I Have Cookies!

December 13, 2018 | Chatting, Veering Wildly | 6 comments

Okay, actually, I just have a recipe for cookies. But still. COOKIES!

But it's not just me, it's over 30 other historical romance authors! Yep.

More on that in a sec…

Since we're all about history here…can you imagine a time before there WERE cookies? Does that sentence even make sense??

I say not.

As far as what we can document, the earliest “cookie” type cakes date back to 7th century, in Persia (modern day Iran.)

So the next question, obviously, is: My LORD, what did the poor 6th century humans do???

Tbh, I'm pretty sure they had cookies. Sweetening & some kind of shortening was the thing.

Since honey is as old as written history (think 2100 B.C.) & sugar cane was discovered about 500 B.C., you can breathe a sigh of relief.

As for butter…the ancients had cookie-lovers covered. From Hindus offering ghee–clarified butter–to Lord Krishna, to pagan Romans using it medicinally (swallowed for coughs or spread on aching joints) to biblical butter (a food for celebration), butter was basic. As it should be.

You may begin to be a bit worried about the other main ingredients in the recipe I'm sharing today–peanuts & chocolate.

Never fear.

Peanuts originated in South America, and for as long as there's been pottery (35oo years) there's been peanut-shaped pottery & images of peanuts on said pottery. There's even some evidence the ancient Incas made peanut butter. Sadly, the medieval English kitchen wouldn't have had peanuts. So sad.

As for chocolate…that has a 4000 year history. The Aztecs believed cacao seeds were a gift from the god of wisdom, and the seeds were used as a form of money. I think they were onto something!

Today, luckily, all these cultures & timelines have converged to give us sugar, peanut butter, and…chocolate kisses!

↓↓ And this is my favorite thing to do with them! ↓ ↓

Onto the recipe.

Bonus: I also suggest some VARIATIONS. Quick, read on.

But remember what I said above?

YOU CAN GET MORE COOKIE RECIPES!

From historical romance authors!

Plus a chance to win a grand book-ish prize!!

Because this is a romance cookie hop.

For all the nuttiness & obligatory emotional masochism of the holidays, you have to admit, there are some silver linings.

Such as romance cookie hops.

Details on the hop & how to find the links are at the bottom of the post.

Now onto the recipe. I also made it downloadable in pdf if you wish. Download. Bake. Eat. (the cookies, not the download)

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOM COOKIES

PREP:

Take out ½ cup butter and warm to room temp
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Unwrap your Kisses. A great job for little hands

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ cups flour*
¾ tsp baking soda
½ cup unsalted butter, room temp
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar*
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
All the Chocolate Kisses In The World. Or about 36.*

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 if you haven’t yet
Whisk flour, baking soda, & salt in bowl
In another large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed about 30 seconds (less if you have an amazing mixer, mechanical or humanoid, such as a medium-sized child or full-sized spouse.)
Add peanut butter and both sugars to mixing bowl. Beat about fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg & vanilla to bowl. Beat to combine.
In your hand, roll dough into 1 inch/tablespoon size balls*
Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet
Bake 8-10 min, until edges just beginning to brown. Don't overbake. Remove when they feel ever so slightly underdone.
Immediately press a Kiss into the center of each one. Be gentle. The warmth from the cookies will start melting the kisses almost immediately, so it's a fragrant, slightly gooey mess.
EAT THEM ALL RIGHT NOW.

Just kidding. It's the holidays, people. Save one cookie for each absent family member and if Santa visits your house, one for Santa. You can eat the rest.

I promised variations, so here you go.

Variations:

· *Use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour instead of white. I know, right? But try it.

· *Use coconut sugar instead of white sugar. It has a more…caramel-y flavor, & you might like it here.

· Mix up your Kisses! (Awww…) Use dark chocolate, the swirly white-and-milk kind, caramel filled, or any other variation!

· *Experiment to see the size cookies you want. Smaller means more Kiss on each cookie, larger means…more cookie. See what you like best. Just make sure all the ones on any particular cookie sheet are the same size.

To Freeze

You can freeze the raw dough.

· Mix all ingredients & roll into balls as above.

· Optional: Coat in granulated sugar.

· Place balls on a tray and freeze for about 2 hours or until outside is no longer tacky.

· Transfer to freezer bag or a container with a sealable lid.

· Store for up to six months.

DOWNLOADABLE RECIPE

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Check out all the other recipes!

HISTORICAL ROMANCE COOKIE HOP

The holidays are swirling around us: ribbons, gifts, parties, cards, sweet treats! We know you're busy, so we want to help by sharing our favorite holiday cookie recipes with you. 32 historical romance authors gifting you with 28 delicious holiday cookie recipes!

And to make it even more special, one lucky hopper will win a $150 gift card AND 32 historical romances! Woot! A whole winter of Highlanders, Dukes, Knights, Pirates, and more!

Follow these four easy steps:
* Hop to each link, listed below, which will take you to a historical author’s FB page, web site, or blog. While you’re there please like, follow, or sign up for a newsletter if you would like to stay up to date on our new releases and author happenings.
* Discover a new cookie recipe on each site.
* Collect the name of the cookies from each listed author, and e-mail the total list to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com when it is complete. The list must be turned in by midnight on December 15th. Please put Cookie Exchange List in the subject.
* One grand prize winner, of a $150 gift card and 32 digital romance books, will be selected randomly from those who collected and turned in the name of all the cookies. The winner must respond within 24 hours to claim prize and we will announce the winner hopefully by December 16th.

Easy, delicious, and fun! Thanks so much for hopping along!

Readers start your ovens. 3 … 2 … 1 … Let the cookie collecting begin! And have a fantastic holiday season!

If you're following along, the next author in the hop is https://www.facebook.com/TaraKingstonAuthor/

If you're being rebellious and skipping around (clever lass), here are ALL THE LINKS

You can also find ALL THE COOKIE LINKS HERE.

And also ON FACEBOOK HERE.

Tags: a whole lotta nothing, booklove, cookies

6 Comments

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Lori

4 years ago

They look delicious!

Author

KrisK

4 years ago

Reply to Lori

They are, Lori! I hope you love them. :)

Carole Burant

4 years ago

Omigosh, I make these all the time and we just love them! The hardest part is unwrapping the kisses! lol I can’t even imagine a time where no cookies were available, I mean that just isn’t right at all!! lol Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us, Kris. Merry Christmas to you and yours xox

Author

KrisK

4 years ago

Reply to Carole Burant

Aren’t they they best, Carole??? LOL I know what you mean about unwrapping the Kisses. We use kids as forced labor. ;) I hope you love all the other recipes… and books! Enjoy your kisses this Christmastime, Carole! :)

Cyndi Bennett

4 years ago

Sweet tooth prevails in all ages and eras!!
Thanks for the recipe!
Merry Christmas!

Author

KrisK

4 years ago

Reply to Cyndi Bennett

Ha, right?? :) You’re most welcome, Cyndi. Merry Christmas!