The Perfect Fall Cookie Difficulty: ★★★★★ Required Patience: ★★★★★
10 out of 10 woodland creatures agree: These peanut butter and strawberry cookies are the perfect funghi-inspired salty-sweet treat to celebrate fall.
With daily high temperatures in Central Texas in the 80s, fall is in the air. And with that comes football, food, and sweater weather. You'll likely find these cookies reminding you of a PB&J sandwich in the form of a cookie... and how can you truly resist that?
Time To Prepare:
About 75 minutes
Foodie Tips:
Pressed for time? You can use premade cookie dough but my ready-to-bake dough reminded me why I should have used my all-time favorite homemade recipe, which you will find below - it has that unmistakable peanut butter taste and texture.
Want a hallpass on the mushroom decoration? Just follow the cookie dough instructions and skip past the mushroom decoration ingredients/steps for an enjoyable peanut butter cookie. If doing so, I use chunky peanut butter (vs. smooth) and add the top signature peanut butter cookie crisscross mark.
Jam, jelly, or preserves? The short answer is to preserve! Bonne Maman is my go-to for preserves. You can try any of your favorite flavors. Dark-colored preserves like cherry, apricot-raspberry, or fig will bring contrast to your mushroom dots.
You can use any white icing for the mushroom stem and dots. Wilton makes a White Sparkle Gel Icing that is easy to use and brightens up the cookie.
Ingredients:
½ Cup | Granulated Sugar
½ Cup | Brown Sugar
½ Cup | Butter, Softened
½ Cup | Smooth Peanut Butter 1 | Room Temperature Egg ½-1 Teaspoon | Vanilla
1 ½ Cups | Flour ½ Teaspoon | Salt (Optional) ½ Tablespoon | Cornstarch
To Decorate | Your Favorite Preserves (See Tip Above) To Decorate | White Gel/Icing (See Tip Above)
What To Do:
1. Prep: Bring your butter and egg to room temperature (about 30 minutes). This is a good time to throw on some Vince Guaraldi.
2. Make The Dough: Cream the two sugars and butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the peanut butter and combine some more. Add the egg and vanilla and combine again. Put the flour, salt (optional), and cornstarch in another bowl. I use the "fluff and level" method to ensure the proper amount of flour: 1) lift and fluff the flour as you transfer it into the measuring cup (vs. a hard pack); 2) run a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level it; 3) pour the flour, salt (optional) and cornstarch into the sifter and sift. Add this dry mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat in the stand mixer until well combined. 3. Form The Cookies: Roll the dough into one-inch balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silicone mat). Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a clean glass. Using a spoon and or your fingertips, make a mushroom-shaped indent to form the cap and the stem on each cookie as shown below.
4. Chill Then Bake The Cookies: Place your cookies in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Chilling your dough will help prevent the cookies from spreading while baking. While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F. When the cookies are chilled remove them from the freezer and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to change color (they are almost done). Remove the cookies from your oven and let them cool completely. The cookies will be very soft fresh from the oven so let them rest if transferring them to a wire rack. The residual heat will finish the baking. Reshape your mushrooms (if needed) at the beginning of the cooling phase. Using a spoon vs. your fingers is recommended as the cookies will still be hot. 5. Cool & Decorate: Fill the mushroom cap with your chosen jam and fill/pipe the mushroom stem with the gel icing. Add white polka dots to the mushroom caps.
These are ready to enjoy! Once decorated these cookies are best enjoyed fresh. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Don't forget to share them with your special people! Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies. This recipe can be doubled for bigger appetites/parties. If you want to make half of the cookies at a later time, you can halve your prepared raw dough and shape it into a log wrapped with saran wrap to store it in your fridge for 3-4 days; the dough will be ready when you are!
Joe Paul Reider
Home Style Austin Founder Austin Realtor® Keller Williams Realty
Email: JoePaul@KW.com Mobile: 512-222-3302 Web: JoePaulReider.KW.com
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