It is the little things.

I like cookies. I like all kinds of cookies. My favorite cookie is the monster cookie with all of the oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&M's. Since I have such a sweet tooth I began to bake at a very young age. I really enjoyed the fact that I could make myself treats and not have to wait for my mom to make them. It was far more satisfying to eat a chocolate chip cookie while watching Dennis the Menace than simply eating chocolate chips. As a youngster I knew that cookie and baking provided you with some wiggle room to be creative, so one day while making monster cookies (in grade school) I decided to "spice things up a bit." I looked into the cupboard for something that would give the cookies a little extra kick. That something extra was peppermint extract. I had no idea the power of an extract so I just dumped. Needless to say the entire batch was ruined. It took a friend and I weeks to eat it all because no one else would eat them. From that experience I learned that you can stray from the recipe to enhance your cooking/baking, but you need to have an idea of what you are working with.

The recipe for these peanut butter wafers called for them to be rolled in crushed peanuts. Although I enjoy peanuts, I find that there are a number of other actual nuts that are far superior to the peanut. I decided to add some almonds and pecans to the peanuts that I placed in the food processor in order to bring some other flavors and more texture to the exterior of the wafers/cookies. (I really do not understand the need to call these wafers since they are a cookie, but I did not name the recipe.) In addition, what goes amazingly well with peanut butter...CHOCOLATE!! I decided to melt some chocolate and peanut butter chips together and drizzle them over the top of the cookies to add some yummy goodness and a little decorative flare. There was not real pattern to the drizzle. Back and forth and sided to side seemed to produce the best results. In the end I had taken a recipe that was good and just kicked it up a few notches.



So the next time that you are looking at a recipe that seems a little boring, think about what you might be able to add that would enhance flavors and make the overall end product better. Again, you might end up with an extract explosion, but you also might hit a home run. Happy baking.