Peanut Butter Cookies

     The creation of these cookies led to the most embarrassing baking-centered disaster I have ever had. That is not to say that if you make these cookies this will happen to you, because quite frankly, it could only happen to a person at their most illogical and flight-minded moment. Let us begin:

      The other day I had an hour and a half before work. I needed to cook and eat lunch, pack dinner, and bake cookies to photograph. I finished making lunch and simultaneously placed my cookies in the oven. I took off my mitt and went over to the table to eat. I thought something smelled off about my dish-was the mustard bad? Was the tofu funky? Finally, I realized the bottom edge of the oven mitt was touching the burner that had just been on and was still wicked hot. I examined the oven mitt that was pouring smoke, and I could see the embers in it. 

      I calmly went to the outside door of my building, held it open and proceeded to do the stupidest thing I could have. I tried to hit the mitt against the stone wall...swinging it back and forth in the sweet oxygen-fueling air that fires love so much. At this point, the back parking lot was full of smoke and the glove was obviously beginning to pick up speed in its disintegration. I realized my absent mindedness, folded up the glove so the hot part was on the bottom and stepped on the un-damaged area with my barefoot. The smoke was dissipating and I relaxed. However, I relaxed to the point that my arm let the building door gently close. No shoes, no phone, no key, I was locked out...meanwhile, the oven mitt was still burning away.

      The parking lot was empty so I decided to walk around to the front, carrying the burning mitt. Lucky for me, a police car happened to be sitting right on the side of the block. When I explained to him what had happened he looked down and just said, "Um, yeah, that oven mitt is still on fire, so I am going to need you to put that out..." When I responded that I didn't have shoes on and he got out to assist. 

      We went around the building and he tried to pick the lock. With no success, he had me bang on the front door, as he walked around and hit all the windows he could with his flashlight to try to get someone to answer. I knocked away with looming knowledge that I still had cookies in the oven and work in an hour.

      We couldn't get anyone so he walked back down to the street and radioed in "...The party cannot gain entrance to the building..." Within four minutes though, I realized how dramatic he must have made the situation seem. A multitude of sirens were coming from all directions. No less than five fire trucks, three police expedition cars, and an ambulance rushed to the scene of me covering my face with my hands, simultaneously crying and laughing in embarrassment, barefoot in my sweatpants. Neighbors came out to see the spectacle and stare at me, while in the meantime I prayed no one tell them this was simply over peanut butter cookies.

     The firefighters busted into the building, carrying their giant extinguishers and returned to the front door about a minute later to ask me to come with them. Upon entrance, they had pulled the cookie out of the oven and turned it off. Miraculously, they had not burned and still looked and smelled delectable. So, I did what any baker would do in this situation. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I am so embarrassed. Oh my goodness...do you guys want cookies??"

      One of the firefighters and I chatted about the use of Silpats and I highly recommended them for even browning and easy clean up while also continuing to apologize about every five words. After a few minutes, the men left, I finished my lunch, put in new cookies with no disaster or oven mitt involved. RIP Mitty, looks like its just me and kitchen towels for protections for now. You did me well, I am sorry I cannot say the same for you. 

Adapted from Alice Medrich's "Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies"

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 TSP baking soda
3/4 fine sea salt
8 TBSP butter, unsalted, melted
1/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1 TSP vanilla extract
1 1/4 natural, salted peanut butter, smooth (stirred)
1/3-1/2 C roasted, salted peanuts 

Instructions:
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugars. 
3. Add the egg, vanilla,and peanut butter and mix until incorporated. Add in the peanuts stir to incorporate.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet-ingrediants and stir until no more flour streaks are visable. It is a thick dough.
5. Flatten into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refridgerate for 2 hours to 3 days. 
6. When you are ready, take out the dough to warm up for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F. Then, scoop the dough into balls and flatten with your hand or the back of a glass.
7. Bake for 13-17 minutes (less if you want softer and chewier and longer if you want a bit more crumbly-they are good both ways but the lesser time was my favorite!)
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks!

Love, 
Boulder Butter

Savory Bread Pudding

     My friends and I are lucky enough to get to spend some weekends together in a wonderful little town in Colorado called La Veta. Weekends in La Veta are about as happy and peaceful as you can get: not a plan in sight, except certainly a game called Z Ball, art projects, time in nature, and most definitely delicious food. As a group, we divide and conquer meals and everyone always brings tantalizing meals. It is a time of feasting, grazing, and best of all, sharing.

      Eating is wonderful, as is getting to cook, but there is a massive amount of joy that comes along with getting to feed other people. It is a small way to give them a part of yourself, your love, and your appreciation. There has been a rise in the trend of people eating on the fly, or while distracted by books and technology. However, I believe that this same rise has sparked a feeling of increased community when we do make the time to come together.

        Getting to feed a crowd is a wonderful treat because you get to share your heart with many in a moment of gratitude for each other, a warm belly, and the gifts of the earth. This recipe is a way that anyone can get to enjoy that amazing feeling. It is warm, comforting, filling, and homey. However, it is also very easy to make and a great way to feed a crowd without spending tons of money. You can serve it warm out of the oven at breakfast, alongside some fruit and a hot cup of coffee. Then the leftovers make a perfect lunch of dinner alongside a simple salad of greens.

        Bread Pudding is most often associated with sweetness, but I am telling you, a savory bread pudding will bring out a whole new meaning to this in your mind. It is cheesy and custardy bread, with thick pieces that still have some bite to them on top. There is brightness from the vegetables that add a depth of flavor as well as a balance to the heartiness of the dish. The spices add a nice pick me up, which compliment beautifully with the cheese. Sinking you teeth in feels like soulfulness and it continues on that way all the way down to your belly. I am telling you, sweet bread pudding is fine and good, but its time to give it a twist and see just what a different potential eggs, milk and bread hold together. A perfectly, messy scoop of this in a bowl is a non-pretenscious breakfast path to a person's heart. 

*Makes 1 full 3 quart (9x13) dish
Ingredients:  
3-4 baguettes
2-4 TBSP olive oil
1 small to medium yellow squash, cut into small quartered pieces
1 small to medium zucchini or mexican squash, cut and quartered
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 C grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 TSP salt + extra for sautéing veggies
1/4 TSP pepper + extra for sautéing
1/4 TSP chili powder + extra for sautéing
2 3/4 C whole milk
8 eggs
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Dice the baguettes into rounds and then quarter them, so they are in medium-sized chunks. Lay them out for 8-24 hour to allow them to stale. You can speed up this process by putting them in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, and then continuing to let them stale for a few hours, making sure they cool completely.

2. Preheat your pan, add the oil, then the onions, and lightly salt and pepper them. Sauté until they become translucent lightly. Next add the jalapeno, garlic, and squashes, and continue to sauté them. Finally turn off the heat and add the cherry tomatoes, mixing them so they just barely cook in the residual heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Once the veggies have completely cooled, add them and the cubed bread to a greased baking dish, mixing together to distribute evenly.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs; then add the milk, salt, and pepper, and whisk until combined. Finally, add the cheese and give a final whisk to mix it in.

5. Pour the mixture over the bread, cover with tinfoil, and refrigerate the pudding for 8-24 hours.
6. Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up for 30 minutes; meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350.
7. Bake the pudding for 34-45 minutes, until it has fully set and the top has lightly browned.
8. Remove from oven and allow cooling for 10 minutes before digging in...and then going back for seconds.