An ode to Peanut Butter.

Oh gosh it's a glorious thing is it not?

Yesterday I sat, by the computer, avoiding university work by clicking endless links to food blogs,

(oh you simply must go here by the way David Lebovitz is mesmerising...)

dreaming of what I was going to bake next and frothing somewhat obscenely over cakes and recipes perfected by the famous boys of  "Baked" bakery in New York.

Suddenly I came by an urge. An insatiable urge.

Peanut Butter.

I had to have it!

Now, I'm one of those people, and I'm often told it's rather strange, but I love to go into the pantry, get the peanut butter (I'm partial to smooth but crunchy is just fiiine.) whipe out a mumma of a tablespoon and scoop the salty gooey caramel coloured goodness out and eat it straight from the tub. No frills, just peanut butter.

Seriously though how good is the stuff?

If I were to be a baby again, this should be the photo my parents look back on most fondly.

And if I were somehow to become a canine, (more specifically a corgie) I would spend  my days doing just this...

Anyway, enough of the endless ranting. My peanut butter obsession yesterday was just not satisfied by a mere peanut-butter+spoon = happiness adventure. I wanted cookies filled with peanut butter. And choc chips.

So I made them.

And here is the recipe. (If you'd like me to bake them for you, send me an email! Slash send me any peanut butter related recipes...I'm dying to try everything peanut + butter + saturated fat related)

Happy Baking!

From smittenkitchen's recipe for peanut butter cookies....

*I omitted the salt because there's so much salt in the peanut butter (and if you're like me you use salted butter) you just don't need it. I'd prefer to clog my arteries with chocolate instead.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

One and One Quarter cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

Three Quarters of a teaspoon baking soda

One half a teaspoon baking powder

Half a cup unsalted butter, softened

One cup peanut butter at room temperature (any type of peanut butter is a-okay)

Three Quarters of a cup white/raw sugar

Half a cup firmly packed light brown sugar

One large egg, at room temperature

One tablespoon milk

One teaspoon vanilla extract

Three Quarters of a cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: Put some brown sugar/white sugar/raw sugar/icing sugar in a little dish. All of these together or just one is fine. :)

Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy.
Add the sugars and beat until smooth.
Add the egg and mix well.
Add the milk and the vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion.
Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern or, like I did, if you have any peanuts lying around break them to form two little pretty halves and press them into the top. 
Don't flatten them too much because these bad boys SPREAD.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.


Eat with a glass of milk! MILK IS NECESSARY!