posted by Millie 04-14-99 2:08 PM
Thick Peanut Butter Cookie
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened but still firm
2cups light brown sugar
1cup extra crunchy peanut butter
3large eggs
2teaspoons vanilla extract
1cup roasted salted peanuts ground to resemble breadcrumbs
Adjust the oven rack to the low center position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
(This is an important step. Make sure that the sugar/butter mixture is very fluffy and light.) Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorporated, then the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add the ground peanuts and stir gently until just incorporated. Chill dough until firm, at least 3 hours to overnight. (In a pinch, you can go ahead and bake them without chilling.)
Working with generous 2 tablespoons each time, roll dough into 2-inch balls. The dough can also be scooped with a #24 ice cream scoop which yields exactly 2 tablespoons and makes this task painless.
Place balls on parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. Barely press each dough ball twice with a dinner fork to form a criss cross design, dipping the fork into cold water in between presses.
Try to flatten the cookies as little as possible. (This step is optional.)
Bake until the cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges and the bottoms are golden brown approximately 12 to 13 minutes.
Cool until set, about 4 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Health food store peanut butter variation