Peanut Butter Cookies - Melt In Your Mouth Addictive

Show me someone who doesn't like peanut butter, and I'll show you one sad person. Who can seriously hate peanut butter? The rich buttery goodness combined with salty hits and possibly some crunchy nuts. Unless you have a nut allergy and eating peanut butter is life and death business, you must try making these cookies. They are so addictive you won't be able to stop at 10. I first tried them when the non-baker Ms I-Hua made them. I couldn't get enough of them and finished all the ones she gave me. I had to make my own to ensure supply didn't stop.

The cookies are extremely easy to make and only take a very short time to cook. The smell is intoxicating and despite it's simple look, is one of the best cookies I've eaten. It just melts in your mouth and you keep wanting more. I chose the option to use peanut butter chips and I think that made the cookies even better. I found peanut butter chips at USA Foods.

Some tips for making a great cookie

* The dough gets really soft to work with so take it out of the fridge and work quickly. Put back into the fridge to firm it up a bit if needed.

* You can use any combination of smooth or crunchy peanut butter and chocolate or peanut butter chips. They all taste really nice and it's up to your own preference. I went with smooth peanut butter and peanut butter chips.

* The caster sugar outside gives it a most wonderful flavour and crunch so really coat it in the sugar. It also stops the cookies from sticking to everything before baking.

Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
1 cup Peanut Butter at room temperature (I used smooth)
1/2 cup firmly packed Light Brown Sugar
1 large Egg (at room temperature)
1 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Peanut Butter Chips
Caster Sugar (for sprinkling)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (fan forced).

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter mixture together until it turns fluffy. Add in light brown sugar and continue to beat until it reaches a smooth consistency.

3. Add in the egg and mix in well. Add in the milk and vanilla extract.

4. Add in the flour mixture (from the first bowl) and beat thoroughly.

5. Mix in the peanut butter chips and stir well.

6. On a clean plate, sprinkle some caster sugar around. To form the cookies, start by scooping out a teaspoon full of cookie dough and rolling it in the palm of your hands to form a ball. Place the cookie ball onto the sugar coated plate. Keep forming the cookie balls until the dough is all used up.

7. Place each cookie ball onto ungreased cookie sheets or a Silpat (if you have one), leaving several inches between each cookie for expansion.

8. Using a fork, lightly indent the cookies with a criss-cross pattern.

9. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not. They will harden up when they cool.

10. You should have roughly 60-70 cookies when you finish.

11. Leave the cookies to cool on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.