If there is one thing you don't see a lot on the lavender apple farm, its peanut butter. Peggy is just not a huge fan. But when it came to dedicating a week to the simplest recipes we can think of, our week would not be complete without a no bake cookie recipe. I know when I have a cookie craving, it can often come late and night. I don't really feel like turning on the oven and waiting around while I get my butter to room temperature, chill my dough, and bake several batches of cookies. No Bake Cookies are the perfect solution for that. These are a great "one pot" treat and are ready in minutes. This particular recipe has a great depth of flavor from the dark chocolate pieces, and a nice salty bite from the peanut butter. It's also got a great chewy texture from the oats. You will love it. 

Make sure you set out a large sheet of wax paper because you will want that ready once your ingredients are combined. 

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
3 pieces dark chocolate melting wafers (or you can use any dark chocolate you have on hand)
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla 
1/4 tsp salt
4-5 cups of oats depending on your chocolate to oat preference 

Melt your stick of butter. I LOVE the taste of brown butter in this recipe, so if you feel ambitious, you can let your butter heat up until brown pieces begin to form and it turns a deep golden color. If you are in a hurry, you can just melt it quickly. Then add your milk slowly so you don't scald it. Mix in your cocoa powder and sugar. Bring all of this goodness to a boil for about 1 minute, make sure you stir it the entire time so nothing burns. Reduce the heat to low. Then add in your dark chocolate pieces, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until everything is combined. Remove from the heat and add your oats. I would start with 4 cups and keep adding until it looks like everything is coated well and there is no extra chocolate on the bottom of the pan. Then drizzle your wax paper with clumps of the oat mixture. Wait until they cool and you (and the cookies) are all set!

The other day I was in the mood for some cookies and I made the mistake of asking my toddler what type of cookies we should bake. His answer? Pumpkin cookies. Ok, pumpkin cookies are a random request for the first day of spring, but I'm fostering his new found skill of decision making. So we rolled with it and made some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. My favorite pumpkin chocolate chip recipe however only uses 6 tablespoons of pumpkin puree. So I am inevitably left with  2/3rds of a can of pumpkin every time I bake them. What to do, what to do. So I invented a new recipe that uses up all the leftover pumpkin! I know I'm not the only one who has left over portions of pumpkin laying around, so without further ado, I introduce to you: Pumpkin Pasta with Brown Butter and Sage. 

Ingredients;
1/2 stick of butter
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried french tarragon
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 box penne pasta (about 8 ounces) 
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup goat cheese
Salt & Pepper

Melt your butter in a frying pan on low heat. Just leave it there and don't mess with it. Let it bubble and get golden. As soon as you see the butter changing from yellow to golden, add your garlic, sage, and tarragon. 

While your butter browns, go ahead and boil your pasta in salted water for 8-10 minutes as the package directs. Strain the water from your pasta, reserving about 1/4 of a cup of the starchy water for later. While that pasta sits in your colander, use your warm pot to heat up your pumpkin puree and mix it with your goat cheese. Once those two are incorporated, add your pasta back to pot and mix. Then add your butter to the pot and mix. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little of your reserved pasta water to loosen it up. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Due to the brown butter, pumpkin, herbs, and goat cheese, this is a very flavorful dish. It tastes as indulgent as a macaroni, but due to a lot of the sauce being made up from pumpkin, its much less sinful, and a little bit more sophisticated as well. This will serve 2-3 people. 

Enjoy!