Sunday, May 1, 2016

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks


These cookies are like soft fluffy clouds of peanut butter and chocolate. No other description is necessary, so I'll just stop right there and tell you that you should make them.

On another note, let's discuss relaxed cooking, otherwise known as the lazy girl's version of cooking. This style of cooking is right up my alley. Short and simple ingredient lists, easy techniques, and quick clean up. Now saying this, let me also say that I have been known to simplify even a lazy recipe.

For example, when making the cookie dough, Curtis says to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl from the wet ingredients. Um, no thank you Curtis. Why dirty a separate bowl for the dry ingredients when you can add them to your wet ingredients (after mixing) with the same results? Additionally, let's talk measuring cups and spoons.  Why dirty your whole collection of measuring cups and spoons? Why not just use one measuring cup, such as a 1/4 cup measure 4 times to equal a cup and so on? And finally, why dirty 3 baking sheets when you can just use one? Can you tell I put a lot of thought into relaxed (aka lazy girl) cooking? Maybe a little too much.

Whether you make this recipe as is, or take my lazy approach, the results are amazing.  This is one delectable and addictive cookie.  Hard to stop at just one.


Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks
Adapted from Relaxed Cooking
with Curtis Stone
Makes between 15-20 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray them with cooking spray.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, honey, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture in two additions. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Scoop about 3 tablespoonsful of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2-1/2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies puff and begin to brown on top but are still very soft to the touch. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Enjoy the cookies warm or let them cool completely.


 
Theme: April Potluck!

9 comments:

  1. but what good these cookies , just biscottosi !! A real treat for the palate Congratulations !! a hug and a kiss , good evening
    Mirta

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  2. I am with you, the lazier/easier the better. ;-) These cookies do look soft, fluffy, and delicious. I wish I had one to nibble on about now. ;-)

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  3. Oh, Kim, you did make me laugh - you are so totally a woman after my own heart. First thing I always look at with any recipe, is to see where I can skip out or combine a couple of steps, and for sure eliminate any unnecessary dishes. I think there could be a good market for a Lazy Girl's Guide to Cooking Cookbook :-) As for these cookies I was totally sold at "soft fluffy clouds of peanut butter and chocolate"!!

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  4. Peanut butter and chocolate in a soft, fluffy cookie sounds delicious to me.

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  5. I use scales and omit any measuring cup or spoon, just use the tara button and weigh everything in one pot. I am a friend of sccales and grams

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  6. Instead of lazy girl's cooking, call it time/efficiency optimizer. It's a great model that everyone should follow.

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  7. I like the way you think, and also believe in short cuts where it just makes sense. Those cookies would probably all be scarfed down immediately by my husband, if I let him :)

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  8. I always find it hard working with peanut butter. So sticky, they sticky everywhere and cleaning up is a pain. :P But the cookies must be delicious!

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  9. Yum! Two of my favorite ingredients. My son is allergic to peanuts so I don't get to cook with it often. My son is going to camp for school this month so maybe I will break out the peanut butter for these delicious cookies.

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