Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Wow! That's really the best way to describe these cookies. Perfectly soft, with just the right texture and a great peanut butter taste. They really hit the spot, and that's saying a lot seeing as I have been craving chocolate chip peanut butter cookies for a while now and my expectations were high.

I started my search for the perfect recipe on Friday night. I started on Allrecipes.com. But the problem with allrecipes is that most of the reviews are crap. Half of them say it is the best recipe ever and the other half say it is the worst recipe ever. So you start reading great reviews and you get really excited. Then you come across the bad ones and you just want to throw in the towel. I decided that it would best if I just found a recipe in a blog. You still get first hand experience, plus you can see pics and read about any changes the author made or will make, with out a bunch of negative to throw you off. Now I have heard great things about this blog, but I have some how never really spent much time looking through it. Now that I know how great it is I am sure I will go back and you will see more entries with her recipes. I know that I will for sure make these cookies again. Mmm mmm mmm!



Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
(Source: Magnolia Bakery Cookbook; found on the Smitten Kitchen blog)

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)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I used milk chocolate peanut butter swirl chips)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern (I used the back of a palette knife to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

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