about those cookies

In my last post I mentioned something about being susceptible. And cookies. Yeah, these cookies.

I heard words "peanut butter" and "chocolate chip" and immediately fixated on cookies. Problem with cookies (much like my problem with chocolate cake and an entire pie) is that with just the two of us, it's too easy to end up eating all the cookies between the two of us. Incidentally, why don't I fixate on going to the gym when I hear the words "treadmill" or "stationary bike?"

So I needed to make cookies. And I wanted to find a recipe that wouldn't yield something crazy like 4 dozen. And then there were some other personal considerations to fulfill. The cookie itself had to have a peanut butter flavor studded with chocolate chips. The cookie had to be just slightly crispy on the outside and soft and just a little chewy on the inside. Sort of like my ideal chocolate chip cookie. But instead of regular cookie dough, it would be pb-flavored cookie dough. This proved to be a harder task than I'd imagined.

I finally settled on a recipe I found on Martha Stewart's website. It yielded 14 cookies and the ingredients looked pretty similar to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. A few changes would need to be made but I felt like I could get them to work.

I increased the vanilla to 1 teaspoon (instead of the 1/2 tsp it called for) and added 1 tsp of coarse salt (it really adds something to the sweet flavor, believe me). And instead of coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate, I used Guittards semi-sweet chocolate chips (fair trade AND organic, Shazam!).

I usually can't wait for cookies to cool completely before I've got my glass of milk ready. I like the chocolate chips to be a little melty when I bite into the cookie. And oh my! Peanut-buttery, melty little chocolate chips, tender cookie with just the right amount of crisp on the outside edges. Yummers!

I do like to make my cookies a little small-ish (that way you don't feel so bad about having two or three~ hee hee!), so the yield was more like 26 cookies. Well, I never hit the yield in my baking endeavors anyways.

I baked nine cookies and rolled up the rest of the dough into balls which I set on a baking sheet and chilled in the freezer. Once they set I put the cookie balls in a plastic tub for future use. Once the nine cookies were et, I could just bake one or two cookies at a time in the toaster oven (about 20 minutes at 400 degrees). This way I don't feel compelled to eat all 26 cookies all by myself. I mean with M.

Yes folks, this one's a keeper.

I should add that once the cookies cooled, I tried one cool instead of warmed and it was more of a crumbly, sandy consistency. Hm.. not so fantastic. But I stuck those in the toaster oven and hit "light toast" and they went back to being soft and chewy with the melty chocolate chips. Perfect-o!