A Recipe for the Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookie
Published June 28, 2010
The last two weeks have swirled around like one chaotic, exhausting, marvelous whirlwind of people and fun. My husband graduated (YAY Cal Poly civil engineering!) looking all handsome in his cap and gown, after which we promptly escaped with the kids up to Vancouver, Portland, and Eugene to visit friends and family and enjoy lots of coffee, cider (McMenamins…mmm), and treats (Euphoria Chocolate Factory, anyone?). We arrived home mid-week only to turn around and camp out at the lake for a weekend full of more people and fun. And food. Forget the hot dogs and hamburgers indispensable to American camping though…I brought cookies (see below). And a book. “The Passage” by Justin Cronin. So far, I can compare it to Michael Crichton on literary steroids. High concept storyline + fabulous prose (that combination being something the literary world needs more of—see Guardian article) equals what the world really DOES need more of. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. In the meantime, how’s YOUR summer going?
A Recipe for Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies
- ¾ cup butter (room temp)
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-¾ cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 package dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat together butter and both sugars until creamy. Add peanut butter, egg and vanilla, beating until well blended. Beat in flour, salt, and baking soda. Shape dough into 1-3/4 inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until puffy and lightly golden. Cool 4 minutes on pan, before removing to a rack. Once cool, chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 1 hour (this allows them to firm before dipping). Melt one package of dark chocolate chips (using a double-boiler or 1 minute in the microwave + 30 seconds). Drag the tops of the peanut butter cookies through the melted chocolate and set out on parchment paper until hardened.
And since I can’t seem to leave well enough alone when it comes to food…I dipped a few of the cookies into milk chocolate and made s’mores for my kids. All in the camping spirit of course 
.
Yeah…they were good.
Mood noise? My heart squishing and thumping while I’m reading.
Tags: Cal Poly civil engineering, chewy peanut butter cookies, Justin Cronin's The Passage, s'more cookies, The Passage book trailer
06.28.2010 / 1:07 pm
Whoa… that is an intense-looking book! I’m so intrigued! And I just so happen to have ALL the required ingredients for those cookies. Good thing I ran six miles this weekend, because I’m gonna be cookie-carbo loading! (What? Isn’t that how it works?) =)
06.28.2010 / 1:08 pm
P.S. I was thinking that you totally need to rename your blog section the Eating and Reading Lair, because of all your awesome recipes!
06.28.2010 / 2:26 pm
I must admit, those cookies were way too good. Can you adjust them to be non-sugar and made with whole wheat flour so I can feel less guilty eating them? On another note, can I please borrow The Passage when you are done with it before Kati gets her hands on it? I should have some seniority here, ya know.
06.28.2010 / 4:55 pm
Dani, you won’t regret eating them. Promise. And I think you’d like the book. I’m having a hard time putting it down (which says a lot considering the thing is 761 pages)!
As to renaming the blog portion…hmm…you might be right! Thanks for the compliment
. And, hey, are you feeling ready for us to discuss The Idiot???
Mother, I should totally mess around with the recipe! I can’t surrender to non-sugar (maybe less?), but I do love the flavor of whole wheat. Hmm…could be yummy! As to the book…are you actually pulling the senior citizen card?
06.28.2010 / 6:23 pm
These cookies are awesome! YUM!
06.28.2010 / 6:57 pm
I do have to say that I was not prepared for how good this cookie was when you offered it to me at Family Camp. Amazing, not all cookies are created equal!
06.28.2010 / 6:58 pm
I missed out on the cookie, man did I miss out I am sure! Paassing out the marshmellows was delightful though. x
06.28.2010 / 7:04 pm
Well, I confess that by the time I quit hording them and actually passed them out they were a couple of days old. Not NEARLY as good as the day of, but I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the kind compliments.
Julie:
sad face here. I’ll make you a batch for your very own 
.
06.29.2010 / 12:27 pm
Will’s thanking you for this recipe and wondering if you have a delish chocolate chip version? He’s not into peanut butter, so he says, but I did see him down a few of these fabulous treats!
Summer – is it really summer already? Mine is shaping up to be busy – another DTS – here we go…
06.29.2010 / 1:52 pm
You can tell Will that that is my only true disappointment with him–his lack of peanut butter love. However, since I like all other things about him…I’ll try to come up with a variation. And speaking of busy…aren’t you two supposed to still be out gnawing on squirrels in the wilderness with the DTS???
02.13.2011 / 4:33 pm
Just thought I’d tell you I’m making these delights again – for my mama