Check out the recipe below:
The addition of Nutella enhances the peanut butter richness of this chewy cookie. Really, it’s the best of both worlds. Makes 20 cookies.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (scant) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I use Adam’s Organic Creamy PB)
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the melted butter, sugars, peanut butter, Nutella, egg and vanilla extract in a large bowl until well blended.
- Sift the rest of the dry ingredients in another bowl and carefully add to the wet mixture. Mix on low speed just until combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (see my notes about oven temps below). Grease two baking sheets or line each one with Silpat. With damp hands, shape the dough into roughly two-inch balls then flatten them on your palm slightly (like you would a hamburger patty). I used an ice cream scoop to make measuring easier. The dough will seem dry and crumbly right out of the refrigerator but the heat of your hands will make it easier to form the balls. Squeeze and roll around your palms to bring the ball together before flattening.
- Place the disks two inches apart on the baking sheets (you can lightly press the dough with the tines of a fork but these cookies do puff up nicely and are not as obvious when baked) and bake for 12-15 minutes. I would err on the earlier side with these cookies. When you pull them out of the oven they will seem too soft. Use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature before serving.
Recently I've been reading a lot. I love having new books I've never heard of to read. I mean I feel like I read a lot and my collection is pretty eclectic, I'll pretty much give any genre and any author a shot. It's one of the reasons I can spend hours in a bookstore. Which I was inspired to do at Half Price Books the other day. Talking about literature, favorite authors, etc made me want to get some new things to read. Don't get me wrong I love my nook, but its not the same as holding a book, or finding a book that speaks to you. I like physically leafing through pages and finding something that interests me. I'm the person who sits on the floor with a pile of books in a bookstore and goes through all of them trying to limit what I buy. Anyway, I've also been missing school recently and learning new things so I made a point to visit the non fiction sections at the bookstore. I ended up with a book on the History of Venice, a book on the Tudor family, and two books about profiling and capturing serial killers ( one on Bundy and one on the BTK) written by detectives and psychologists who worked on the cases. One of my coworkers and I are swapping books and movies. I was given three books to read and I'm on the third one now. All very good, and definitely one's I'd recommend (I'll tale about these later). Needless to say I have a rather large stack of books to read now (I was also loaded the Game of Thrones series by another friend).
Anyway the three books I have most recently read are:
1. Life of Pi (currently reading): About a boy named Pi who grew up in India the son of a zookeeper and someone who is interested in all religions. As a teenager he moves from India to Canada and the ship his family is on sinks leaving Pi and a group of animals stranded on a life boat. I'm only about a third of the way through but it's interesting so far. The mixture of zoology and religious studies is really interesting, especially the combination of Islam, Hindu and Christianity. Favorite Quote so far: "Nil magnum nisi bonum (no greatness without goodness)"
2. Armor: a sci fi book about a man named Felix who fought in the ant war. His suit is found in a ship and a group of people are able to see his experiences fighting the war through the suit. It follows his many drops into battle and what is currently going on in the world. Felix seems to be incapable of being killed. Great book if you like sci fi.
3. The Minotaur takes a Cigarette Break: my favorite by far of the three. The mythological Minotaur is living in Florida working at a diner 5,000 years after the events in the labyrinth. It's about his life and his daily struggles to make decisions between good and bad, connect with others and attempt to be happy. Although the Minotaur has no personal connections and he seems lonely and disengaged the author paints such a beautiful picture of his life you can't help but connect with the Minotaur. The writing is inter cut with poetry, and you really feel sympathy and connection with the Minotaur. I actually went out and found my own copy of this book so I can re-read it. Favorite quote: "Time, however abstract the concept, has its own inherent sense of the absurd. The passing of a moment, its coming and going in one's life, holds infinite possibilities."
As I make my way through my book stack I'll make some more recommendations. I also recently picked up an Edgar Allen Poe collection and a book about Charles Dickens (Barnes and Noble bargain books get me every time!)
