Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

  My in-laws from Houston are visiting us in Louisville this weekend for my husband, Steven’s birthday. They’re the first of our families to come and visit us here, so we’ve tried to plan the weekend so we can hit most of our favorite Louisville places and restaurants. We went to the zoo, Woodford Reserve distillery, the Slugger museum, Seviche, and Mark’s Feed Store (both on Bardstown).

  Anywho, it is Sandra and Bobby, my mother and step-father in-law, who bought for me my wonderfully wonderful artisan stand mixer that I absolutely adore. On the card they said “we expect cookies!” So, upon their arrival I said “what kind?”, and Bobby answered an emphatic “Peanut Butter.”

  Now, I love me some peanut butter. I like it on sandwiches, with crackers, with carrots, and fruit. I am however not the biggest peanut butter cookie fan in the world. But any excuse to use my stand mixer, right?

  So, I found a recipe through foodgawker.com. I just searched ‘peanut butter cookies’ and picked the ones that looked and sounded the best (the original recipe is here: ice cream for dinner).

  This recipe turned out to be absolutely fantastic. Soft and chewy, the perfect size, and a great peanutty flavoring without being too sweet. I also ended up with a perfect two dozen cookies (three batches of 8), which never happens! The last batch I decided to throw in about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips I had in the cupboard, which was probably one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. Ever. I’ve finally made a peanut butter cookie I LOVE. Not to mention Steven, Sandra, AND Bobby! There are not many problems in this world that cannot be solved with a little chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c. Natural Peanut Butter (peanuts, salt, no filler)
1 stick of butter (1/2 c.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar (I always use dark, no matter what the recipe calls for. If that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right.)
1 large egg
1 1/4 c. AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2-2 c. chocolate chips (optional)

  Preheat oven to 325F. Line baking sheets with parchment or your trusty silpat. Both work well. Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars in the stand mixer. Blend for 3-4 minutes. Beat in your egg. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together flour, powder, soda, and salt. Incorporate into the wet mixture, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl at some point to get all of that goodness in. Spatula in the no-longer-optional chocolate chips. Spoon with a rounded teaspoon (not as in the measuring spoon, as in the small spoon in your silverware drawer) and roll into balls. Place evenly onto cookie sheets (I got 8 per sheet), and cross hatch with a long-tined fork dipped in sugar. Bake about 10 minutes or until cookies reach your favorite shade of golden-brown and delicious.

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