The other day, Mr. Restaurant Quality asked if I would bake for him. Seems Mr. RQ has been feeling neglected. Seems Mr. RQ feels that I bake for 'everyone else'.
Seems Mr. RQ wanted his very own batch of cookies ---- NO SHARING. He wanted my undivided culinary attention, without ziploc bags of sugar and spice goodness being handed out to neighbors and FD #1's work group.
Restaurant Quality asked what Mr. RQ would like. The answer: chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies --- and he asked that all the cookies go into the freezer. Mr. RQ loves to eat cookies, right out of the freezer ---- more than he loves his hurricane force leaf blower.
I love peanut butter cookies; always have. These cookies are the best, ever. Crispy on the edges; chewy on the inside. Rolled in sugar before baking, which gives a very light sugar coating to the finished cookie. Peanut butter chips in the dough (have never used peanut butter chips -- I liked them).
Alert and aware: this dough needs to be chilled for several hours.
The freezer now holds dozens of cookies; all is right in Mr. RQ's world.
Life is good................
Peanut Butter Cookies, from Smitten Kitchen website, who adapted it from Magnolia
Bakery Cookbook
Musical interlude: If I Were Your Woman (Gladys Knight and The Pips)
Adult Beverage: 99 Vines Pinot Noir (if baking after 5 pm)
Makes about 4 dozen
1 1/4 C. all purpose flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. peanut butter (room temp), smooth
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 lg. egg, room temp
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 C. peanut butter chips
1/2 C. chocolate chips, optional
For rolling: sugar
Parchment paper for cookie sheets
350 degrees
In large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter together until fluffy.
Add the sugars and beat until smooth.
Add the egg and mix well.
Add milk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.
Stir in the peanut butter chips (and chocolate chips if using them).
Chill dough for several hours. Even overnight.
After chilling, bring dough to room temp.
Now comes the part where you'll be rolling the dough in sugar.
Place some sugar into a pie plate, flat bowl, cake pan (you get the picture). Use about 1/2 C. sugar. (If I had thought to have taken a photo, it would be inserted, here.)
Use a cookie scoop, or two spoons. Scoop some dough; roll into a ball. Place into the sugar and coat the dough.
Place on parchment lined cookie sheet, a couple inches apart.
Lightly indent with a criss-cross pattern, giving them that typical peanut butter look.
Continue with all the dough.
Bake, 350 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Do NOT overbake. Cookies may appear underdone, but they are not.
My Notes:
Woo-hoo, I added a photo. The maiden voyage of photo posting for Restaurant Quality.
I did not add the chocolate chips. Mr. RQ immediately declined that option.
Chunky peanut butter can be used, instead of 'smooth' peanut butter.
I chilled the dough, overnight. There's some sort of baking magic that goes on with the process, as evidenced by St. Shirley Corriher, author of BakeWise. Someday I'll blog about the 'magnificent recipes' (her words, not mine) that come out of her kitchen (and cookbook).
I always use parchment paper for baking cookies. If you don't have any, buy some. You'll be happy you did. Find it where the aluminum foil is, in the grocery store.
For the baking: I bake 2 pans at a time, switching the pans (bottom rack to top rack, top rack to bottom rack) at the 5 minute mark. When you switch them at 5 minutes, you'll think 'wow, they are not flattening'. Wait 5 minutes, they will get flat.
Cookies will not be symmetrical (not State Fair worthy because of it), so don't obsess about having perfectly round cookies. If you've ever entered cookies in State Fair, you know of what I speak.
