Peanut Butter Cookie Monster, that's me...

It's a peanut buttery kinda day! I have a delicious recipe to share with you today, and in one of those small world moments I found out my blog mentor, Donalyn at dlynz.com, also whipped up a unique batch of peanut butter cookies that she is sharing on her blog today. So when you are done here, bop on over to her blog and see her take on this classic cookie favorite!

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I have a few favorite cookie recipes. A couple recipes handed down from my grandmother, then one or two that I have found along the way myself. One of my favorite cookies of all time is a simple peanut butter cookie. It is a quick and simple cookie, and you usually have all the ingredients you need on hand to make these on the fly. Which is what I did earlier this week.

I normally would make a tried and true recipe, but I thought I would have a looksee at America's Test Kitchen to see if they have a recipe. I am a believer in their recipes. I subscribe to several of their magazines and appreciate the research and taste testing they put into their recipes.

Luck would have it, I found a recipe from Cook's Country magazine (one of their publications). It is a simple recipe, but this one had a extra ingredient that just made sense...roasted peanuts ground up fine to boost the peanutty flavor. And guess what? I just happened to have roasted peanuts in my pantry.

Big, Super-Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies



2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound salted butter -- softened, but still firm
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup roasted salted peanuts -- ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses

Adjust oven rack to low-center position. Heat oven to 350°. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in medium bowl, set aside.

Either by hand or with electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts, stir gently until just incorporated.

Working with generous 2 tablespoons each time, roll dough into 2 inch balls (I used a #40 disher scoop instead of rolling each piece by hand. Because of this, I ended up with 4 dozen cookies from this recipe). Place balls on parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. Press each dough ball twice with dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design.



Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along the edges (but not on top--they will look slightly underbaked) about 10-12 minutes.



Eat when warm, when cooled, with a sandwich at lunch, after dinner as dessert, and of course, as a bedtime snack with a glass of milk.