Martha Stewart Living’s “Cookie of the Month” was “Nutty Butters.” The recipe looked interesting so I gave it a try—slightly adapting it, of course. (As usual…)
I was most pleasantly surprised. One bite and I was really astonished—they BURST with good flavor. I think no matter how you make them they will be delicious but it may have something to do with the type of ingredients I used . . . I’m always picky about ingredients.
Here is my version of these delicious treats:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks Smart Balance 50/50 Olive Oil/Butter Blend butter, softened
1 cup old-fashioned oats (I used Quaker this time—I usually opt for higher quality oats but as this was an experiment, I didn’t want to waste extra-good oats!)
1 cup plus 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
*salt ONLY if you are using unsalted butter instead of the olive oil/butter blend sticks
1/2 cup dark brown sugar*
1/3 cup granulated sugar*
1 large egg
1/2 cup nut butter (I used Jiff Natural Creamy Peanut Butter mixed with some leftover 265 Brand Crunchy Peanut butter . . .)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (the original recipe says “nuts” so I guessed and used what I had . . . worked well. As for measurements, I eyed the nuts and it may not have been quite 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp Madagascar bourbon vanilla (I added this—it is not in the original recipe)
Directions:
1. Melt 1/2 stick butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats, and cook, stirring, until toasted. (Original recipe says to only toast for 5-7 minutes and let cool—I didn’t let mine cool. Oops! 🙂 )
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together flour and baking soda (add 1 tsp salt if using unsalted butter).
3. Beat together the remaining stick butter and the sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
4. Add egg, and beat until combined. Add vanilla, if desired.
5. Add nut butter, and beat on medium speed until well combined.
6. Add oat mixture and chopped nuts, and beat on low speed until combined.
7. Add flour mixture, and beat until well combined.
8. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place cookies 1 inch apart (recipe says use parchment paper—I didn’t have any) on a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12-15 minutes.
Let cool completely, it says. I doubt you’ll let them cool completely before trying them, though… 😉
I was very happy with the way these turned out! If you like peanut butter/nutty treats you’ll really enjoy these!
*Note: I never use exact measurements for sugar. I always use a little more brown than white and often don’t put much white in at all. This time I am guessing I used about 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated… I just used a whole cup to measure them together and didn’t pack the dark brown sugar.
