Saturday, May 29, 2010

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Expectation: That one of the many recipes I had for whole grain peanut butter cookies would be a winner.

Winning Recipe: Peanut Butter Blossoms


I knew I would have to take on the peanut butter cookie sooner or later, and I thought it would be pretty easy. This turned out to be false. I started with the recipe from Spelt Healthy! because the cookbook said that spelt and peanut butter went really well together. Perhaps this is true, but the cookie just wasn't right. Next, I hit up my new King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book and tried the Peanut Chews recipe. These also did not make the cut. So finally, I altered an old favorite and found the winner. 

I started with the recipe from the Hershey website for Peanut Butter Blossoms. These cookies are my boyfriend's favorite, and his mom recommended this recipe to me. After realizing (from recipe #2 - the peanut chews) that peanut butter does an excellent job of covering the "whole wheat" taste of whole wheat flour, I was not afraid to substitute all of the white flour. However, I thought I'd see what difference I could taste between regular whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. The end product was so close and each tasted great, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. 

Ingredients:
  • 48 milk chocolate Hershey's Kisses 
  • 1/2 cup butter (instead of shortening)
  • 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter 
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Granulated Sugar for dipping
Preparations:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from Hershey's Kisses.

Beat butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a Hershey's Kiss into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 

My best estimate of the nutrition facts for one cookie (if you make 48 of them- smaller than you think!) is:
89 calories
5g fat
9g carbohydrate
1g fiber
GI 58
GL 4.5

About the grain:

Whole Wheat Flour contains the macro nutrients of the wheat's bran and germ (the whole kernel). It is hearty and more robust than white flour and a good source of calcium, iron and fiber. It can be substituted for some or all of the white flour in most recipes, and found in most grocery stores.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour comes from the same grain as regular whole wheat flour, but is made from a softer variety and milled to a finer texture. It has a higher starch content, but is lower in gluten and protein. The end product is lighter and more tender than that of regular whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour can be found at most health food grocery stores (I found it at Whole Foods).

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