I love peanut butter cookies. (I love peanut butter anything.) I also wanted to make a treat for the kids to tide them over while I’m away, and to make them feel good and sweet and happy while I’m still here, too.
After our edgy morning, we went out for a while and that seemed to snap everyone out of it. So while Dave fired up the grill and the kids ran around outside like maniacs, I tried a new recipe. A GREAT recipe, it turns out. And a very simple one, too.
In case you weren’t already convinced that I’m not a very good photographer, here’s a photo of all the ingredients needed for these cookies…except the vanilla, which I forgot to put in there. It was also nice that I didn’t notice that attractive stain on the baking soda container.
The first step was getting the butter and the peanut butter mixed together. It’s a very rewarding step, because it looks and smells so good.
And I love instructions like “add sugars and beat until fluffy.” Fluffy is such a great word for food.
Add sugars.
Beat until fluffy.
Another good adjective coming: add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Fluffy, then smooth. Every step of this process is texturally rewarding.
And as always, the dry ingredients get mixed separately, then gradually added in. My special feat here was adding the 3/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda in only one move.
And yes, that’s a band-aid on my thumb, as always. I’m always doing something to myself.
I started out still using the stand mixer, but when the batter started to get thicker, I switched to doing it by hand. This batter just kept getting better & better.
The recipe said to shape the dough into balls and roll in granulated sugar, but I used Turbinado sugar instead. It has nice large crystals, and makes baked goods sparkle a bit, visually.
See? Sparkly.
The most important instruction in the recipe is not to overbake. The blogger who posted it is very clear that the cookies will NOT look done but should be taken out of the oven within 10-12 minutes anyway. So that’s what I did.
And I also added mini chocolate chips to the last half of the batter, to see how that would go.
It went well.
And I have proof that both types were acceptable for consumption.
The recipe comes from a blog called Everyday Home Cook, and can be found right here. The cookies are wonderful, very soft on the inside in that perfect peanut butter cookie way. I think I didn’t even need the Turbinado sugar; it’s a nice sweet crunch to have on the outside, but I think it detracts from the peanut butter-y ness of the cookies themselves. Next time I’ll try it without.
Once all the cookies were done, I made the banana muffins again. There were some truly repulsive-looking overripe bananas on the counter and I was glad to transform them into something beautiful and delicious, mostly so I could stop shuddering when I walked past them. Let’s hope they travel well.
SOFT & CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE (original)
My version of Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, updated 11/17/13 (adapted from Everyday Home Cook)
makes 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on the cookie size
ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon 1% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2/3 + 1/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
turbinado sugar, for rolling cookies in
directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Add white and brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Separately, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Pour dry ingredients into the stand mixer with the peanut butter mixture and beat just until combined.
Scoop out batter and roll into balls, then give them a quick spin in turbinado sugar before placing on cookie sheet, ungreased or lined with parchment paper. (I made small cookies and got 4 dozen.)
I scooped out half the batter, then added chocolate chips to the second half.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake! Even if they don’t look done take them out. Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 3 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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