Bready or Not Guest Sherrida Pope with Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
I’m happy to welcome author Sherrida Pope (who I know better as Nancy Fulda) to Bready or Not today! She has two darling new children’s books out, one for Halloween and one for Thanksgiving. Owls and cats, you can’t go wrong with that. Other things that can’t go wrong: anything combined with Nutella. Sherrida has a recipe for Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies that look absolutely delicious!
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
I still remember the first time I tasted Nutella. It was during December in the 1980’s, surrounded by holiday trappings and a box of intriguing food items my sister had brought back from Germany. What was this strange substance, this… spreadable chocolate?
It was love at first bite. But you couldn’t find Nutella in California stores back then, or at least, we couldn’t, and so my newfound affinity had to wait on the back shelf until my own trip to Germany nearly a decade later. Happily, globalization has since rectified many of the gaps on my store shelves, and I’m pleased to report that I can now find Nutella in nearly every major supermarket in my area.
I hope you can, too, because the only thing better than Nutella is Nutella combined with something superbly delectable. Think about it: Nutella is yummy. Peanut butter is yummy. Both together is… well, around my house it’s a recipe for an empty plate and a lot of cookie crumbs.
Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
½ cup margarine or butter
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
Beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of the flour, sugar, egg, and baking powder. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add remaining flour.
Form dough into 1-inch balls. (If dough is too sticky to shape easily, then add extra flour or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.) If desired, use a spoon to create a small depression in the center of each cookie.
Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes. Spread Nutella across the top of warm cookies.
Sherrida Pope, who also publishes as Nancy Fulda, lives and writes in the scenic area near Utah Lake. She has three children, a pet hedgehog, and a transient appreciation for classical music. Find her engaging chapter books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
Read MoreBready or Not: Cocoa Cookies
In the mood for chocolate? Here you go. These cookies are like mini brownies packed with cocoa and chocolate chips!
I used Nestle Tollhouse chips in Halloween colors to really set off the lovely dark dough. It helps to show how much chocolate is loaded in these babies, too.
There is nothing healthy about these. Nothing. You have butter, sugar, cocoa, and loads of chocolate chips. It’s the first week of October and I have already sabotaged all your healthy eating plans for the season.
Sorry/not sorry.
This is modified from Chocolate Drop Cookies at King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional; for depth of flavor
- 2 cups chocolate chips 1 bag
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment.
- Beat together the butter, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla extract until well blended. Scrape sides of bowl.
- Add the egg and milk, beating until smooth, then the flour and espresso powder (if using). Add the chocolate chips last.
- Use a teaspoon scoop to set dollops of dough on the cookie sheet. Don't set them too close together.
- Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until they've lost their sheen. Cool on pan for a few minutes and then move to rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
Read More
Bready or Not: Chocolate-Coffee Truffles
Start the day off right with breakfast truffles packed with coffee and cocoa!
Sure, they might not be the most photogenic of items, but they are delicious and they pack a caffeine wallop. These are also gluten-free with no added sugar.
The dates act as the source of sweetness and as the binding agent. Almonds are loaded with all kinds of healthy goodness. Everything about these screams “HEALTHY!”
Trust me. They might not look pretty, but they’re tasty.
Modified from Relish Magazine.
Bready or Not: Chocolate-Coffee Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped Medjool dates about 15 dates
- 1/2 cup almonds raw or roasted
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons ground coffee
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds or wheat germ or flax seeds
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender. It might need to be blended in batches.
- Pulse until the almonds are in very small pieces. If the mixture isn't cohesive, add a teaspoon of water and blend again. Add more water if needed. The mash should hold together when pressed but not be wet.
- Use a spoon or scoop to form the mix into truffles. Makes about 9 tablespoon-sized.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cookies and Cream Chocolate Pie
Here’s a no-bake, super-easy pudding pie that perfect for summer.
You can go hardcore with this and make your Oreo crust from scratch. Me? I’ve done that before, but honestly, I prefer the store version for both taste and ease of use.
