PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe represents one of my Mom’s most frequently requested treats.  As an avid peanut butter cookie fan myself, I put in a request for a batch as often as I can get away with it.  In fact, these cookies have shown up in one iteration or another throughout my entire life.
In elementary school, each student was permitted to bring in some kind of confection to share with the class on their birthday.  Each year, much to the delight of my classmates, I would ask to have these peanut butter cookies with a Hershey kiss planted in the middle.  Over the years, my tastes have changed, and so too has this chameleon of a cookie dough base.  As time has gone by, these cookies have seen the inclusion of everything from toffee pieces to raisins and even rolled oats (one of my personal favorites).  Whatever form these guys take, rest assured that with a recipe this solid, you really can’t go wrong adding in any of your favorites.  These days my Mom likes to make them with chocolate chips and chopped peanuts — a classic combination that is top three all-time in my book.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This cookie dough is an adaptation of a recipe that calls for the cookies to be made much smaller and then sandwiched around jelly or jam for a “peanut butter and jelly sandwich” effect.  Instead, we make the cookies larger and throw in everything from cashews to oatmeal in an effort to doctor up the outstanding dough base.  If you want an especially attractive final product, do what my Mom does and dip the back of a fork in flour before laying on the signature crosshatch pattern of all good peanut butter cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
  
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped peanuts or cashews

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
   
2. Cream the butter or shortening with both sugars until light and fluffy in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Add in the egg along with the peanut butter and process until just incorporated.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and add to the peanut butter mixture in the bowl with the mixer on low speed until just combined.
5. Remove the mixing bowl from the electric mixer and gently fold in the chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.
6. Shape the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and place them 3-inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. With the back of a fork dipped in flour, gently flatten each dough ball in a crisscross pattern.
7. Bake until set but not hard, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.