The Peanut Critic: PB&J

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's

The Mars Candy Company has just released New Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's as a limited edition to go along with the release of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
These M&M's are definitely interesting to say the least. As you open the bag, a strong strawberry aroma fills your nostrils. The filling is essentially the same as Peanut Butter M&M's. The real difference is that the chocolate is infused with strawberry flavoring.
The idea of a Peanut Butter and Jelly M&M sounds like a slam-dunk, however I feel that the flavor balance was a little bit off. In my opinion, the peanut butter filling was overpowered by the strawberry-chocolate. Not my favorite M&M's, but they're not bad by any means. If you live on PB&J's, these are the M&M's for you!

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's Earn:

3 out of 5 Peanuts!

The Beloved Nutter Butter

For the Love of Nutter Butters

Formerly called the National Biscuit Company, Nabisco was formed in the late 1800s by several bakeries that joined together to meet a growing demand. In the 1870s, Nabisco's forefathers had introduced the first individually packaged baked goods. Before this, cookies and crackers had been sold from open barrels or biscuit boxes. The company has become the world's largest manufacturer of cookies and crackers, selling some 42 million packages of Nabisco products each day to retail outlets on every continent.

Nutter Butter Cookies were introduced in 1969 and have quickly taken their place alongside Nabisco's most popular products, including Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, and Fig Newtons.

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned Quaker oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  

Filling:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon fine graham cracker crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar with an electric mixer.
3. Add the egg, salt, and peanut butter and beat until well blended.
4. Put the oats in a blender and blend on medium speed until they are almost as finely ground as flour.
5. Add the oats and flour to the mixture and blend well.
6. Pinch out small portions of dough and roll into 1-inch balls in the palm of your hand. Press these flat on ungreased cookie sheets so that they form 2-inch circles. If you're a stickler for a cookie that looks just like the real thing, you can form the dough into a peanut shape as shown above.
   
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light brown around the edges.
8. While the cookies bake, combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl.
9. When the cookies are cool, use a butter knife to spread a thin layer of filling on the flat side of a cookie, and press another on top.
   
10. Repeat.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.