Kathryns Bakes: Peanut Butter & Jam Cookie Sandwiches

Today I share with you the recipe for Dairy Free Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches (or just peanut butter cookies if you prefer). I used a recipe for once from The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town by Ms Cupcakes which was the simplest recipe I have ever used then used my own peanut butter butter cream recipe :) 

For the cookies you will need:

• 275 g smooth peanut butter
• 125 g pure/dairy free margarine 
• 140 g maple syrup
• 85 g caster sugar 
• 70 g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 240 g plain flour 

Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper 

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients except the flour, then once fully mixed slowly add and stir in the flour. Leaving a couple of inches in between, use a spoonful for each cookie and place on the baking tray ( I had 4 balls on each baking tray). Flatten down and use a fork to criss-cross the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes after taken out of the oven then use a spatula to remove and leave to cool completely.  

You will need: Organic Smooth Peanut Butter with No Added SugarStork Butter BlockIcing Sugar

Using 1/2 of the blocked butter, cream until smooth then add a couple of tablespoons of Peanut Butter (or to taste). Once creamed together add the icing sugar and carefully mix together. I have never measured icing sugar before as it just goes everywhere so add quite a bit and mix until you get a nice texture that isn't too soft or too lumpy. 

Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwich

Pipe a layer of the Butter Cream onto the flat side of 1 cookie. Spread a thinner layer of butter cream on the second cookie and layer with strawberry jam. Sandwich together lightly and voila!

Bake Off Part 1!

Omg I am exhausted! I have literally had no time to myself these past few weeks but hopefully this weekend I will be able to put my feet up, enjoy some TV and chill out! 

As you may be aware I am taking part in The Great Pink Bake Off tomorrow! I have been baking for 2 days straight and thought I would share to you the cakes I chose to bake. Things were kept minimal to keep the cost down but hopefully they still taste just as good. Baking is a little hard in a small uni house kitchen especially when the oven isn't a fan oven so I can only put one tray in at a time otherwise one tray cooks and the other just burns. In addition, flour/sugar/glitter gets absolutely everywhere! The room was covered, but luckily my house mates were all out so I was left to make the mess and then clean it up as if nothing had happened!

So I chose to bake a few varieties. Firstly the plain old vanilla cupcakes. These are just classics and for people who don't like to venture out or like things to be simple. Chocolate were a must! I baked plain with chocolate butter cream, as well as mint chocolate and then some chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge icing. 

 Sainsbury's baking range is amazing at the moment and I hope it plans to increase. I was able to purchase some dried raspberries pieces so made some vanilla sponge filled with raspberry jam topped with vanilla butter cream and sprinkled of raspberries!

I admit, they aren't my favourite batches of cupcakes but bearing in mind I have baked over 96 I feel quite proud of myself :) 

Other than baking, I also went to see Bastille the other night! I am not a huge fan so I won't rave about it, they are very good musicians though. 

I am not sure if I mentioned my radio broadcast yet but I was basically have a slot as a news presenter on my uni radio every Friday at midday. So my first broadcast went... okay.. I mean as a first attempt I think I must of done okay, a few technical difficulties here and there and I must learn not to talk so fast ha blame the nerves! 

I have already wrote my first few news stories for Friday because after this bake sale I have to be ready for 7 pm for the Bar Social! Apparently it is one of the messiest uni socials so no joke, I am pretty worried how I am going to turn out especially as 3 Malibu and lemonades hit me pretty bad let alone starting drinking at 7 pm and it'll be attack on the newbies! 

I will do a Part 2 to let you all know how I get on... both with the uni social but more importantly the Bake Sale!

Keep calm and eat a cupcake!!

Lots of love, Kathryn xxx 

Peanut Butter & Jam Cupcakes

So today I decided to try and replicate my love for Peanut Butter & Jelly (Jam) in a cupcake form. This is probably an either love it or hate it cupcake but seeing as its my favourite spread on toast I went with it. Feel free to read how I made them, bare in mind I've yet to try one (however the frosting is amazing!)

Step 1: 

Bake 12 cupcakes in the oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins until golden brown and have a springy feel when you touch them. 

Recipe: This is how all my cupcake recipes start

Measure 3 medium sized eggs and then measure the butter, self raising flour and caster sugar to the weight of those 3 eggs. Simple. 

Cream the butter (Pure Soya Margarine) and sugar together, then add the eggs one by one. Sieve and fold in the flour. 

I would add a few dashes of vanilla essence here however I didn't realise I ran out! 

Step 2:

 Once cooked and cooled, use either one of these cupcake cutters if you have one or an apple core to remove the centre of the cake. 

Stir some jam in a bowl till runny and smooth and pour into the hole till it is half full then insert back the cake. 

Step 3: Peanut Butter Icing! 

Recipe:

 I can't explain to you how bad I am with creating buttercream icing using measurements, instead its a taste and add job.

You will need: Organic Smooth Peanut Butter with No Added Sugar

Stork Butter Block

Icing Sugar

Using 3/4 of the blocked butter, cream until smooth then add a couple of tablespoons of Peanut Butter (or to taste). Once creamed together add the icing sugar and carefully mix together. I have never measured icing sugar before as it just goes everywhere so add quite a bit and mix until you get a nice texture that isn't too soft or too lumpy. 

Step 4: Decorate!

 I use the Wilton 1m Icing Tip to pipe with. Either pipe centre outwards to form a rose swirl or out inwards to form the typical cupcake swirl. Drizzle some jam over and add some crushed hazelnuts if you want :) 

And Voila

x