Desk Inspiration

I am absolutely crazy about this desk makeover from Liz at say YES! to hoboken. I love the clean white top with the wood--reminds me of John and Sherry's mid-century dresser makeover. As I mentioned back in November, I have been planing to refinish my mid-century hand-me-down desk for a while. I've been busy and time has gotten away from me. Now that the hubby and I will likely be moving sometime in the next few months, I figure it'll be best to wait until we're settled into a new place before I tackle refinishing my desk. I was originally planning to paint the entire desk white, but seeing these two-tone pieces lately has been pondering a different look. I'm sure I'll wait and see how I want to decorate my new studio space before I settle on a new look for my desk, but I definitely think I'll end up utilizing this two-tone look in one of our furniture pieces.

Another thing about Liz's desk that I love? The IKEA jars next to that big spool of red and white baker's twine. I actually have almost the exact same setup on my desk. Three IKEA jars (one of the four in my set was broken and I didn't notice until I got home with my loot) holding vintage buttons, and a huge spool of baker's twine. Though I'm afraid mine aren't as artfully displayed.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friends had a little cookout/game night last night to say goodbye to a friend who's moving. Our friend has an unyielding love for all things peanut butter, so of course I thought to make a sweet peanut buttery treat for the occasion. I was so busy yesterday that I knew whatever I made had to be quick. I immediately remembered some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies I had come across before on the Martha Stewart website. Glancing back over the recipe and reading numerous comments about the cookies being dry and bland, I decided to look for another recipe. My search took me to my beloved All Recipes where I found this recipe. After reading the great reviews, I decided to use a slightly modified version of the recipe. And I'm certainly glad I did, because these cookies were great!

After making some seriously sinful Levain Bakery inspired cookies recently which used cold, cubed butter rather than the usual room temperature, I decided that cold butter is now my secret weapon when I don't want my cookies to spread while baking. Using cold butter and a cookie scoop gave me the most darling, perfectly rounded cookies, a look that I adored about the original Martha Stewart cookie inspiration.

The combination of the peanut butter cookie and the melted chocolate morsels make these cookies irresistible. And the texture on these cookies are magical! With an almost fluffy interior, the crumb is along the lines of what you'd find in a cake.

These cookies are divine, and if you're looking for a peanut butter and chocolate fix, look no further. This is one mighty fine cookie.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from All Recipes
makes about 40 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cold, cubed butter and brown sugar until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, vanilla and eggs.

Sift in flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until almost combined. Add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing until everything is incorporated. Be careful not to over mix.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop), shape and place cookies onto a parchment lined sheet pan about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until cookies are set and bottoms are golden. Be careful not to over bake the cookies, the tops will only be lightly golden when they are done.

Let cool on sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Meringue Kisses

I made chocolate and vanilla meringue kisses last night. I separated some egg whites earlier in the afternoon, intending to start aging them to bake some French macarons. Instead I got the urge to make these meringue kisses right away.

I used this recipe from Not So Humble Pie, adapting it slightly to make half the batch chocolate and half vanilla. After whipping my meringue to stiff peaks in my stand mixer, I separated half the mixture into another bowl. To that bowl, I sifted 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and gently folded it in until no streaks were left. In the mixer bowl, I added a wee bit of pink food coloring and whisked it in until the color was even. I piped the meringue kisses using piping bags and two different tips. These adorable, quarter-sized kisses were in the oven for a little over 2 hours at 175 degrees, until they no longer stuck to the parchment.

I'm not sure why, but my chocolate meringue kisses turned sticky once cool though my vanilla meringues dried out perfectly. At any rate, texture aside, the hubby and I both decided that we preferred the delicate, barely there flavor of the vanilla meringue kisses.

These are so simply to make and are really sinless as far as dessert go. These fat free sugary clouds are cute and delicious, and I'm sure I'll be making them more often. I can't wait to experiment with all the pastel colors and darling shapes these little meringue kisses can be.