Peanut Butter and Honey Sprinkled Cookies

Have you you ever heard of crystallized honey? I found this little guy (see picture below) at a local natural foods store and I was intrigued. So I bought him and took him home. The next challenge was to figure out what to with him. Then it hit me, peanut butter and honey cookies. I found this tasty looking recipe on Smitten Kitchen and instead of rolling the cookies out in sugar I rolled them in honey crystals.

I made these cookies and they were everything I'd hoped they would be, soft and chewy with just a hint of honey flavor. I have to admit I forgot one ingredient when I was making these cookies, so I was faced with the dilemma of starting all over or baking the cookies, crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I chose the latter and the cookies turned out great. So what was this mystery ingredient that slipped my mind? It was the brown sugar, but the cookies still turned out very tasty and just a little less sweet which D and I both agreed was actually quite nice.

Peanut Butter and Honey Sprinkled Cookies
1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 cup Smooth Peanut Butter, Room Temperature
3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1 Egg, Room Temperature*
2 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup Peanut Butter Chips
Crystallized Honey for Rolling (granulated sugar can be substituted for the crystallized honey)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside until needed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and the peanut butter until well combined, then beat in the sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg until well incorporated, scraping sides and bottom as needed. Add the vanilla and milk and beat to combined. Add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Form dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls then roll around in the crystallized honey until covered. Press cookies down a bit with the back of a spoon or knife. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*To bring egg to room temperature quickly cover egg in hot tap water for 10 minutes before use.

Recipe Adapted From Smitten Kitchen  where it was adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Vanilla Frosted Honey Cake

This recipe comes from the cookbook Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. This cookbook is one of my absolute favorites because I never tire of looking through the pages. The pictures gorgeous and her recipes are exactly what I picture when I think of homemade. Every recipe in this book has a story or a memory attached to it. The other day when I was looking through the cookbook I came across this recipe for honey cake. I have made this dessert before but it's been while. This cake reminds me of spring.  From the dense moist cake made with honey and rosemary to the delicate vanilla frosting it is the perfect springtime dessert. The original recipe calls for lemon frosting, but I made this cake with vanilla instead. The frosting for this cake is delicious, it is lighter and a bit more runny than your typical buttercream but it compliments the heartiness of the cake perfectly.

Honey Cake 
11 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Honey
1 1/2 tablespoons Water
1 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Rosemary Leaves
2 Eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8 inch round cake pan and set aside. In a medium sized sauce pan set over medium heat melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar, honey and water and cook until the sugar completely dissolves, then set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Attach the paddle attachment to the mixer then add the cooled butter mixture to the flour mixture and beat to combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides as necessary. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 20 minutes then using a butter knife, or plastic if your pan is non-stick, go around the edge of the cake loosening it from the sides then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Frosting
7 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 2/3 cups Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3-4 tablespoons Milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar until incorporated then add the milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes until frosting is light and airy.

Honey Goat Cheese Biscuits

These biscuits are addicting, I think I could eat the whole pan. I am really glad I have D to share them with, otherwise I'd be hurting right now because I would have polished of the batch. These will challenge your self control or at least they did mine and since I am slightly lacking in that department, I lost.

Next time I make these I am going to add a whole tablespoon of honey rather than just the half. These biscuits had a just a touch of sweetness on top and I like things a bit more on the sweet side, if you do too I would suggest upping the amount of honey to a full tablespoon or maybe even a tablespoon and a half. These biscuit taste best when they are fresh out of the oven. They are delicious with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or as an accompaniment to dinner.

 
Honey Goat Cheese Biscuits
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
4 tablespoons Powdered Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter Cold and Sliced
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter for Pan
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter for the Top
1/2-1 1/2 tablespoons Honey, depending on your preference
4 tablespoons Goat Cheese
1 cup Water

Note: Liquid buttermilk can be used in place of powdered, just use where recipe calls for water.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sized ceramic dish then place dish in the oven to melt the butter, be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Once butter has melted remove dish from the oven swirl butter around to coat, then set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour baking powder, powdered buttermilk and salt. Cut 4 tablespoons of cold butter and the goat cheese into the flour mixture till crumbly. Stir in the water just to combined. Drop 1/4 cup sized heaps of dough into the prepared dish. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once butter has melted, drizzle mixture over the biscuits and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden.

Makes 10 biscuits

Recipe slightly adapted from Joy The Baker where it was slightly adapted from Art Smith's Table Fifty-Two

Honeyed Apricot Oat Muffins

Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast? D and I have, a few times. Three times actually. Twice in Zion National Park and once in Park City. All were good experiences, although I must say I prefer the more "inn" type of B&B where each room has its own bathroom and the guests can sit at individual tables during breakfast as opposed to the B&B where the bathrooms are communal and all of the guests sit and one large table with complete strangers while eating breakfast. It's just a personal preference of mine, I am a bit antisocial. Anyway I love the idea of the bed and breakfast, especially the breakfast part because you get to try what other people make in their own homes. I would love to be able to peek inside B&B's kitchens and see the methods they use to prepare meals, what is in their cupboards and refrigerator, and what sorts of kitchen gadgets they use. I know it's not appropriate to snoop around the kitchen of the bed and breakfast where you are staying, and I don't do this, but I would like to. One thing that is acceptable though is often times they will share their recipes with you, if you ask nicely (or visit their website, some B&B's post their recipes online).

Now as I have mentioned before I am not a huge fan of breakfast except when it comes to my idea of a bed and breakfast breakfast. My idea of a bed and breakfast breakfast includes muffins baked that morning, hot coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade granola, yogurt, fresh fruit, and some type of dish that is made with eggs, potatoes, cheese of course and ham. I have never made my ideal B&B breakfast but someday I aspire to, right down to the homemade granola and freshly squeezed orange juice. But for today I will stick with making muffins.

Honeyed Apricot Oat Muffins
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted and Cooled
1/3 cup Honey
1 cup Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1 cup Dried Apricots, Coarsely Chopped
1 cup Oats (not instant or quick cooking)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line standard 12 cup muffin tin with baking cups. Whisk together flours, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium-high speed, beat together the egg and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Stir in the butter, honey, and yogurt. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined, careful not to over mix. Stir in the dried apricots and oats, just to combine. Spoon dough into prepared muffin tin, filling cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 18 muffins

Recipe adapted from The Good Enough to Eat Breakfast Cookbook