Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter is the basis of some of my very favourite cookies; you add chocolate and it's game on, baby. Here are a couple of the most popular ones:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

You will need:

1 c peanut butter (probably not natural, sorry Mom)

1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 c packed (always dark) brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 c all purpose flour

1 c semisweet chocolate chips

That's all!

I've often been tempted to double this recipe, but the sheer volume of peanut butter has dissuaded me. The other thing is that these cookies have to be rolled or scooped, so that's a lot of sticky peanut butter balls. 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and cover your cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

Beat peanut butter, both sugars and the baking soda until combined. I am going to comment here although I know I am probably the only one that is bugged by this. There is no salt in the original recipe. Typically, you would have the salt to react with your baking soda, so I have actually added 1/4 teaspoon. Another thing is that you would not usually add ingredients in this order, so I again tried everything in a more traditional way, as in flour mixed with soda and salt, all wet together, almost like a muffin method. I didn't find either method made a huge difference, so do whatever feels natural! 

Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. Here comes the messy part. Shape the dough into balls, about an inch or so across. If you have a cookie scoop, use it, for the love of Bob. If the dough is over-beaten, the peanut butter can make this a super greasy and crumbly cookie to try to get on a sheet. Scoop twelve per sheet, they don't really spread much.

I ran right past the chance to photograph the raw ones, weird!

Closer...

Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and just a little brown. This is one cookie you will want to let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack, instead of immediately de-sheeting it after baking. 

Mine!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

You will need:

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 c all purpose unbleached flour

3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 c honey-roasted peanuts

3/4 c peanut butter cups, chopped (freeze for 15 minutes first, makes them easier to chop)

All of this

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In your stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together until smooth.

Then add in the sugars, baking soda and salt. Hey! Maybe it's a peanut butter thing! Doesn't explain the salt, though, hmm...Beat until it is combined, then add in the egg, milk and vanilla. Add as much of the flour as you can, although this will be tough going for your mixer.

Better the mixer than my arm!

Stir in the chocolate chips, peanuts and pb cups. Scoop 12 cookies to a sheet; giving them lots of room to spread. 

Bake for 9-10 minutes, looking for a light browning only. These babies can come right off the sheets from the oven and onto wire racks to cool.

Closer...

So awesome

I know what you are probably thinking: these cookies look practically identical! And they are, except that one has nuts and peanut butter cups and the other one is the best peanut butter chocolate chips cookies you will ever have in your whole life. I'll leave you to decide which is which.