Peanut Butter Cookies

What do you do when you’re in the mood for peanut butter cookies, but that traditional round shape with the criss-cross fork marks just seems a little… boring? You put peanut butter in rolled cookie dough and make cookies in any shape you want. Peanut butter lends itself well to rolled cookie recipes, and the hearty, satisfying flavor seems just right for fall. (In fact, November is National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month.) Sturdy and crisp, these cookies include brown sugar and enough salt to bring the peanut flavor front and center. I’ve frosted them with a light, creamy peanut butter icing, accented with a little chocolate—a classic flavor combination.

What else does peanut butter go with? Football, apparently. Seems that eating peanut butter can give quarterbacks the competitive edge. While I can’t promise similar results for these cookies, if you’re sitting down to watch a game, they definitely make a winning snack.

Ann
www.annclark.com


Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes about 18
One 16-ounce jar of peanut butter provides enough for both the cookies and the icing; for that reason, I prefer to use smooth peanut butter. If you like peanut chunks in your cookies, include the optional dry-roasted peanuts. Be sure to process them to very small crumbs; otherwise, the dough will be difficult to roll out.


Cream together until light and fluffy:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Beat in:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together and add:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Stir in, if desired:
- 2/3 cup dry-roasted salted peanuts, ground fine


Stir just until all ingredients are well blended; do not overmix. Chill dough for 3-4 hours before rolling. Preheat oven to 350º. Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with your favorite Ann Clark Ltd. Cookie cutter, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly colored. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frost with Peanut Butter Icing (recipe below) and decorate with chocolate Ganache if desired.

Peanut Butter Icing
Note that you may not need all the milk for this recipe.

Cream together until well blended:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat in:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Add, 1 tablespoon at a time:
- 3-4 tablespoons milk

Blend in milk until the frosting is smooth and light.

Chocolate Ganache
This recipe makes a thick Ganache that becomes firm as it cools. You may substitute chocolate chips in this recipe, but the Ganache will not be as smooth. Store leftover Ganache in the refrigerator and reheat to serve over ice cream and other desserts.

Scald 2/3 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and stir in 8 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate. Let sit a few minutes, then stir until smooth. The mixture should have the consistency of pudding. Let the Ganache cool slightly until thick before using.

My favorite shapes for Peanut Butter Cookies are the Football cookie cutter, the Helmet cookie cutter, and the Elephant cookie cutter.