Peanut Butter Lover and A Sense of Deja Vu (Have I Said Something Like That Before?)

Even though I feel absolutely confident in the normalcy of my obsession with peanut-butter, it is always a little bit nice to receive the occasional reminder that other people share in my sentiments. I am not alone. Who doesn't like to hear that once in awhile? Today's reminder of not-aloneness comes to us care of NPR's Kitchen Window.

Let it be known that before I saw this recipe, I was innocently lying in bed on a Sunday morning with my feet tucked up underneath me. I think there was a cup of coffee on my bedside table. The fan I remember. That was definitely on, pointed directly at my face. It was enjoyable, but not so enjoyable that I didn't get up and make these cookies immediately upon reading this article. Motivation!


Basic Peanut Butter Cookies:

You Will Need:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (more is always better)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
A little cinnamon and sugar (to taste)

To Make:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in one bowl. Cold cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes, then cream it with the peanut butter and sugar. Beat the vanilla and the egg into this mixture. Resist the urge to eat ALL of the batter in this stage. Now stir in the flour bit by bit, making sure it is well-blended as you go. The dough should be very pliable now. Tear out chunks and roll them between your palms to form small balls.

For the next part, I combined equal parts cinnamon and sugar with a dash of sea salt in a small dish. I then rolled each of the dough balls through this mixture until thoroughly coated. This lends a dash of snickerdoodle to your peanut butter cookie, which (if it's your thing) I highly recommend.

Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet, and lightly smash them with the tines of the fork. This will give them that distinctive peanut butter cookie aesthetic. Bake for approximately ten minutes (a little less to leave them chewy...which I like. A lot.)

Suggestions for consumption:
*With lots of dairy product on hand to wash down with.
*Crumbled over freshly whipped cream.
*On either side of a huge, cold scoop of ice cream (ice-cream sandwich)!
*Straight