Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

These cold and snow-ridden weekends have been keeping me inside even more than usual. I tell myself I will use my self-imposed hibernation to write more, but usually end up watching movies and, surprisingly enough, practicing my culinary skills. This new hobby popped up during Thanksgiving preparation, and inspiration has spurred me to craft pizelles, sautés, pies, sauces, roasts, pancakes and cookies. My method is to search the Internet for a recipe then make it work with what I have on hand, skipping or changing ingredients as I see fit, with, I should be honest, mixed results.

However, the below recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies has proven itself delicious on a number of occasions. These aren't the shortbread-y peanut butter cookies you may be used to, but chewy, nutty little numbers that get some depth from a scoop of jam baked in.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
Egg replacer for one egg – or – 1 tbsp. cornstarch + 2 tsp. water
1 tsp. maple syrup
3/4 cup flour
Jam of your choice (I prefer grape & blackberry)

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, combine peanut butter, maple syrup, egg replacer and syrup. Add flour and stir until well combined. If it seems a little too dry, I’ll add a touch of soy milk.

Drop spoonfuls of dough (about a tablespoon) onto a cookie sheet, and, using your thumb, make a small well in each cookie. Drop jelly in the well of each cookie and pop into the oven.

Bake for 15 - 25 minutes, depending on preferred level of chewiness. Makes 1 dozen.

Jeff Mangum

The next ATP is moving from Monticello to the decidedly less esoteric shores of Asbury Park. Beyond a shorter commute and cheaper accommodations (read: free -- I'm from the area and my parents still live there), this year's fest, running September 30-October 2, also affords the rare chance to see Jeff Mangum. The reclusive head of Neutral Milk Hotel has only played a handful of shows since leaving the band in 1998, so I am rather stoked he is headlining the fest on Friday.

But even better is his stand-alone concert on September 3 at the nearby Paramount Theater. Tickets are only $35 for the solo show, saving you $215 on ATP passes and having to sit through Portishead two nights in a row. Tickets go on sale here tomorrow at 9:00am.

"Two Headed Boy" live at the Knitting Factory NYC, March 7, 1998

Bright Eyes

Greg bought us a pair of tickets to see Bright Eyes in concert as part of my Christmas present. The show at Radio City Music Hall in March is part of an 18 date national tour in support of Mr. Oberst's last album under the "Bright Eyes" moniker, The People's Key. So it's with some bittersweetness that I listen to the leaked tracks, knowing they are the closing to a chapter in my personal music history, but also (like Conor?) that I've moved on from the isolating depression that was my late adolescence. Or so I hope...






Updated 1/31: Go to NPR to stream the whole album

Nigel Cabourn

I was turned on to the incredible craftsmanship and history of Nigel Cabourn through Ancient Industries today. The label's style is so finely honed, the pieces themselves meticulously authentic to a time and place when fashion and function met without bells and whistles. I would love one of their vintage life vests just to hang on my wall and admire.

Here are a few shots from the S/S and A/W 2010 collections.