That leads me to Jessica from the blog, How Sweet It Is.
Jessica is having a milestone birthday today...
{Ahhh, I remember 30. Kinda.}
{Jessica...this hot pink was as close as I could get to neon. ;)}
In August, I met Jessica and I can tell you, she's even more lovely in person. (I won't hold it against her that she was BORN just about the same time I was going to see Grease 2 (2!) with my fellow 13-year-old girlfriends.) I wanted to make a little something to celebrate her big day.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cut-out Cookies for Jessica
{makes 12-18, depending on size}
2 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa (such as Hershey's Special Dark)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not all-natural)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use a paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In three additions, add in the flour mixture beating on low until just combined. Scrape the bowl to incorporate any dry bits on the bottom of the bowl.
Divide the dough in half, form into two discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Mix flour and cocoa powder together to coat the rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll the dough to about 1/4"-3/8" thickness. Freeze the cut-outs on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake for 9-12 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate as desired with royal icing.
OH! And, Jessica? I ate them for you, too. ;)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweet girl!!!
What a great friend you are - and such GORGEOUS, colorful cookies! You know, I'm always open to expanding my circle of friendship...especially when cookies are involved! ;)
ReplyDeleteyou are SUCH a sweetheart, and these cookies look divine! just like Jess ;)
ReplyDeleteWHAT!! I cannot even believe this. I am totally blown away! Really, I don't even have words! Thank you so, so, so, SO much for this Bridget! It means more to me than you can even imagine. You are my inspiration! xoxoxoxo times a million.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to a sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, Bridget...these look amazing. Maybe even for a 40th or 50th birthday even?
Awwww this is SO sweet! Love the cookies, what a great way to say happy birthday :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet for doing this! And just what the birthday girl needs - pb, cake cookies, pink AND sprinkles.
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous and sound SOOO yummy and can't wait to try them!! I am curious about one thing though... would you mind telling me why not 'all natural' peanut butter?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful. I love this post, and of course, the incredibly sweet cookies. Happy 30th to Jessica!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet gesture for a lovely lady! These are way too cute.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, another wonderful new roll-out recipe and executed so beautifully on these birthday cookies!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh those sound great, and how cute are they!
ReplyDeleteAww I just LOVE this!! Happy Birthday Jessica!!!
ReplyDeletethese are SO cute! you continue to amaze!
ReplyDeleteThey are so beautiful! You're so sweet, Bridget!!! Happy Birthday to Jessica!!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to meet you in person finally!!! Next week! :)
You are so sweet! Chocolate peanut butter cookies... Um, YUM. And, as always, these are just too cute. Nothing better than pink and sprinkles. =)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! These look just like something Jess would like - what a sweet thing to do :)
ReplyDeleteHow sweet of you! These are perfect! Happy birthday, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteBridget, these are FABULOUS! They sound delicious and look absolutely gorgeous! Yes, an awesome present for an awesome birthday girl!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the sweetest.thing.ever. They are absoluately gorgeous! One year for my bday years ago my husband bought me a hot pink cake that was in the shape of a high heeled shoe. I will always cherish that memory and these remind me of that but more gorgeous. You are SO SWEET Bridget!
ReplyDeleteThis is so gosh darn sweet of you. You know... My birthday is coming up soon, too. Like... Whenever you want to make these again? Yup, that day will be my birthday.
ReplyDeleteAw, I love these cookies!! Such an awesomely sweet gesture of you - I agree, Jessica is a total sweetie! AND, now I have a chocolate-peanut butter cut-out cookie recipe? It's the end of me :)
ReplyDeleteThese cookies are so cute!! They sound delicious too - love the chocolate peanut butter combination. My birthday is coming up and I think I'll make a batch for myself. :)
ReplyDeleteSo sweet!!!
ReplyDeleteYum! Just when I thought the chocolate cut outs couldn't get any better :D
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that! I was trying to comment under my 'cookie name'. Oh well!
