sits tightly up against the sides of the pan – this will help when cutting them. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes then transfer the uncut bars on the parchment paper from the pan to the rack to cool completely. Once they’ve cooled, transfer them to the fridge to set up well before cutting. Cut into 2-inch square pieces.

EDIT: found another good recipe that's somewhat similar to this one but a little less peanut buttery. tried this recipe and it was killer! gotta make more...!

cool cookies.

surprisingly, the two bags of toffee chips i had bought a few months back were still in the pantry waiting to be used. i had a grandeur idea that i was going to go on a baking spree and give out cookies like crazy. needless to say i'm just now getting the baking itch and did a batch of chocolate peanut butter cookies...

...and also two tea flavored shortbreads to go along with. earl gray and matcha green tea.

cookies ready to bake. mmmm....

 

Brickle Drop Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
1-1/3 cups HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in toffee bits. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

 
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
(from Hershey's Kitchens)

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1(10-oz.) package REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; add in peanut butter chips; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

 

baked tea cookies. more buttery than tea...must fix somehow. hmmmm....
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
(from Food Network)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, tea, and salt, until the tea is just spotted throughout the flour. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and butter. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll into a log, about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. Tightly twist each end of wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart (2 probably needed depending on size of sheets). Bake until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.