cookies and kongs (and a krusteaz #giveaway)

I wish I could say I was the kind of person who was so serious about cooking that she never took shortcuts in the kitchen, but that would be a lie. Sometimes, nay, most of the time, I appreciate a quick fix.

Have you heard of KONG dog toys? They're amazing. We got a couple for Marleau first thing because the woman who was fostering him recommended them and we figured she knew what she was talking about since she's had 60+ dogs come through her home. They're just little rubber toys that you can fill with food that the pooch has to figure out how to reach. It gives them a distraction and some nourishment at the same time, which is perfect for Marleau because he has a few hours alone in his crate each day while we're at work. We use peanut butter as the glue inside, and Marleau is very enthusiastic about it. Needless to say, we now have two jars of peanut butter in the pantry--an uncontaminated one for our use, and one to stuff the KONG.

Lest you worry, be assured that I used the jar of peanut butter that has been far away from Marleau's slobber for these cookies, which were made with the help of a mix from good ol' Krusteaz. When I have to choose between taking 30 minutes to make cookies from scratch or using that extra time to play with my sweet, mischievous puppy, there's no question what I'm going to do. These were very good, enhanced with some honey-roasted peanuts and a coating of coarse sugar. Not too shabby for a baker who has one eye on her puppy so he doesn't gnaw on the chair leg (or pee on the carpet)(or bring a deceased squirrel into the house--yes, it happened) and the other on the mixing bowl!

National Cookie Day is coming up on December 4 and I'm celebrating as a part of Krusteaz's Holiday Cookie blogger program. Holiday baking can be hecti, and Krusteaz is here to help, offering high quality and easy-to-bake cookie mixes, saving you time in the kitchen and making more time for you to spend with family (and pets) this holiday season. You can be in the running to win this huge package from Krusteaz:
*One box of the following mixes: Shortbread, Gingerbread, Snickerdoodle, Butter Vanilla Sugar, and Oatmeal Scotchie,
*Some fun holiday baking items like an apron, tote bag, cookie cutters, frosting decorating pen, and a mason jar (for gifting and storage!), and
*Holiday cookie recipe ideas for inspiration.

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. The contest will close in one week, on November 19th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Peanut and Peanut Butter Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 14-16 3-inch cookies
Ingredients:

• 1 package Krusteaz Double Peanut Butter Cookie mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped honey-roasted peanuts
• 1/2 cup coarse sugar

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir together egg, butter, cookie mix, and chopped peanuts until dough forms, hand kneading if necessary--I like to put on a latex glove and go to town on the stuff.
Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, then roll in the coarse sugar. Repeat until the dough is gone; you should get about 14-16 cookies.
Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet, then use a fork to form a criss-cross pattern on each cookie.
Bake 11-13 minutes, turning halfway through, or until light golden brown around edges. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan.

Muddy mayhem.