The food blogosphere came together this week to support our own Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie’s Kitchen and her young daughters, when the shocking news of her husband’s sudden passing hit us all like a slap in the face. And we did it in the best way we know how – with food. With peanut butter pies, to be exact.

You know, I don’t know how to speak about this kind of loss – the one-minute-he’s-here-and-the-next-minute-he’s-gone kind of loss. In my life, I’ve known several and it’s never any easier, because it never makes any sense. I’ve always said that there’s not much I believe in, but I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I believe in ultimate justice. You may not see it immediately – it may take weeks, months, or even years – but you will see it. Right now, I can’t fathom any rhyme nor reason, and those words seem hollow to me.

All I can say is, I’m so sorry for your loss, Jennie. All I can do is give you a virtual hug, and hope that you can read everything I feel for you in that seemingly lame gesture.

In response to the outpouring of love and questions of “What can we do for you?” from food bloggers all over the world, Jennie wrote, “For those asking what they can do to help my healing process, make a peanut butter pie this Friday and share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there’s no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.”

Chances are, if you Google “peanut butter pie” from here on out, you’ll have literally hundreds of choices and just as many more eloquent tributes than this one.

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

(makes about 12 mini-pies)

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup cream (light or heavy)- divided

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg (room temperature)

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 300º F.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it’s smooth and fluffy. Add the brown sugar, then the peanut butter, 1/4 cup of the cream, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl well after each addition. Last, add the egg and beat until the entire mixture is smooth. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, and stir until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.

Prepare a muffin pan by lining it with foil or silicone cupcake liners. If using foil liners, give each one a small shot of cooking spray.

Using a dessert spoon, place a heaping spoonful of the chocolate mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Now, spoon the pie batter over the chocolate, filling each cup about 2/3 full.

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. The batter should still jiggle just a bit when the pan is shaken. Allow the pan and pies to cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least several hours.

When cold and firm, flip each pie over onto individual plates and unmold to serve. Allow to warm for about 10 minutes, to get a really soft creamy texture.

Too many for one sitting? After chilling, leave them in the liners, pop into a freezer storage bag, and put them in the freezer. You can thaw just the amount you need in the future!

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I couldn’t make my peanut butter pies for Mikey and Jennifer Perillo on Friday, because my own Mikey was having oral surgery. In deference to his sore mouth, I skipped the crust and my beloved chunky peanut butter, and resisted the temptation to garnish with chopped peanuts. I promise you – the hugs were no less fierce.

Yes, I said Peanut Butter Cup Bon Bon Cookies. A little bit today and a little bit yesterday.

At the moment, we’re only going up to my in-laws’ condo about once a week, picking at cleaning things out. No, we’re not making a lot of forward progress that way, but what’s the rush? It all has to go through probate court, and with the housing market the way it is, and the construction on the exterior of the building going on, no way we’re going to be able to sell it for at least a year. *Sigh*

But going slowly has its advantages, too. Mike started gathering up their books and set aside the only cookbooks they had, for me to look at: the 1967 Joy of Cooking and the 1956 and 1974 Betty Crocker Cookbooks. Flipping through them, I kept running across newspaper clippings of lamb shanks recipes. Not sure why – I don’t think they cooked anything from scratch in over 20 years.

But, lovin’ me some old-timey cookbooks (I own several going back to 1920′s), and thinking about the 12 Weeks of Holiday (Christmas) Cookies, I then turned to the cookie (or as they wrote it, cooky) chapters, and found several that I think I will share with you over the next few weeks.

First, my version of the recipe and then my notes:

Peanut Butter Cup Bon Bon Cookies
(liberally adapted from The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, ©1956)

Yield: About 20 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla extract (yes, that’s one tablespoon, not a typo)
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1/8 tsp. salt

5 full-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, cut into quarters

Nonpareils, or decor of your choice

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together till well-blended and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt. Beat on low speed till thoroughly incorporated, and you get a good, stiff dough.

For each cookie, scoop out 1 level tablespoon of dough. Flatten it out in the palm of your hand and place one of the peanut butter cup quarters in the center. Wrap the dough around the candy and roll it lightly between your hands to form a ball. Roll the cookie ball in the nonpareils and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing the cookie balls about 1 inch apart. They will spread a little.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies are set, but not browned.

Notes:

The basic recipe in the cookbook did not call for cocoa powder. I added that, as I thought a chocolate cookie dough would work best with a peanut butter cup center. Alternatively, you could melt and add a one ounce square of unsweetened chocolate. But for me, why make another pan dirty? And yes, there is no egg or leavening in the recipe.

You can make them plain and use virtually anything you can think of as the center surprise. Other kinds of candy bars, drained & dried maraschino cherries, dried fruit, maybe even a whole hazelnut!

You can decorate them in so many different ways, too! There’s a recipe given for a thin icing you can dip the baked cookies into. You can even color the cookie dough and the icing with food coloring, then maybe sprinkle with colored sugars or holiday sprinkles. Or just roll the unbaked cookies in different colored sugars.

I baked these for the full 15 minutes, resulting in a crisp cookie. If you’d like a softer cookie, you might want to take them out of the oven at 12 or 13 minutes.

I loved the crispy exterior, and the peanut butter cup piece inside kind of melded with the cookie interior itself, making a soft, rich texture contrast. But what I love best about this recipe is the myriad ways you can change it up to suit your taste and the flavors of the seasons.

Go ahead – Play with your food! You’re only limited by your own imagination!

Week 8 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: