Ms. Martha, one of my mentees at work, offered this recipe. I made it yesterday and it is just an excellent cookie, period. Ms. Martha is an experienced baker with very strong opinions about baking-related issues. She insisted, for example, that this recipe must be made with King Arthur Flour, as “the true baker’s flour,” and that I not substitute green and red M&Ms for the semisweet chocolate. Of course, I complied with her wishes, and I was pleased indeed with the results. And, given the name of the cookies, I tip my cap to Aunt Ann, whoever she may be.
Aunt Ann’s Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup unbleached all-purpose King Arthur flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup natural peanut butter (about 9 ounces), 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped. (I used large semisweet morsels for the coarsely chopped chocolate, and they worked well.)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease three large baking sheets. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
In a separate large bowl, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, honey, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir the flour/baking soda/salt mixture into the peanut butter mixture, one half at a time. Stir in the chocolate.
For each cookie, scoop about three tablespoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cookie puff, begin to brown on top, and are still very soft to touch. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a rack. Eat warm or cool completely.
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes (2010) (Cont.)
Calling For Christmas Cookie Recipes (2010) (Cont.)
2009 Christmas Cookie Recipes
Read Full Post »
The holiday baking is done — a little later than normal, but the last few weeks have been a lot busier than I expected — and this morning the last step in the process has been completed.
