Peanut butter + Sriracha

Deceptively spicy

In true Mango fashion, it's been another month since my last post. I can't say that I've actually been that busy in January either, except there was a bit of traveling. I always find that whenever I travel, no matter how short and close the trip, I am slightly disorganized in life matters when I leave and return to an even bigger mess. It takes a while to get back on track... and let's just say that it feels like I have been pseudo-travelling non-stop for about 3 months and just got back a couple weeks ago. I hope to post more frequently in the near future though, dear reader, so I can update on the fun mini-adventures I've been having lately. But for now I'll just say... winter in LA/California. Yeah... ain't nothing else like it. :)

Amidst the exciting end of the Super Bowl last weekend and recent #Linsanity hitting the nation (go Jeremy!), I resolved to blog a little more. I've recently become a little obsessed with Pinterest which to be honest seems like a very insane thing to spend so much time on. Yet... it's so addicting to look at pictures of stuff. Maybe it's the visual learner in me that enjoys the beautiful colors of places, fashion styles, and foodstuffs, not to mention the home decor. Anyway, my friend Lynne and I recently discussed how photos are associated with happiness, so maybe more photos --> happier people --> more photos --> even happier. Hopefully by documenting a little more and including photos, I can test this out over the next few months and see how it goes.

I'm very excited to be hosting an inaugural game night for my friends tomorrow. I picked up more of the board game craze from playing a lot of games with my med school friends (first and second year of med school was pass fail for a reason, right?), and ever since taking a year off and displacing myself from those friends, I've been looking to share more of the board game love with other groups of friends ever since. I'm eagerly anticipating sharing the game Settlers of Catan with some newbies, and partaking in a supposedly amazing CAKE which we will acquire on game day. So excited!

Initially, before cake became a reality I was going to make some peanut butter Sriracha cookies to share. It sounds like an odd combination but the flavors actually do mix, and it's a pretty tasty albeit SPICY cookie.  The first time was after I discovered the recipe from Randy Clemens' blog. Incidentally, I went to high school with Randy Clemens, who is the author of The Sriracha Cookbook. Of course, I had to support his work/passion and buy the book, and there are actually quite a few things I plan to make in there. He's got a fair number of handy sauces using Sriracha too (SriRANCHa, for example). I made them for the Super Bowl party last year, so it seemed like an apt time to share them again, in anticipation of yet another game night, though this one will be less physical. Unless some people start getting really competitive...

Hope you enjoy the recipe! If you end up making them, let me know what you think!

This is what happens when you over-bake :T

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Peanut Butter Sriracha Cookies (From The Sugar Pixie)

Makes 28-30 cookies.

• 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
• 3/4 cups crunchy peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's Crunchy Unsalted) 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 c Sriracha
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Granulated sugar for coating dough balls.

1.    Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars.

2.    Slowly add in sriracha, eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.

3.    In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4.    Gently mix flour into peanut butter mixture until well combined. Place batter into refrigerator for 1 hour to chill. Dough should be soft, not sticky. 

5.    Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

6.    Roll dough into approx 1″ sized balls or use a Medium sized cookie scoop/Size 40 – 1 1/2tbs portion. Dip the top of dough ball into granulated sugar and place onto cookie sheet.

7.    Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes or just until the cookies begin to brown. Do NOT over-bake!

8.    Cool on wire racks and enjoy!