I made these cookies today. The dough is mixed, chilled, then cut into slabs for baking. I have included below the original recipe from a GREAT cookie cookbook: bigfatcookies by Elinor Klivans. (I found my copy at a thrift store and use it often.) Because Ray and I don’t eat refined sugar, I have added in parentheses the amount of maple sugar and honey I used instead of white and brown sugar. Whether you use regular sweeteners or the maple/honey combo, I think you’ll find these cookies to have a rich peanut buttery taste. The chopped peanuts on top makes for an extra treat. No salt is added or needed in this recipe since both the peanut butter and the peanuts are slightly salted.
These cookies are heavy and filling and delicious. It’s hard to eat just one.
Peanut-covered Peanut Butter Cookie Slabs Taken and adapted from the bigfatcookies cookbook by Elinor Klivans
Yield : 15 cookies
Ingredients
• 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour • ½ teaspoon baking soda • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature • ½ cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature • ½ cup granulated sugar (I use honey instead) • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I use maple sugar instead) • 1 large egg • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 cup coarsely chopped lightly salted peanuts
Directions
Sift the flour and baking soda into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and peanut butter just to blend them together. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until smoothly blended, about 30 seconds. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Form the dough into a rough 5-by-3-by-2½-inch rectangular slab. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to firm the dough slightly, about 30 minutes. Shape the rectangle again and rewrap it. (This makes the shape more defined.) Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until it is cold and firm. Or wrap it tightly and freeze it for up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator before using. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the cold dough. Use a large sharp knife to cut the dough into fifteen 1/3-inch-thick slices, and place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the chopped peanuts evenly over the top of each cookie, and press the peanuts gently but firmly into the dough. This pressing will make the cookies spread about an additional ½ inch. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges and bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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