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Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-You Mouth Cookies
Medrich's recipe says that she usually chills the dough before baking for 2 hours, but that melting the butter instead is a reasonable substitute and makes for a chewier cookie. An approach that leads to instant gratification and a chewier cookie? Sold! I also changed things up a bit, substituting some whole wheat pastry flour and adding roasted peanuts to get more crunch.
Makes 3 dozen cookies
20 minutes preparation time
about 15 minutes baking time
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts out of the shell
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk the flours, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, use a mixer to mix together the sugars and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix again until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture and the peanuts and mix again, this time until the ingredients are just combined.
Scoop generous tablespoonfuls of cookie dough, and form them into balls. Arrange the balls on the lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball with the tines of a fork into a cross hatch pattern.
Bake the cookies for 14 to 16 minutes until they are lightly golden brown in color. Medrich always rotates her cookie sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, which I am sure makes for perfectly-evenly cooked cookies. I forget to do that about half of the time, but the cookies are still delicious.
Cool the cookies on a baking rack. They will keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks.