Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies and Graham PB Bon Bons

I haven't found out the results of the pizza contest yet, but I did get around to making that pot pie. Look for it on Sunday with some fab twists. Now for some treats!

Last week my husband asked me to bake some goodies for a team meeting at work. I had a couple of things I wanted to try, but then the day before he told me he wanted me to make a pony cake instead. You see, my daughter is turning 4 tomorrow and she is obsessed with horses. She wanted a horse cake, so I looked online to see if Wilton had a cute pony pan. They do. Only problem is that they haven't made it since 1986. Back when I used to play with My Little Pony. Luckily, I found one on E-bay and with a little help from my bro (Thanks Jake!), secured the pan. My husband told me I could practice and make his co-worker a b-day cake. It was a joke, of course. What 30+year old man actually wants a pink pony cake for his birthday? Everyone got a good laugh and my hand was hurting from piping all those stars. I get to do it again today!
I also made these delicious sandwich cookies from Martha Stewart. The cookies are great by themselves but even better with the Raspberry-White Chocolate Cream Filling. I used another vanilla bean (can I say expensive?) and then threw together some Peanut Butter Bon Bons. They may sound simple, but they are a crowd pleaser!

Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies from Martha Stewart Cookies
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. plus 2 tsp. sugar
1 lg. egg
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
6 oz. (1 cup) fresh raspberries
7 1/2 oz. best-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 c. heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Mix butter and 1 1/2 c. sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 min.
Add egg, extract and vanilla seeds; mix until smooth.
Reduce speed to low.
Gradually mix in flour mixture.
Scoop batter using a 1-inch ice cream scoop; space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake cookies 4 minutes.
Remove from oven; gently tap baking sheets on counter to flatten cookies.
Return to oven, switching positions of sheets; bake until cookies are just set, 4 to 6 minutes more.
Let cool on parchment paper on wire racks.
Puree raspberries and remaining 2 tsp. sugar in a food processor.
Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing to extract juice; discard seeds.
Set mixture aside.
Melt white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Remove from heat; whisk in cream in a slow stream.
Whisk in reserved raspberry mixture.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Spread 1 heaping teaspoon raspberry cream on the undersides of half the cookies.
Sandwich with remaining cookies.
Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Graham and Peanut Butter Bon Bons 1 1/2 cups rice krispies
1 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
12 oz white or dark chocolate candy coating (I used Bakers milk chocolate dipping chocolate)

In a large bowl, stir together cereal, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Shape crumb mixture into balls, using 1 level Tbls for each.
Melt candy coating or dipping chocolate and dip each ball in coating, letting the excess drip off. Place on wax or parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes or until set. Store in an airtight container

Coming Tomorrow- Minestone and Easy Breadsticks!