Hello World!

Are you there Internet?  It's me Emily!


Well it's early summer, and while I might be taking summer classes here at Stony Brook University (Go Seawolves!) and giving tours of the campus, I've been getting bored.  So I shall give this blogging business a try and upload my cooking triumphs.  I will also include photos, recipes and tips.  


A little bit about me: I'm going to be a sophomore in the fall and am majoring in journalism.  This is one type of writing, right?  Anyway, I live in an apartment on campus and am cooking all my meals.  I'm a college gal with an appetite for writing and cooking.  So read please!  Oh, and I'd appreciate any feedback!  This includes grammar mistakes, because although I successfully passed the grammar course here, I'm prone to mistakes anyway.

These babies smelled up the apartment with peanut butter goodness!

And with that I am uploading photos of the peanut butter cookies I made this afternoon.


Oh, and I do not claim to be using original recipes!  I learned a lot about cooking from my mom and dad (both of whom are great little chefs themselves), but I also use the Internet to find recipes.


Peanut Butter Cookies


1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla extract


2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.


First, I creamed together the butter and sugars in a bowl.  Let me tell you, growing up I always used my mom's Kitchen Aid stand mixer so now being without, baking requires some serious arm muscles.  To prevent baker's arm (when one arm becomes bigger than the other because you always use the dominant one to mix things), switch arms.  You will make a mess, but you will clean it up before your roommates notice.


So you've done the creaming, now keep mixing and add the eggs, peanut butter and vanilla.  I'll be honest now, I never measure vanilla.  I just dump.


Next, take a separate bowl and mix together your dry ingredients.  I know you always read or hear about sifting your flour, but as a college gal, I have limited space and limited utensils.


Combine your wet and dry ingredients.  If you are using a mixer and not your own brute strength, be sure to add the dry ingredients slowly.  No need for huge messes, only small ones.


Hopefully everything looks wonderful and incorporated by now.  I used a spoon to portion the dough onto my ungreased cookie sheets.  To create the fun and classic design on top, use a fork to make indentations into the dough balls.  Send your cookies into the oven for about 12 minutes or until they look done.  I don't have a clever saying like "golden brown" because they're peanut butter cookies.  They go in brown and come out brown.

Seriously, don't you want to try these now?!

Once, you've taken your cookies out, you need to let them cool.  Transfer to a cooling rack, or in my case, a couple of your plastic dinner plates.  Patience is needed so you don't burn your mouth because you are so excited.


Hope you like!  Better photos and recipes and humorous banter to come!