It was the 4th of July, and the kids deserved cookies. And when we were in Pennsylvania, I’d picked up something intriguing called “butterscotch peanut butter”, and I thought that would make for an interesting variation. I was right! These are terrific. Sweet, nutty, crunchy, and crumbly.
The recipe said to use half a cup of white sugar and half a cup of brown, so I used cane sugar instead of white and did just under half a cup for each, figuring that the “butterscotch” in butterscotch peanut butter was going to provide some extra sweetness.
They both went into the bowl of the beautiful new stand mixer with the butter. It was a lovely thing to watch. Magical, almost. Meditative, definitely.
I added the egg, and beat some more.
It was time to add the butterscotch peanut butter.
Since the recipe included a weight measurement for it, I pulled out my digital scale and measured accordingly.
In it went, along with the vanilla bean paste. Around went the paddle. I could watch this for hours.
Next up, the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl I whisked together whole wheat white flour (instead of all purpose), subbed in some wheat germ for part if it, plus baking powder and salt.
I poured it in incrementally and watched the mixer have at it. It was a rewarding process. Easiest cookie dough I’ve ever made.
I rolled it into small balls and pressed down with a fork. The dough got a bit crumbly at the very end and I had to almost knead it by hand for the last few, but I got over 40 cookies out of it so I was fine with a few outliers.
The magical baking time turned out to be 12 minutes, with a tray rotation at 5 minutes in.
And there you have it! Butterscotch peanut butter cookies!
Since it was July 4th, we packed some of these up and headed out to go see some fireworks. My photography class ended a few weeks ago but I’m still working on learning how best to use my camera, so I got some tips on the web and brought it with me to see if I could photograph the fireworks, despite my lack of a tripod. I got a few good shots!
PERFECT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE (original)
My version, Butterscotch Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from Drizzle & Dip)
ingredients:
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup (scant) brown sugar
1/2 cup (scant) cane sugar
1 large egg
1 cup (265 grams) butterscotch peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2/3 + 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
directions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease two cookies sheets or line them with parchment paper.
Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy. Beat in the egg. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Separately, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and salt.
Add the flour mixture incrementally to the peanut butter batter, beating on low speed. Once incorporated, remove bowl from the mixer and use your spatula for a few final swipes.
Roll the dough into small balls about an inch in diameter. Place on baking sheet and add crisscross pattern with fork.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the pans about 5 minutes in. (Mine were done perfectly at 12 minutes.)
Cool on wire rack, then gobble up.
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