Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smarties Cookies




There are some combinations that deserve to be together: chocolate and peanut butter, milk and cookies, Saturday mornings and cartoons; while others should not: chocolate and orange (gag), chocolate and bananas (double gag), Kim Kardashian and marriage. Okay, so perhaps that was a bit mean, but c'mon. 72 days? Really?

Today, I had a real hankering for a good peanut butter cookie. One of my most favorite cookies (and I stress on the word ONE because I have about a dozen) are the Girl Scout Cookies, Do-Si-Dos. Peanut butter goodness. When I moved to Canada, I happily discovered they sold them in the grocery store YEAR ROUND under the name, Pirates. You can only imagine my enthusiasm.

Speaking of Pirates, let's rewind to a few nights ago. Halloween night. My daughter made out like one - and she was literally the cutest pirate at that. After 3 very successful trips out that night, her 'treasure' consisted of 21 bags of chips and 23 pounds of chocolate. Seriously, I'm not too far off the mark. I guess the upside to being adventurous in the kitchen is knowing that I can incorporate much of her loot into some recipes. 

When all was said and done, the winner of the night were the Smarties candies. Smarties candies are not to be confused with the Smarties in the States. Those are what Canadians call. Rockets. Anyway, we counted out 46 mini boxes. 46. That's at least like $10 worth of chocolate right there. Since we will not eat that many Smarties (well, SHE won't, but I just might) we opened a few boxes and threw them into our peanut butter oatmeal cookie batter.

Good call. They were just what the cookies needed. A beautiful marriage of a beautiful combination guaranteed to put a smile on your face the entire time.

No pre-nup required.


PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL SMARTIES COOKIES

1¼ cup CHUNKY peanut butter
¼ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar*
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal - both rolled oats or quick oats work well
3 tablespoons ground flax seed, optional
1 cup Smarties Candies

*For a slightly crispier cookie, substitute 1 cup of brown sugar with ½ cup brown sugar and ½ granulated sugar.

Preheat oven to 350ยบ. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. 

  
Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add oatmeal and flax seeds, if using, and mix.


With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined. 

 
Using wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir in Smarties by hand. 


Using an ice cream scoop, drop onto baking sheets.


If using a small scoop, bake until golden, about 9 to 11 minutes. If using a large scoop, bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Yields: About 3½ dozen with small scoop or 2½ dozen with large scoop. 

Happy Baking! 

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