Happy Birthday chef

Monday was chef Jeremy's birthday, and I knew I had to make something.  There aren't any Hallmark stores conveniently located at 9350ft. above sea level, so all I had was the kitchen and everything in it.

What in the world do you make for a chef on his birthday?

It was an opportunity to seize that I could either succeed tremendously (and impress everyone, including my kitchen counterpart), or fail dramatically (and totally embarass myself, and never get placed on kitchen duty again).

I love reading other food blogs.  If you haven't already noticed, I have an ongoing list of blogs I like to read along the right side of my homepage.  17 and Baking is one of those.  The author is a (now 19)-year old writing and cooking like a professional.  She's pretty impressive.

The first time I saw these cute little cookies on her blog, I wanted to make them immediately.  Apart from being a deadly combination of peanut butter and chocolate, they are bite sized and so cute.

The great thing about bite sized cookies?  You don't feel as guilty eating one, or two... or three... or six.  I left a plateful of these in the kitchen on Sunday night, and by Monday afternoon they were completely gone.

Tiny Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Hershey’s Easy Baking (and 17 and Baking)
Makes about 15 dozen cookies, depending on size

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Granulated sugar for rolling
Chocolate chips (any type)

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.      Beat peanut butter and shortening until well mixed, then beat in the two sugars until light. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together, then add in 3 batches to the peanut butter mixture, beating well between additions.  Chill dough for 10 minutes before baking.

3.      Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 5-6 minutes and remove from oven. Immediately press a chocolate chip into the center of each cookie. Let cookies cool a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. [Note: the chocolate chip will be warm and gooey for some time, so be careful before stacking them.]