Summer 2012: Island Hopping, Part 3

I know this was supposed to be the summer of Island Hopping, but due to one thing or another (mostly the heat index), I've been spending it inside in the air conditioning sorting through things. My islands thus far visited include: the parchment-covered Isle of Memories, to the Peninsula of the CPU where I commute to the Twin Island of Techies in the Keys, to the oft-visited Kitchen Island.

Ah, the tiny Kitchen Island. It's a miracle that so much is produced on such a tiny speck of land, with nary a granite piece, tiled backsplash, stainless metal quarry, or electrical or utility connection in sight. Not to mention water/wine cooler/dishwasher/cabana boy/personal chef/personal shopper/or interior decorator.

It's the only place I have to create culinary masterpieces, and it's the only real estate around with room to store sundries, cooking implements, spices, and to experiment and feed visitors and IT boys alike.

It is from this Kitchen Island that I was thinking of attempting to make a themed treat for the summer: The Floating Island - a classic French dessert with meringue and custard, but mon dieu, that looks super hard - so thanks to Wikipedia for supplying this image instead.Rather than get all "het" up about making it, I turned my energies instead to trying out a recipe that I knew I had ingredients for: Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies, a recipe that had come to my attention via the Interwebs.

1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
chocolate chips optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients together, adding the chips at the end.
(Dough will be super sticky, and stiff. You can add a little milk to thin out the batter.)
Drop by the spoonful (or cookie scoop) onto your cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with sugar (fine/granulated/demerara) and press the tines of a fork into the tops to create that peanut butter cookie look.
Bake 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven.)

The author of the recipe added suggestions, including adding more peanut butter, different chips, but my brain went elsewhere.

Batch one was baked as above, and was yummy and was eaten by my usual guinea pigs and me, of course.

HOWEVER, I immediately started to plot something else.

In my pantry was a container of the Peanut Butter & Co.'s Mighty Maple blend pb, and in my freezer was a package of Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Bacon, as well as enough stuff to remake the cookies for an upcoming staff party and so ... Viola.

Breakfast cookies - maple, peanut butter, bacon, chocolate chip pancake cookies!

Package of pre-cooked bacon
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1.5 cups Mighty Maple PB
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
chocolate chips

Pre-heat bacon. Cook until crispy. Drain well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix up cake mix, peanut butter, eggs, and milk.
(Dough will be sticky. Can be thinned out with a touch of milk.)
Chop up or tear bacon into little pieces.
Scoop dough onto cookie sheet with scoop.
Add about 6 chocolate chips and a few bacon pieces to center of dough ball, wrapping treats into the center, covering like a dumping.
Stud a few chocolate chips/bacon pieces to top of cookie.
Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.
Let cool slightly on sheet before transferring to rack to cool.

Really yummy warm, with milk.

Not recommended that you eat more than 2 or 3 at a time. These are once in a while cookies. Not all the time cookies.

Trust me, I know. I ate way too many, and even the party people couldn't eat more than 1 or 2 at a time. Though, now that I think about it, they may have been full of beer and other party foods.