Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches and A Light House

April just seems to be flying by and this past week once again found Emily and me attending the monthly meeting of Cook Book Club at our library. Each month we have a theme and April's theme was sandwiches. I made tuna salad sandwiches and Emily made peanut butter and jelly cookie sandwiches. If you love peanut butter, then your taste buds will surely be tickled by this marvelous concoction.

Peanut butter and Jelly Cookies                                              

2 sticks soft butter

1 cup brown sugar packed

½ cup sugar

1 cup smooth peanut butter

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup unbleached flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350. In mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add Peanut butter and mix thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla. Lastly, add dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Divide dough into forty pieces and roll into balls. Dip tops in sugar and place on a baking sheet with a silicone mat. Flatten slightly with a fork using a criss-cross pattern. Bake for ten minutes. Remove from oven and lt cool about five minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Peanut Butter Buttercream & Jam

6 TBS soft butter

½ smooth peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

6 tsp heavy cream

1 jar strawberry jam

Whip butter and peanut butter together until combined.  Add sugar. Finally, add cream and beat until fluffy. Spread mixture on half of the cookies. Spread jam on the remaining cookies. Put halves together forming sandwiches. (Makes 20)

This past week also found me reading a fantastic book titled Hello Light House. I enjoyed this book immensely for so many reasons. The illustrations are detailed, quite beautiful, and help tell the story; so pay careful attention to them when you explore this book on your own. The story tells of both the life of a light house and the life of a light house keeper. The end papers are a wonderful addition with both pictures and facts about light houses. Even the back cover is of interest depicting the inside view of a lighthouse from top to bottom. A fantastic  looking glass into history, Hello Light House is sure to please even the pickiest of readers.

 Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.