Recipe Mon Jun 22 2009

For a Peanut Butter Lover

I came across this amazing peanut butter cookie recipe a few weeks ago while on the hunt for something new, and these don't disappoint: the recipe, which yields only a few dozen (or did I eat all the dough before it had a chance to hit the oven?) is a heavenly glob of sugared peanut butter--crispy, chewy, fluffy, transcendent. The crisscrossing of the cookie surface in this recipe is meant to be a skull and crossbones-esqe warning to outsiders, as in "get off my cookies, or I'll cut you." I was going to take a picture of the baked product, but I just didn't have enough restraint to grab my camera. Step one is admitting you have a problem, folks.

Recipe after the jump!

Peanut Butter Cookies
(recipe from Magnolia Bakery cookbook via Smitten Kitchen)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar -- the remaining tablespoon -- on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

— Robyn Nisi / Comments (0)