I think we all have our special weakness when it comes to food. That certain food you just can’t say no to no matter what. I know with me I don’t have just one of these foods, the list is pretty endless! But I can say with certainty that high up that list sits glorious peanut butter.
I don’t know where it started because I never used to really eat it as a kid (maybe my parents kept it out of my diet for a reason), but I just can’t say no. Any time I’m feeling like a little snack, I reach for peanut butter. If there is a milkshake on the menu with peanut butter in it, I’m there. So it was really only a matter of time until I started going cooking mad with it.
I tried not to buy it in my new apartment because it’s just too tempting having it on hand. I love nothing more than to smear some of it on a few crackers and eat it as a snack, or drench a carrot in it, so peanut butter often doesn’t last long around me! Try as I might, when I saw it on special in Coles one day, I couldn’t resist an opportunity to buy some smooth peanut butter (you know the kind that is actually not very good for you). I decided it would be perfect for using in baking in the future.
So when I went to go an visit my cousins in Ballarat, I decided that I couldn’t show up empty handed, and that I should bake something to take. What better way gift to bring than the gift of peanut butter? And we all know how much I love baking chocolate chip cookies, so I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to marry my two loves together into one glorious baking extravaganza.
These cookies were absolutely delicious and super easy and quick to whip up. This is a great recipe to have on hand for any spare peanut butter you might have, because we all know that chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven. Bonus enjoyment points came out of using these cookies as a peace offering with my cousins little son who was really shy at first. He eventually gave up on being shy when bribed by cookies, so it was a great outcome all around!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened (or about 60 grams)
- ½ cup of caster sugar
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ½ cup of creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 packet of dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on a medium speed. Stir in the peanut butter and beat until combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until combined completely.
- Gradually beat in the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
- Stir in the chocolate chips using a spoon, ensuring they are evenly distributed.
- Line two baking trays with baking paper. Using your hands, roll small balls of cookie dough and place on the baking sheets a couple of centimetres apart.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray, transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely after this.
And that’s really all there is to it! I told you it was nice and simple. These cookies are dangerously easy to make, and when you can have delicious, warm cookies in under 30 minutes life is pretty good!
The cookies themselves were absolutely delicious. They were packed with peanut butter flavour which I loved, and the chocolate went so well with the flavours. These were really next level chocolate chip cookies, and made me happy in my heart when I devoured them. I’m glad I could palm a lot off to my cousins because otherwise I would have eaten the entire batch!
As some of you may know, I am on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie on my blog, and so I score each one that I make. Although these weren’t traditional cookies, they still were chocolate chip, and so have a place on the Supreme Cookie Awesomeness Score.
Supreme Cookie Awesomeness Score
Simplicity: 8
Gooeyness: 6
Tastiness: 8
Gone Factor: 8
Total Score: 30/40
Pretty good score in my book! I loved the flavour of these but if I could make one change I like my cookies a little bit gooier, so I see that as an area for improvement, if any. But for those who like slightly harder cookies, these would be your jam! And really I am just being nit-picky, they were pretty unbelievably good!
The best thing is that I still have plenty of peanut butter left over! What should I cook next? I need to get it out of my house stat before I start eating it with a spoon!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
