Our home has been smelling like a baker’s kitchen all day. I baked, baked and baked for a major part of the day – lots of cookies. Made a batch of peanut butter cookies to be gifted to family and friends. They make for great holiday cookies and a crunchy kiddie treat. You can add chocolate chips for a chocolate-y flavor and crushed peanuts for crunch.
Ingredients3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (you can use crunchy too)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg (optional)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Method
* Sieve together flour, baking pwd, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.
* In a bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the buttermilk, vanilla essence and egg until light and creamy.
* Mix in the sieved ingredients until just blended. Cover with plastic foil and place in refrigerator for half an hour.
* Prepare small lemon sized balls and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart as they spread. Lightly flatten the balls. (If you want a chewy cookie, drop a tbsp of cookie batter on the baking sheet and do not flatten it. For a crisp cookie, make a ball and flatten it.)
* Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 12 mts till the edges are slightly toasted or till done.
* Once baked, the cookie will feel soft on touch but once cool it will harden. If you over bake beyond the mentioned time limit, you will have a very crunchy cookie.
* Cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in airtight container.