Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Do you ever get the urge to skip dinner completely and go straight for the sweets?  I know I do.  I've got a major sweet tooth.  A few weeks back, my wonderful friend, Judson Aikens (Judson Knows Best), decided to host a movie and dessert night and invited Brandon Jenkins and I to bring some tasty treats.  The movie was Celine: Through The Eyes of the World, a documentary of Celine Dion's latest world tour.  It was incredible.


As for the desserts, Brandon and I chose two desserts that were very different, but both over the top.  The first was one of the eye-popping features from Bon Appetit's February issue: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars.  We followed the recipe as written. 


PART 1:  The Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup grape jelly or other jelly or jam
2/3 cup coarsely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving 2-inch overhang around edges and pressing firmly into corners and up sides of pan. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter, sugar, and butter in large bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed until smooth. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Transfer half of dough to prepared pan (about scant 1 1/2 cups). Place remaining dough in freezer for 10 minutes. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom of pan. Spread jelly over in even layer. Remove dough from freezer; using fingertips, break into grape-size pieces and scatter over jelly layer. Sprinkle chopped nuts over.
• Bake bars until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool bars completely in pan on rack.
• Using foil overhang as aid, lift bars from pan. Gently peel foil from edges. Cut into 16 squares. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Here's how ours turned out:

I do have to say that there are two flavor components that could really change he outcome of the bars drastically: the peanut butter and the jelly (pretty important for this dish, ha!).  We used Jif Natural peanut butter, and Smucker's Blackberry Jelly.  It's really important to use ingredients that taste wonderfully by themselves.  I can't really stand the taste of most "regular" peanut butters filled with all of their hydrogenated oils (trans fats!!!).  I do like and appreciate more organic and plain peanut butters made from only peanuts, peanut oil, and salt, however, when it comes to a jar I can't put down, it's Jif Natural.  It still has qualities of the origianl Jif, however, they use palm oil (naturally solid at room temperature), and a bit of sugar is added for sweetness, which I like.  The texture and flavor is right on.  I love it right out of the jar, and it's wonderful in smoothies, in sauces, or on a piece of dry toast. 


The jam we bought tasted great.  It was simple.  We both agreed, though, that next time we're going for a local jar of fruit preserves (containing the full fruit).  Quick side note on jams, jellies, preserves, compotes, etc. [from Wikipedia]:


Jam contains both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit's (or vegetable's) flesh,^[12] although some cookbooks define jam as cooked and gelled fruit (or vegetable) purees.^[13]
A conserve, or whole fruit jam,^[5] is a jam made of fruit stewed in sugar.

Jelly is a clear or translucent fruit spread made from sweetened fruit (or vegetable) juice and set using naturally occurring pectin. Additional pectin may be added where the original fruit does not supply enough, for example with grapes.^[12] Jelly can be made from sweet, savory or hot ingredients. It is made by a process similar to that used for making jam, with the additional step of filtering out the fruit pulp after the initial heating. A muslin or stockinette "jelly bag" is traditionally used as a filter, suspended by string over a bowl to allow the straining to occur gently under gravity. It is important not to attempt to force the straining process, for example by squeezing the mass of fruit in the muslin, or the clarity of the resulting jelly will be compromised.

British-style marmalade is a sweet preserve with a bitter tang made from fruit, sugar, water, and (in some commercial brands) a gelling agent. American-style marmalade is sweet, not bitter. In English-speaking usage, "marmalade" almost always refers to a preserve derived from a citrus fruit, most commonly oranges, although onion marmalade is also used as an accompaniment to savoury dishes.

The recipe includes sliced or chopped fruit peel, which is simmered in fruit juice and water until soft; indeed marmalade is sometimes described as jam with fruit peel (although many companies now also manufacture peel-free marmalade). Such marmalade is most often consumed on toasted bread for breakfast. The favoured citrus fruit for marmalade production in the UK is the "Seville orange," Citrus aurantium var. aurantium, thus called because it was originally imported from Seville in Spain; it is higher in pectin than sweet oranges, and therefore gives a good set. Marmalade can also be made from lemons, limes, grapefruit, strawberries or a combination.

The term preserves is usually interchangeable with jam. Some cookbooks define preserves as cooked and gelled whole fruit (or vegetable), which includes a significant portion of the fruit.^[13]


Compote (French for "mixture") is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are immersed in water and with sugar and spices added to the dish, over gentle heat. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit, or raisins. The compote is then served either warm or chilled arranged in a large fruit bowl or single-serve bowl for individual presentation. The dessert may be topped with whipped cream, cinnamon, or vanilla sugar. Other preparations consist of using dried fruits which have been soaked in water in which alcohol can be added, for example kirsch, rum, orFrontignan.^[1] Dried fruit compote is a common passover food.




PART 2:  The Blueberry and Cream Cookies

Now for the second dessert.  This recipe has been an ALL STAR secret of mine for the past year.  These are the Blueberry and Cream Cookies from Christina Tosi's Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City.  They're the best cookies I've ever had.  


This recipe was featured (also) in Bon Appetit last September, along with a few other creations from Christina Tosi.  She is one of the most creative chefs in the country, and she's in charge of the Bakery under David Chang's Momofuku series of restaurants.  She also happens to be nominated for this year's James Beard Award.  Some of her creations include Crack Pie, Cereal Milk, and Chocolate-Malt Cake.  I HAD to make the cookies.  The recipe looked too good to be true.  The secret ingredient: Milk Crumbs - a streusel- like topping that has dry milk powder and butter in it.


Over the past 6 months, I've tried these cookies with different ingredients (dried cherries, cranberries and pecans, etc.), and they are always amazing, however the Blueberry and Cream version is still the best. 


Shortly after making my first batch, I had the chance to visit Milk Bar in Midtown NYC.  

I certainly tried every cookie they had.  This recipe is almost exactly like the cookies in the bakery.  Now, I only wish they had a recipe for their Corn Cookie!  [You can order most of their baked goods online at the link above.]   

Ingredients

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 large eggs
5 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 cups Milk Crumbs (click for recipe)
1 1/2 cups dried blueberries

Special Equipment

Stand mixer with paddle attachment.

Preparation

• Combine butter, both sugars, and corn syrup in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Add eggs; beat on medium-high speed until mixture is very pale and sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat on low speed just until blended, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add Milk Crumbs; mix on low speed just until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer. Stir in blueberries just until evenly distributed (dough will be very sticky).
• Using 1/4-cup ice cream scoop for each cookie, drop dough onto 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled until baking time.
• Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large (18x12-inch) rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Transfer 6 chilled dough scoops to each sheet, spacing at least 4 inches apart (cookies will spread). Bake cookies, 2 sheets at a time, until golden, reversing sheets halfway through baking, 20 to 22 minutes total. Repeat with remaining chilled dough, cooling and relining sheets between batches. Transfer cookies to racks; cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

The key to crispy edges and soft, chewy centers is refrigerating the cookies over night after scooping them onto sheet pans.  I also might suggest freezing a few cookies (before baking them).  They're great to pull out of the freezer and bake, or simply microwave for about 15 seconds and eat warm, gooey, cookie dough!  YUM!