DeleteEither way, thanks for posting this! It sounds delish! The cookies are quite cute too!
What a sweet, yummy gesture!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Cookies! Happy Birthday Jessica!
ReplyDeleteReally special....outstanding cookies!
ReplyDeleteI actually prefer cookies over cake (gasp); but like everyone else feel that if there is a birthday there must be cake. Serving these festive cookies solves that issue.
ReplyDeleteAwww, this was such a sweet post. Those cookies are completely amazing!!! You were definitely spot on with the chocolate peanut butter flavor! Jess is the best. I just love that girl!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great demonstration of beauty all round. Taking the time to make and decorate these cookies is a beautiful act, then including all of the best birthday wishes to Jessica is another beautiful thing to do and the cookies themselves are amazingly beautiful. Finally, what about Jessica's comments? She is So appreciative, yes that's right - beautiful.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of when I came home from yet another hard days work to find that my daughter had made a batch of white chocolate mud cupcakes. She took the time to frost them with white chocolate ganache then used those silver candy balls to write our names on top. Beautiful and we all know that the world needs a lot more beautiful people and actions toward each other, right?
Thank you for all of your efforts.
I'm not a big fan of peanut butter but I guess these cookis would look just as lovely with any cut out recipe. They are adorable and perfect for any birthday celebration. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Jessica! These look awesome!!
ReplyDeleteDid you use a "cake" cookie cutter for these amazing cookies? I love them-and Happy Birthday to Jessica! What an awesome gift!
ReplyDeleteThese sound absolutely fabulous! Chocolate and PB is always a winning combo, and one perfect for Jessica! I can't wait to try this recipe!!
ReplyDeleteAdorable cookies!! I love the pink with the dark background.
ReplyDeleteThese cookies are GORGEOUS, and I agree Jessica is pretty awesome!! :-)
ReplyDeletelove how you decorated these. Cute idea.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteI love Jess, too! (and you) :)
You are so so sweet! What a fun surprise for her. Those cookies are just darling!
ReplyDeleteso pretty! i love her site. I can't believe these are pb and chocolate cut outs. YUM!!
ReplyDeleteSo cute. I bet the c&pb combo is delicious!
ReplyDeleteWHat a very sweet cookie for a very sweet girl..FROM a very sweet girl. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThese cookies are darling and they sound heavenly. What a nice friend you are to bake these for her.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet happy birthday 'gift'! I love that there's pb in there...
ReplyDeleteSeeing these cookies just makes me happy. They're all so festive and colorful!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet Bridget! I'm sure every bite of these cookies will be savored with utter delight.
I want some for my 20th birthday! These look like chocolate peanut butter perfection :)
ReplyDeleteMost MAGICAL Birthday Cookies EVVVVVVVer!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to one of the hippest~coolest girls FOODIE Rockstars ever!
xo
These are the very sweetest cookies!
ReplyDeleteI love Jessica's blog, she has such a funny sense of humor! Just about anybody could find something to relate to in her blog, and that is what I love about it, it's just so real and she seems so down to earth!
ReplyDeleteThese cookies not only sound/look delicious, but are such a "sweet" gesture!
So glad she linked to you! Can't wait to read around more if these are the kind of concoctions you are coming up with! :)
I love chocolate and peanut butter and so want to try your wonderful recipe. I dont have regular smooth peanut butter but the natural kind, will it work ok or how do I use it in the recipe :) thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really like Jessica's weblog, she has such a crazy feeling of humor! Just about anybody might discover something to connect with in her weblog, and that is what I really like about it, it's just so actual and she seems so down to earth!
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Fantastic. Cookie it up.
ReplyDeleteI would like to make such cakes for a holiday, but I’ll celebrate the next holiday when I win a million in a casino. I am sure of this, because I chose a casino on the site preact.io, where I have been playing for about 4 years. so you can congratulate me with such wonderful cakes
ReplyDelete