Thursday, September 11, 2008

Peanut butter cookies for Ricky


On my bike team, we had a really fun bloke called 'Ricky' who was in the military and was looking for something fun to do before he got shipped off to Iraq, so he joined our bike team and raised a ton of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, rode his bike around Lake Tahoe, and was a wonderful cheerful influence on us all.

When I saw that someone was getting together a care package for Ricky, I jumped at the chance to bake some treats. I cruised around on the internet and found that just a regular recipe should work out, so I decided for something really traditional and homely. My first stop was Dorie Greenspan, she had the perfect peanut butter cookies. They came out great. I also decided on some big oatmeal raisin walnut cookies, as they are always so much better home cooked!

I hope he and his colleagues enjoy them!

I found these to be pretty sweet, I'd omit rolling in sugar unless you have a very sweet tooth.,

Peanut Butter Crisscrosses from Dorie Greenspan Baking from my home to yours.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 sticks (8oz) butter
1 cup peanut butter (not natural)
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts

Sugar for rolling, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350f, line baking sheets with silpats/parchent

Beat the butter until soft, then add the peanut butter and sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between additions.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on slow until just combined. Add the peanuts and mix one more time.

Form tablespoons of batter into balls, roll in sugar and put on baking sheets. Use a fork to form the criss cross pattern, and flatten out, leaving 2 inches between the cookies.

Bake for around 12 minutes, rotating the cookies at the halfway point.

Cool on a cooling rack and then store in a cookie jar for 5 days or freeze for up to two months

2 comments:

Ann said...

Girl after my own heart. LOVE peanut butter cookies. Isn't there something so reliably comforting about that little "crisscross" on the top of the cookie too?

Spokes said...

Hi Jenny,
This is so funny. I was just looking for a peanut butter cookie recipe this afternoon (rather than hop on the trainer). I think I'll try this recipe sometime this weekend. Thanks, dinorah (dave lawson's other half)