Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are VERY good! I found the recipe online and it says this about them, "These are so close to the Girl Scout oatmeal peanut butter cookies that you won't know the difference!" They are very close, although the texture seems a bit different. I like them if they're served cold (just store them in the fridge). The cookies are also very good on their, sans filling. Enjoy! :)


INGREDIENTS:
COOKIE
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oats

FILLING
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream or half and half


DIRECTIONS:
COOKIE
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the egg and beat well.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
4. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet, and press each mound down with a fork to make 1/4 inch thick cookies.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Let cool briefly (about 2 minutes) on baking sheet before removing to wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

FILLING
1. Cream 3 Tablespoons butter with the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and cream.
2. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

The Letter B with Joshua Chew

Christmas!

Here's a quick look at Christmas with the Chew's. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Snow Day!

It's snowing in Hartsdale today so we decided to go outside and play. Here are a few photos of Joshua, Hannah, and Becca as we ventured out in front of our building.

Bundled up and ready to go.

Trying to figure out what this snow stuff is all about. What I didn't catch was when he ate the snow. I'm not sure how he knew it could be "edible", but for whatever reason the very first thing he did was pick some up and put it in his mouth! :)

Maybe one day these self-portraits will actually work.

Joshua wanted to go back outside.

You Know You're a Parent When...

This was a fun exercise a friend of mine initiated a couple of weeks ago, so I won't take credit. However, it does prove to be quite entertaining!

You know you're a parent when...



You find a squeaky cat in the printer,

Pooh Bear "napping" on the windowsill,

a fire truck carefully "parked" on the living room floor,

napkins in your shoe,

and a friendly visitor in the kitchen drawer.


Not pictured here is the cell phone in the kitchen drawer, the favorite pancake turner/spatula in countless places including under the couch, between the couch cushions, in the bathtub...anywhere other than being used in the kitchen! The garlic press has been known to camp out in the entryway and the soccer ball sometimes thinks it's a baby and sits in the car seat awaiting our next outing.

November Highlights

Here are some notable and not so notable happenings from November...

-Joshua learns to walk backwards and on his toes, though not at the same time
-Hannah adds cooing to her impressive list of abilities
-Joshua says recognizable words such as "poo-poo", "go", "apple", and "diaper"
-Hannah goes to the Westchester Chapel Nursery for the first time
-Hartsdale has its first snow for the winter...it didn't stick but it looked nice while it lasted!
-Claude becomes Superdad as he single-handedly (or in this case, double-handedly) picks up, carries, and bounces both Joshua and Hannah on the exercise ball
-Becca ventures out of the familiar cheesecake recipe zone and tries something new...the old recipe is still better, though!
-We celebrate Thanksgiving. It was Hannah's 1st, Joshua's 2nd, Claude's 3rd, and Becca's 27th.

I will forego the pictures for the time being. But have no fear! There are plenty more to come.