Peanut Butter Cup Cookies - a family tradition

Lots of people make peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss on top. That may be well and good for them, but for me, the secret sauce is to swap that kiss for a cup.
It's a simple change, but using a mini Reeces peanut butter cup as a topper always seems to wow the crowd. My college friends still ask me to make these cookies, and when I brought some home for Christmas my nephew immediately grabbed 2 and came back for more. Since he arrives tomorrow for a visit, I whipped up a batch as a surprise. The best part about this recipe? You can go from start to finish in under 30 minutes! Enjoy.



Ingredients

2 cups Bisquick
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add vanilla and blend well. Mix in Bisquick. After blended, roll dough into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes (I always do 6). While the cookies are baking, unwrap the peanut butter cups. Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, squish one unwrapped peanut butter cup into each cookie and let cool.

Neighborhood hikes

About a mile from our house there's a trail that gives you great views of the city and the bay when you reach the top. Brett discovered it on a bike ride on Saturday.

On Sunday, Holly and I went along for the walk. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great trip.

Can you believe it's only February? I love these West Coast winters.

"Chez Geoffroy" opens in Corte Madera

Every now and then I picture myself owning a bed and breakfast. In reality though, I'm just not a morning person. Bed and lunch would be possible. Bed and breakfast? Not so much. Until I disover my inner early bird, I'll just putter around doing innkeeper like activities at our own house, "Chez Geoffroy."


My brother and nephew are coming on Tuesday, so this weekend we furnished our guest bedroom, cleaned the hot tub and fixed the grill. I also got the cooking bug and cooked up a storm (Chicken Pho, Butter Chicken, Channa Masala, Thai curry chicken, Biriyani, and a salt caramel filling for French macarons).

I have a feeling there might be a meal or two on the deck if the weather holds. In fact, I foresee many meals on the deck in our new place.

Photos of our new rental

Last week Brett and I moved out of our apartment into a 3 BR 2 Bath single family home on the bay. The house is old, the floors are slanted and the windows are single pane, but the view and deck are perfect for relaxing. We look forward to hosting many fun gatherings here. For those interested, here are a few photos....

The view from the back deck (which includes a hot tub)...

The view from the dock looking back towards the house. It even came with 2 kayaks which Brett is thrilled about :-)

The family room with windows overlooking the bay...

The dining room, also with windows overlooking the bay...

An open kitchen with skylight that overlooks the dining room...

...and we've also got a guest room just waiting to be filled. Note the two wall ovens at the ready to cook for a crowd. Come on over :-)

Fun finds in San Francisco

A few weeks ago I found sour cream and onion crickets for sale at a candy shop. Last weekend we found meat cones and black truffle popcorn within 200 feet of each other.

We didn't buy the popcorn (though the curry one sounded interesting). Ever the fan of meat, Brett decided to partake in a salumi cone. I much prefer cones with gelato in them, but to each their own :-)

The Holly Hoedown

Most dogs have a ticklish spot. Holly's is a few inches in front of her tail. When scratched lightly, she starts wiggling around in a manner we've dubbed "The Holly Hoedown." She's known to do it most vigorously when she's excited or nervous, with her feet coming a good 6 inches off the floor. Let's just say that her dancing has caused many strangers to smile and laugh. She wasn't in her finest form for this video, but you'll get the idea :-)

Moving day

Woohoo! We're finally moving into the new rental. Four moves in three years is nothing right? Soon, this pile of boxes will be moved and unpacked and we can relax. Or so we think. I wonder what life has in store for us next.....I'm done trying to predict.

Rental house overlooking San Quentin prison, here we come :-)