Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie

Two weeks ago I OD-ed on eggs. (Sidenote: that’s probably the strangest sentence I’ve ever typed.)

I was going home and I didn’t want to leave a bunch of leftovers and almost-meals in my fridge over the weekend. I didn’t want to have to clean that mess up come Sunday night when I would have to do the homework I had put off all weekend was relaxed from being at home.

I ate eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Multiple days in a row. Yes, I added other things to them but still. They were eggs. I went through a dozen in only a few days. Even with my love of eggs, it was just too much.

So, I’m giving them a little bit of a break right now. Which seems blasphemous, I know, but, it is giving me the opportunity to enjoy other breakfast foods I love. Like oatmeal or pancakes. And this awesome smoothie.

Peanut Butter S'mores Cups

This is it.

These s’mores cups are my last attempt to grasp hold of summer. To enjoy the fleeting heat and streaks of sun. To ignore the fact that it’s already September (woa) and already Labor Day (double woa).

I love fall. It is my favorite season. But I’m not quite ready for it. I want the boots and the sweaters and  the caramel spice and the falling leaves just as must as anyone else, but not right.this.minute.

I am done with work for the summer. I am putting off packing for school. I am looking at reading lists and scavenging for used books. I am dragging my feet.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with White Chocolate and Pretzel Mousse

Ok, I know I’m a journalism major and all but, can I just say that writing is hard. Like, really hard. Coming up with something great and witty and inspiring? One of the most painstaking experiences ever. Not to mention the editing and rewriting and editing and rewriting. And making it coherent? Word putting together be hard stuff.

And, because I’m neurotic and can never make things easy on myself, I am also very particular about where I write. I can’t write just anywhere, oh no, that is SO not going to fly. Like my room? Nope, not going to happen. Too cramped, too stuffy. The place where I set up my laptop has got to be perfect if I am going to attempt to write.

The King's Cookie: Peanut Butter, Bacon and Chocolate Banana Chip Cookies

To have a grandma compliment your baking is like having Michael Jordan say your free throw form is good. It is the Holy Grail all bakers search for, whether they’ll admit it or not. These are the women that have loved, cared for, and fed us since we were tots. They know a thing or two when it comes to creaming butter and sugar and always smell like vanilla and cinnamon.

So, when my grandma told me I should open up a bakery after eating one of these cookies, I knew I had something.

Grandma and I have always connected over food – she is the one who really got me interested in it. A lot of what I know and do in the kitchen is because of her. We can talk for hours about recipes, meals, restaurants, you name it.

When I found these chocolate covered banana chips while we were out shopping the wheels in my head started turning. We had just shared a wonderful meal together at a local farm market that left both my soul and my stomach satisfied. Over the course of two hours my grandma shared stories, laughs and lessons that I am going to miss when I am away at school.

I put the chips in my basket and looking at Grandma, I said, “What if I made a peanut butter cookie with these and bacon in them? Like an Elvis cookie?” I was met with a blank stare. I don’t think she quite understood what I was getting at. 

Once we got home she left me to do my experimenting, only poking her head in a few times to make sure I was doing it. Putting bacon? In a cookie? 

See the bacon-ey goodness in there?

Then she tasted it. And her eyes went wide and then closed. She smiled as she chewed. “These are wonderful, I want the recipe.” Here you go, Grandma.

Peanut Butter, Bacon and Chocolate Banana Chip Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com, makes 36 large cookies)

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 ½ cups peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

½ cup chocolate covered banana chips

2/3 – ¾ cup bacon (about 8-12 strips, depending on how meaty you want the cookies)

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolk one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Mix in the peanut butter. 

In three or four small batches (and with the mixer on low, like really low) add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture. Mix until flour is thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the banana chips and bacon. 

Cover and chill dough for at least one hour. 

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a large cookie scoop or ¼ cup measure scoop dough balls onto baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown. 

This may be called the King’s cookie but it is in honor of a queen, my grandma.