Baking Blind

Why does anyone bother to make a cookbook that has no pictures? Cooking from a cookbook without pictures is like shopping in a bakery that has no diplay cases. You have to know exactly what you want going in, and there's zero chance of coming out with a little something wonderful and unexpected just because it called to you.

Can you imagine your favorite cooking show without pictures? Can you imagine Emeril sitting in a comfy chair describing how he'd make a dish? Where's the zip and sizzle when you're listening to a description?

Have you ever been in a restaurant and watched someone else's dinner go by and told the waiter, "That's what I want!" That's because, rather than just reading a description in the menu or having your waiter tell you about it, you saw it.

I'd seen several blogs with wonderful posts about baked goods made from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Needing to get in on this action, I requested it from the library. When it came I thought, "Wait a minute. I've already checked this one out. And never made a single thing from it!" Sure enough, same book. No pictures.

But since it had gotten such glowing reviews from other bloggers I flipped through the barren pages to see what it had to offer. By the time I returned it to the library (after renewing it once) it was bristling with bookmarks. Everything in there sounded amazing.

With a name like Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies, I just had to try them. What separates them from the masses of p.b. cookies out there? Peanut butter chips for extra punch. Yes!! As I made the cookies I had a wonderful idea. I had a quart of Roasted Banana Ice Cream in the freezer (from The Perfect Scoop, of course, and it's totally worth making, even if just for the heavenly aroma of the bananas and brown sugar roasting in the oven) and bananas and peanut butter are one of my favorite pairings. Ta Da - Peanut Butter Roasted Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches. Delicious! And I'll show you the pictures to prove it.

Peanut Butter Roasted Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches
adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup chunky-style peanut butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp (for sprinkling) sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisscross pattern, but to not overly glatten cookies. Lightly sprinkle cookies with sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Allow Roasted Banana ice cream (or other favorite) to soften a bit, spread a generous amount onto the back (flat side) of one cookie. Press the back of another cookie onto the ice cream, so that the two cookies encase the ice cream and the fork-patterned sides face out. Wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to harden. You might want to hide them, otherwise they'll disappear quickly!