Cookies, Cookies, Cookies...

One of my most favorite pastimes is baking cookies! I love the endless array of possibilities, the joy in creating something new and delicious, and the fact that very few folks will turn down the opportunity to sample a delectable little cookie. After all, it's just a cookie. It's not a real commitment, not like a piece of cake or pie. So even someone watching what they eat or not big into desserts may find themselves willing to sample a cookie.

Here at the B&B I am always faced with the possibility that an incoming guest may have a nut allergy so I tend to shy away from them in much of my baking. But, my husband Richard is a HUGE fan of peanut butter. So, on occasion you may indeed find one of our tea time choices to be my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. (clearly labeled for the anti nut crowd)

This is a great little cookie. They stay nice and soft for several days making it a good choice for the cookie jar. If you are like me and want to bake up a nice hot fresh batch today and then maybe again tomorrow keep any unused dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The dough should be chilled before baking anyway, so your dough can go right from the frig to the oven and presto a fresh tray of yummies without any mess!

A couple of notes before I give you the recipe:

I swear by Nordic Ware baking products and my Bakers Half Sheet and Bakers Quarter Sheet pans are in constant use. You can probably find Nordic Ware in any good kitchen store but here is there web-site:

http://www.nordicware.com

Also, I highly recommend a silicone sheet for your cookie tray. There is nothing I have found that is easier, cleaner and more reliably non-stick for cookies. Inexpensive and reusable they will save you money and are more eco-friendly than using parchment paper.

I like to make these cookies little, you know...kind of a pop in your mouth treat, so I generally roll them into approximately one inch balls. If you make larger cookies you will need to adjust cooking time. However, do not over bake these cookies. They are a soft cookie and will even look slightly under done when removed from the oven. But don't worry...a few minutes cooling on the tray before you move them to a rack and they will set up perfectly. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 a stick of BUTTER melted
1/2 a cup of PEANUT BUTTER (smooth or chunky)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons FLOUR
1/2 a teaspoon SALT
1/2 a teaspoon BAKING SODA
1 cup + 2 tablespoons BROWN SUGAR
1 EGG beaten
1 tablespoon of MILK
1 teaspoon of VANILLA
1 to 2 cups of CHOCOLATE CHIPS (depending on your preference)

In a medium bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Whisk to incorporate well.

In a large bowl combine melted butter and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add brown sugar and whisk or beat until well combined. Mix in vanilla and milk. Add beaten egg and mix well.

Add dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir by hand until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

With a small spoon scoop out small amounts of dough and roll by hand into a small ball. Place on lined cookie sheet and flatten only slightly. Continue until you have 12 cookies on a full size cookie sheet or bakers half sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove tray from oven and allow cookies to cool for 2 -3 minutes before moving them to a baking rack to continue cooling. Store in an airtight container.

Food Glorious Food

Thanksgiving is almost here and I have been preparing menus, recipes and shopping lists for ages! For foodies Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. A time to plan, prepare, cook and eat. It is heavenly.

The dessert buffet we offer our guests is probably the most fun for me. I mean really...how often to you get to make an unlimited menu of desserts? Usually one, maybe for a special occasion two, but not many other times do you get the joy of making as many dessert choices as you could want.

This Thanksgiving our guests will be indulging in their choice of any or all of the following:

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Caramel Apple Pie
Iced Lemon Cookies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake
Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

With gourmet flavored coffees & teas plus a little hot mulled cider we will be blissfully happy come Thursday evening!

I can't personally decide what the most enjoyable part will be, making these decadent creations, watching others enjoy my work...or eating them!

To all of you who love food as much as we do, knock yourself out this Thanksgiving. We hope that your kitchen will be full and busy, your hearts will be full and happy, and your tummies will just be full.

Happy Thanksgiving

Halloween Pumpkins

It was pumpkin carving time at the Spencer House last Saturday. Our friends joined us for some good old fashioned messy fun. (Mine is supposed to be my Chihuahua Lilliput)

Apples & Pumpkins & Leaves...Oh My!

Oh what a beautiful time of year in the North East! As September slowly fades into October and the leaves begin to change, the air is crisp and clear and every road side stand has an abundance of pumpkins and apples...I get excited about the change in my cooking and baking menu. Now don't get me wrong, I love the fresh berries and local fruits and veggies that dominate my summer menu but a change is always fun. And...fall weather has brought such a change!

My head is full of ideas for warm spiced creations of pumpkin and apple, local maple syrup and mulled cider by the fireside! I've pulled out my recipe box, favorite cook books and back issues of Everyday Food compiling ideas and notes and ingredient lists. I've been browsing the spice isles at the market, the road side stands and the local orchards. Next step...

Meeting New Friends

One of the things I love most about my job running a B&B is that I am constantly meeting new people. Each week as new folks walk through my door they bring with them new ideas, new stories, and very often times they become new friends.

Such was the case this past week.

Since it was the weekend after the Labor Day holiday anyone with children was wrapped up in the act of sending their little ones back to school, college students were already on their way to being settled into new dorm rooms and teachers were busy back in their classrooms once again. That meant it was relatively quiet here in the Berkshires for the first time in months. But, quiet often can mean more time to spend with individual guests. And that is exactly what happened with Sherrie and Michael.

When they arrived and happened to be the only ones in the house for the night it was great to be able to tell them they had the whole house to themselves. Sadly, they were only here for one night as we were a stop over in a longer travel plan but even so I told them to make the most of their stay. And I really hope that they felt that they did.

Hummingbird Voices

I started to realize just the other day that with the evenings getting cooler and autumn getting closer my hummingbirds may soon be leaving me. I asked my mother if she knew when they started to head for their winter homes and she thought that it was about mid September.

Hmm, that is just a few weeks away and I will be sad to see them leave.

This year I hung our humming bird feeder right off my screened in back porch behind a large Rhododendron shrub and just outside the window over my kitchen sink. Apparently it was a good choice. Not that we've had oodles of hummingbirds mind you, but the ones we have had are full of personality. The shrub has given them a place to perch between drinks and apparently, for one precocious male, it provides a look-out to keep everyone else away from his favorite feeding spot.

Though there seemed for the longest time to be just one pair of hummers frequenting our feeder I have discovered over time a smaller less prominently colored male and began to recognize the difference between two unremarkable colored females. But, at no time did any of my pretty little friends share space at the feeder. Now I've seen photos in "Birds & Blooms" magazine of feeders just loaded with thirsty hummers. But not at mine, apparently my little buddies do not like to share.

Which leads me to my original thought when I sat down to write today...hummingbird voices.