One thing that drew me to this recipe were the simple ingredients- I already had most of these items in my kitchen (which is helpful this time of year when a trek to my local grocery store requires traversing the giant snow mounds in the parking lot to get to the front door of the store).
I started with some room temperature butter (and yes, that is my new mixer paddle!).
To it I added brown sugar...
Egg, vanilla...
Flour...
Salt...
Baking soda...
And the most important part: PEANUT BUTTER!
After a few minutes of mixing, this dough was ready to go (and yes- I love the paddle!).
Per the recipe, I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge overnight.
The next morning I got up really early in order to make the cookies. (In fact, I got up so early the sun hadn't even risen yet, so I apologize for the dark photos!)I then spooned the cold dough into uniform balls before flattening them in rounded squares. After dipping the tines of a fork in flour, I then pressed the fork into all four edges of the dough.
After doing that a few dozen more times, these cookies were ready for the oven (after a brief stint in the freezer).
In just 15 minutes, I pulled these beauties from the oven- isn't that a great and easy design on the cookies?
To finish them off, I melted some chocolate and piped it into the indentations on the cookies. It was a bit time consuming, but definitely worthwhile!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add peanut butter, and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients, and beat on low until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill several hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form each cookie into a ball using 1 level tablespoon of dough and, with your fingers, press and shape to form a 1 3/4-inch slightly squared circle. Place cookies on the baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Dip a fork into flour, and tap off the excess. Press tines of fork into four edges of each cookie. Place cookies in freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack until completely cool. Melt chocolate until smooth. Let chocolate stand until cool to touch. Fill a piping bag with chocolate. Pipe chocolate into the indentations left by the fork. Set aside in a cool place to allow chocolate to set.
I was pretty pleased with these cookies (just another reason why I love Martha), and so were my co-workers!Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!
