Peanut Butter Cookies

Do you love peanut butter as much as I love peanut butter?

I really like peanut butter... so much so, that I don't allow myself to eat it normally. It starts out with just a spoonful, and then I'm eating it on apples, and bananas, and before you know it I've eaten half a box of cheez-its and carefully spread peanut butter on each little cracker before consuming it. It all ends badly, and with a new wardrobe as well, unfortunately. But I'm babbling.....

Let me tell you about the one way that I do allow myself to indulge in my love for the stuff....



peanut butter cookies. Just like your mom used to make, but better. Or maybe it's just that my mom always used a box mix... who knows.



Trust me.



These are good.



My sous chef helped me with this particular batch and wanted to know if he had to make the cross hatch pattern on the top of the cookies.



I told him that they weren't peanut butter cookies unless you do that thingy with the fork on the top. And then I fired him. And then I was stuck pressing the fork into 3 dozen of the suckers all by myself. I shall have to come up with a better and more fool-proof strategy next time around.



Peanut Butter Cookies
from The Grand Central Baking Book

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup peanut butter, at room temp (I like to use chunky...the peanuts really add something if you ask me)
2 eggs, at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and mix to combine.

In a stand mixer, (or with a handheld) beat butter and both sugars on medium speed for about 5 minutes until well combined as well as fluffy and light in color. Add the peanut butter and mix for another minute or so until well combined.

Crack the eggs into the mixer one at a time and mix until combined. Then add the vanilla. Now you're ready to gradually add the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer in 2 to 3 batches, mixing until just combined.

Use your cookie scoop or other scooping method and dole out mix onto cookie sheet. Press lightly with fork to make required pb cookie pattern on top.

Bake for 10-13 minutes until golden and then eat them for heavens sake!