The chocolate flavor here is great because it’s neither weak nor strong. If you want to amp it up, heck, that’s easy to do with more chocolate topping. When I made this for my folks, my brother thought it was even better with dulce de leche added to individual slices. It made it taste kinda like a Twix with that caramel-chocolate thing going.
I used mini Oreos for everything in this recipe. They chop up easily to throw in and I can often get them on sale for about a buck. Plus, my son loves eating the leftovers!
This is the perfect pie for a potluck or to stash in the fridge to slice up and cool off on a hot summer day.
Modified from Inside Bru Crew Life.
Bready or Not: Cookies and Cream Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Oreo pie shell store bought or homemade
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened; half a box
- 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3 cups Cool Whip divided
- 2/3 cup Oreo cookie chunks
- 3.9 ounce instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
- 1 cup chocolate milk
- 10 - 15 mini Oreo cookies
- hot fudge squirt bottle or dulce de leche topping, optional
Instructions
- Set out the Oreo crumb pie shell so it is ready to be filled.
- Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together and fold in about 1/2 cup of Cool Whip. Stir in the Oreo chunks. Spread everything in the bottom of the crust.
- Using the same bowl or a new one, whisk together the pudding mix and chocolate milk. Fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip. Spread this as your second layer.
- Top off the pie with the remaining Cool Whip. Add mini Oreos around the edge or even crumble some for the top, if you wish. If you have squirt bottles of chocolate or dulce de leche, add some swirls or cross-hatching to the top.
- Chill pie at least two hours before serving. Keep refrigerated thereafter.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Let’s follow up CAKE MONTH with a healthier breakfast treat: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins!
These dense muffins actually taste just like chocolate chip oatmeal, though in a much more convenient form. They’re handy to take on the go, they keep well for days in a sealed container, and they can be frozen for months and taken out when desired.
If you want to make these even healthier, you can mix in some whole wheat flour, or omit some chocolate chips and add nuts or dried fruit instead.
After all, you need to eat a healthy breakfast to offset all that cake in June.
Modified from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashionedrolled oats
- 1 cup milk or almond milk, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or do half whole wheat
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds or wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- turbinado sugar for tops, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan with liners and apply nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 cup of oats with 1/2 cup milk. Let the oats soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a big bowl, blend the egg, brown sugar, applesauce, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly mix in the flour, soaked oats, flax seeds, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the last 1/2 cup milk. Fold in chocolate chips; take care not to over mix.
- Fill the muffin cups with batter. Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top, if desired. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Best served warm.
- Store them in a sealed container. Heat in microwave (maybe add a pat of butter, to make them slightly less healthy) to warm.
- Muffins can be frozen; remove the liners first, and store in a sealed container or bag.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Custard/Pudding Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies
Happy Canada Day! Celebrate with some luscious chocolate chip cookies that have custard powder or pudding powder right in the dough.
See, I have a container of Bird’s Custard Powder sitting in my pantry that I want to use up. This stuff is great for Nanaimo Bars (a very appropriate recipe for Canada Day) but I wanted to use it for something less labor intensive.
Custard powder isn’t common in the States. It’s very much a Canadian/British thing. When I read up on Nanaimo Bar recipes ages ago, a lot of them said that regular Jell-O pudding powder could be used as a substitution for the custard layer. I got to thinking… I have made a number of cookie recipes that use pudding mix powder. Why not try it with custard powder instead?
I did. They turned out AMAZING. These pictures you see here were done without chilling the dough, which is what I usually do to create thicker cookies. It’s not necessary here, though the dough can still be chilled or frozen for later, if needed.
So, what does custard powder or pudding powder do?
– embodies cookies with a richer vanilla flavor
– makes thicker, more cakey result (like corn starch in the dough, but with the flavor oomph)
– seems to keep them fresh longer, too
Whatever your nationality, whatever your powder of choice, give these a try. Live deliciously.
Bready or Not: Custard/Pudding Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 Tablespoons custard powder or instant vanilla pudding powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 11 ounces chocolate chips or peanut butter chips or a mix, one bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract.
- In another bowl, stir together the flour, custard powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly blend the dry ingredients with the butter mix. Add the chocolate chips.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to place dough onto a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
- OM NOM NOM!
