Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Peanut Butter Surprises!

Missy, here. And I want to talk about...

Peanut butter.

Oh, my. One of my very favorite things. I love it on toast. On bagels. On waffles. On bread with jelly. In cookies. In cookie bars.

Oh, and don't forget...by the spoonful. And when I say spoonful, I'm talking big tablespoons. :)

Today's recipe is courtesy of author friend Tina Radcliffe! Well, it's actually courtesy of Martha Stewart. But Tina shared it with me. :)

Here's a link to the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. The website suggests eating while warm, right out of the oven. I agree. It's the only way to eat any cookie! Enjoy!

Do tell. Do you eat cookies right out of the oven? And please, someone else tell me you also eat peanut butter by the spoonful!





From Martha Stewart Living, October 2002
  • YieldMakes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cup roughly chopped, roasted, salted peanuts, plus 48 halves for pressing into tops
  • 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch chunks

Directions

  1. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add peanut butter, and beat until combined.
  2. Add the flour mixture all at once, and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the peanuts; beat until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off about 2 tablespoons of dough, and make a well in your hand with the dough. Place one chunk of chocolate in the center, and enclose with the dough to cover completely. Roll dough into about a 1 3/4-inch ball with your hands.
  4. Place the ball of dough on the baking sheet; repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate, placing cookies about 2 inches apart. Press 2 peanut halves into the top of each cookie.
  5. Bake until cookies are golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly.


20 comments:

  1. Ummm, out of the oven? Who says they make it to the oven?

    Seriously, I eat them before baking, straight out of the oven, cold after sitting on the counter, straight out of the freezer (where I tried to hide them from myself), and out from under a dog's nose.

    Which is why I don't make cookies unless there's a whole passle of people around to help me eat them.

    But this recipe is going to have to be the next one I try - that picture looks divine!

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  2. Oh Missy, yes I have licked me a many a spoonful of peanut butter. Some people just like smooth peanut butter but I like both smooth and crunchy. Have you tried the flavored peanut butters. I know they have chocolate and vanilla. (I've seen those at WalMart).

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  3. LOL, Jan!!! I'm really relating to from under the dog's nose!! :) We actually give our dogs their daily pills in peanut butter. So whenever I eat or cook with peanut butter, they think they're getting a treat and have their nose in my plate!! LOL

    As for eating cookie dough...well, Ruthy was right the other day. This former microbiologist worries too much about Salmonella. So to eat cookie dough, I just buy pasteurized eggs! :) Because the dough is amazing. So are DQ cookie dough Blizzards! :)

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  4. Patsy, no! I've never heard of them! YUM! Will have to give it a try. Vanilla sounds especially good to me.

    You know, my kids love Nutella. Of course I do, too, but I try not to think about it or would start another by-the-spoonful habit. :)

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  5. Hi Missy,

    I was trying to figure out what to bring for lunch today because I have a meeting during lunch so only a short time to eat. You gave me the perfect idea. I made a PB&J sandwich.

    My dog says thank you because I put some PB on his biscuit as a treat.

    Hey Ruthy, am I still allowed to visit if I tell you my dog's name is Fenway? Yes, DH is from Boston.

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  6. PASTEURIZED EGGS?????

    Oh, mylanta. That's positively Californian, chickie.

    SIGH.....

    Yes, we risk death and destruction around here, but so far, so good.

    And egg nog????? Southern Egg Nog with rum???? You would really use those... those... THINGS in Southern Egg Nog????

    Scarlett would be chagrined!

    Love cookie dough, and these sound awesome, Missy. I've never tried a Martha recipe. But nothing about peanut butter and CHOCOLATE would be bad.

    Why such a small batch????

    ;)

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  7. Now you've gone and done it, Missy. Tempted me into making cookies. And no, you are not the only one to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter out of the jar. My favorite time is when you peel off the seal on a fresh jar, MMmmmm-mmmm.
    Okay, I gotta go find some peanut butter. I've got some apples too. I like peanut butter on sliced apples. Better than caramel.

    Mindy Obenhaus

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  8. Mary C....

    Doesn't matter a whit. Because WHERE DO YOU LIVE, CHICKIE????

    HUH????

    UM, OH YES....New York City! "Lawyered!!!!"

    :)

    Hey, remember what Boog Powell told me when I met him in Baltimore a few weeks ago? that there were 7,000 kids in Baltimore named after Brooks Robinson...

    And 7,000 DOGS named after John "Boog" Powell....

    So he totally understood why LI made me change the hero's name from "Boog" to "Brooks"....

    And it's a DOG..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    I'd be insulted if a Boston fan named a dog "Jeter"... But if a Yankee fan does it I consider it a nod to greatness, LOL!

    Love it.

    Here, Fenway!!! Here, boy!!!

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  9. Peanut butter by the spoonful...one of my earliest childhood memories. Along with eating cookie dough and licking the cake batter beaters. We laugh in the face of Salmonella. HA HA HA!!!

    My mil, however will not even dare a tiny taste to make sure it's good.

    I'm confused by the idea of pasteurized eggs. Isn't pasteurization a heat process? How do you pasteurize eggs without cooking them?

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  10. Cookies, peanut butter, dogs and chocolate.

    THIS is the place to be!

    Still saving that cookie recipe, though. Two guys at work and the other one sleeping off ROTC fun yesterday afternoon. No cookies for this gal today.


    I save my dogs' peanut butter treat for toe-nail clipping time. Smear some on the refrigerator at nose height and you have a dog that won't be distracted by anything - even someone fussing with his feet.

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  11. Mary, I'm glad to have helped! Tell your doggie, "You're welcome." :)

    Ruthy, I promise they look and taste no different! Andrea, I have no idea how they pasteurize them without cooking! But I think I read sometime about a lower temp for longer, something like that. Oh! I used to love to lick the cake batter beaters! I guess that's before my mom got paranoid of germs and passed along her phobias to me. :)

    Mindy, as much as I love peanut butter, nothing temps me more than caramel with apples! I just bought a container to day. :)

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  12. Oh my gosh, Jan. That's nothing short of brilliant for clipping dog nails!! Thank you so much for the idea. We've had so much trouble with our lab. My husband has most recently resorted to Cesar Millan techniques! LOL

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  13. BTW... i finally went to the grocery today. Got kale for the chips. :) And butter for the cookies.

    Well, pooh. I just this moment realized I didn't get the Ghirardelli chips.

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  14. Okay. I didn't buy the caramel to day. I bought it today. ;)

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  15. It's not letting me post here. I don't know why.

    - Walt

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  16. Trying again. I'm trying to post about my wife's no-bake cookie recipe.

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  17. It worked, Walt! :) We have had some trouble but can't figure out the problem.

    If it's no bake oatmeal cookies you're talking about, I love those!!! I used to make them with friends when I was a kid. And I still love to make them every now and then. :)

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  18. I love peanut butter. Love it with sliced Honey Crisp apples. Love PB cookies too.

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  19. Peanut butter by the spoonful? Of course! I ate so many spoonfuls when pregnant with my middle son, I'm convinced that's why he has a Level 5 nut allergy! I ruined him. He'll never enjoy the wonders of a great PB&J.

    I've stayed away from Nutella because I fear what that may lead to...

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  20. LOL, Patricia! Could be the reason. :)

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