The Comforts of Childhood

#ThrowbackThursday

Generally I don't participate in any of these internet-generated themed days of the week but the hashtag association seemed quite appropriate for this recipe and the events of the week. Especially if you're an 80s or 90s baby who grew up with old school Macs and floppy disk games which were the highlight of the week when it was your turn in class to have thirty minutes or an hour in front of the computer with a partner, playing Number Munchers, Oregon Trail and Pac Man.

Earlier this week, the Internet archive otherwise known to many on Ravelry as the Wayback Machine, released a number of MS-DOS games free for public consumption. So what did we do? My brother and I decided that Oregon Trail would be the best way to experience that joyous childhood game again in our 20s (and it was much more fun than a trip to the dentist).

Splint? External fixation?

Someone didn't get their MMR completed :D

Surprisingly enough, we didn't suffer much in the way of casualties, true, so a few members of the party broke a leg or two, perhaps contracted fevers and the measles but beyond some broken axles, stolen bullets, we made it to Oregon, having set out in May with the hopes that we would arrive before the snows came upon us. 

We survived!

If you want a little bit of your childhood back today, take a look over on The Internet Archive and search for your favorite game from the days of pixeled art, desktops with towers and mice connected with cords.

Now for some sugar to sweeten up the day.

Cravings for cookies can often be a pitfall, ending up a dozen, two dozen, even three occasionally depending upon the size of each morsel. And without anyone to feed, it can become more torture than a treat by the time you've eaten six or seven straight out of the oven. The cookie jars of childhood wouldn't be enough to house the resulting leftovers. But the following recipe is perfect for those days when you can't be bothered to fire up the oven, roll up your sleeves and slave in front of the oven for as long as it takes to bake off a pound of dough.

Having seen tons of single serving recipes on Pinterest as well as microwave mug cakes, both of which have made it onto Pinterest Fail lists in one way or another, I was a bit skeptical. However, this is definitely a win. I decreased the flour since the dough seemed thick enough and didn't add salt since peanut butter has quite a bit already. Added a dash more vanilla and didn't bother to measure my PB (because more is better). So here's the recipe with my tweaks. :D

And for even more awesome lazy craving fulfillment, I used a small toaster oven and didn't have to battle the pots and pans stored in the large conventional oven (that's how you know it's a Chinese house - the oven isn't used for baking) required for a full batch of cookies.

Find the original on Sally's Baking Addiction. 

Giant Peanut Butter Cookie

2 tbl unsalted butter (softened)
2 tbl granulated sugar
2 tbl light brown sugar
2 tbl egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbl peanut butter (smooth)
7 tbl AP flour (originally 8 tbl aka 1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Additional treats: chopped walnuts, Reese's cup pieces, peanut butter m&ms

In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugars, and peanut butter. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the egg and vanilla. When combined, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda). Do not over mix. It will be a fairly thick dough.

Now here's where the fun begins. The original poster added Reese's pieces but I didn't have any on hand. So just add whatever your heart desires, as long as it doesn't exceed 1/2 cup of goodies. I used some leftover candy and walnuts. :)

Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-20 minutes. The cookie will still look a little underdone and soft in the middle but will firm up as it cools down.

Straight out of the oven

 This makes a massive amount for ONE cookie so I separated my dough into two 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick circles of about 4 inches in diameter and only baked one at a time. It came out to be 5 inches in diameter after baking. The rest of the egg is in a ziploc baggie in the freezer for my next cookie craving. Yum!