Feels Like Home

Maybe it's because my mom will be here in exactly 26 days....

And my sister and brother and law will be here in a month and a half...

Or maybe because several of my friends in Charleston have either had babies or getting ready to have babies....

Maybe it's because my nephew wants to come visit me because I "have 4 pools" (the apartments we live in do, not me personally)...

Or maybe because Southern Living is featuring Charleston this month...

Or even just maybe because I saw some pictures of my dad in some wedding pictures of some friends (he's a pastor and officiated the ceremony)...

All of this = me feeling a little homesick lately :(

So when I'm feeling a little homesick, I need to vent by cooking. And what better thing to cook than something that reminds me of my childhood. Peanut butter cookies. These aren't just any peanut butter cookies though - they're peanut butter sandwich cookies with peanut butter frosting. Yeah, I know, that's a whole lot of peanut butter!

I used to make these as a teenager all the time! People LOVED them so much, that they would literally pay me to make them - I told them they didn't have to. But then so many people would offer I started using it as a fundraiser to help pay for the mission's trips I would go on in the summer. My brother-in-law LOVES them. My sister has to make them for him frequently. Even people who claim to not like peanut butter somehow LOVE these cookies. So, I pulled out the P.B. and got baking.

These cookies are so stinkin' easy though, that it gives you even more of an excuse to make them. Not good! :) And FOUR ingredients for the cookies... FOUR. So easy, you can just memorize the recipe and make them all the time!

They are a little bit better for you than normal cookies though - they are flourless! So they are melt in your mouth good. I made half of this batch with Splenda also, just to see how it would taste. Still okay, like you could get away with it, but if you're going to enjoy eating a peanut butter cookie, than you might as well just go all the way and eat a peanut butter cookie! I made these for our small group game night last night, and the general consensus was definitely, regular sugar = better!

What makes you homesick? You know my triggers now! :)

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting (By: My Family)

Ingredients:

For Cookies:

1 cup JIF peanut butter (JIF is the ONLY way to go!!! and no I wasn't paid to say that! :) )

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. baking soda

For Frosting:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tbs. milk or cream

Directions:

FOR COOKIES:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl mix all ingredients for cookies together by hand until smooth, making sure there are not baking soda lumps. Dough will be very sticky.

Yes, I took a picture of the peanut butter, because using JIF is THAT important! :)

Splenda mixture on the left, sugar mixture on the right - the consistency was a bit different.

3. Roll into 1/2" balls (I make them super small so the sandwich cookies are almost bite sized, because they are so peanut buttery) and place on cookie sheets - I used my stones.

4. Using a fork, dip into small bowl of sugar, and make criss-cross pattern on top of cookies to flatten.

5. Bake for 8-10 min. or until golden brown. Allow to cool for ~ 1-2 min. and transfer to wire cooling rack - be careful they will be VERY crumbly until cool. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

FOR FROSTING:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl - mixture will be pretty runny, don't add more powdered sugar, it needs to be this runny so it doesn't break the cookies.

2. Once cookies are completely cool, carefully spread a generous amount of frosting onto inside of one cookie, and sandwich another on top. YUM!