You know it must be the Holiday Season when I publish a recipe. Hell hasn't frozen over, it's Christmas!!

I spent the better part of Saturday making the cookie care package that I send out to loved ones across the country. Some of the recipes were old favorites. This one was a new one to add to the rotation.

Coming from the book Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, it is the perfect amalgamation of several holiday components, up to and including the fact that the taste are German influenced, much like Christmas itself. Add to that the chocolate, cherries, and, oh yes, more chocolate, it was a cookie that seemed to be destined into the Holiday cookie box.

By the way, speaking of Baked. If this hasn't been on your list of cookbooks, it certainly should be. The recipes are near perfect, the results are always delicious, and the instructions given make baking seem simple. If you're looking for a Holiday gift for a friend, I highly recommend this book.

• 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) white chocolate chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) dried cherries

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

In a non-reactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate and the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate and butter have melted and combined, and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes. The mixture should be pale and thick when done.

Add the chocolate to the sugar. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Add the flour to the dough, and mix on low until just combined. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Using a spatula, lighly fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and cherries. The dough will look very loose, but this is expected. Place the dough in the refrigerator to allow to chill for a minimum of six hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment papers.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, one inch apart from one another. Bake in the over for ten to twelve minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time in order to prevent uneven baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, more or less

Ginger cookies with mini chocolate chips

If you were a cookie, what kind would you be?

This isn't my question, actually. It came up organically after I wrote about a Brooklyn bakery called One Girl Cookies that gives all its cookies girls' names. Juliette is a hazelnut sandwich cookie filled with chocolate cinnamon ganache; Sadie is a glazed orange butter cookie sprinkled with shredded coconut; Lana is a chocolate cookie filled with raspberry jam. And so on.

So someone wondered aloud what might be in a cookie named after her, and that got me thinking, well, what would be in a cookie named after me? I mean, I know what I'd put in there (ginger and cinnamon, a sprinkling of brown sugar, some molasses for depth, and a few chocolate chips just to prove I could have fun). But what if someone else designed a Cheryl and doused it with espresso, or dumped in some anise and chipotle, or, god forbid, filled it with marshmallow fluff? What would that say about me then?

What would be in a cookie named after you?

...

Recipe for Mini Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies

My favorite ginger cookies come from Emily Luchetti's Classic Stars Desserts (2007, Chronicle). I've played with the recipe a bit to better reflect my taste and, I guess, my personality.

Makes 5 dozen

1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
3 tablespoons very finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup coarse (demerara) sugar, or additional granulated sugar, for rolling

Whisk the two flours, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed. Slowly add both sugars, and beat for a minute longer. Lower the speed and beat in the egg. When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the molasses. Fold in the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment or Silpats. Place the coarse sugar on a plate.

Scoop out the dough into 3/4" balls and roll each ball in the demerara sugar. Portion out 12 cookies to a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the sheet pans halfway through. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

I swear that Cheryl and I have not coordinated this. I, too, am a massive fan of the cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and had planned on doing several posts from the book. The only difference between Cheryl and I is that I let Tara paper the book with yellow post it notes, because I had no problem with any of the recipes within. If you love to bake and you don't have this cookbook yet, you should track it down immediately. Rarely do I advocate for a cookbook so vehemently, and hopefully this should give you insight on how much I believe in it.

This recipe does come with a story, however. The one reason that it's taking me so long to post it, is that it took me forever to make it. Writing has once again kept me out of both markets and kitchens, so I had to actually plan a trip to the grocery store in order to get said ingredients for the recipe below.

The first time at the supermarket, I forgot to purchase butter, as I was under the impression that we had some, so this required a second trip. The second time I forgot the baking soda, because I foolishly believed I could remember all of the ingredients I needed without writing them down, necessitating a third trip. After the third time, I had to go back to the grocery store once again because I had less confectioner's sugar than I had initially thought.

So yes, this recipe required four separate trips to the supermarket. Thank heavens that I live two blocks away from one.

But four trips for one recipe has to be a record, right?

Cookies

• 3 cups All Purpose Flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling

• 3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and the vegetable oil until thoroughly combined. Then whisk in individually the pumpkin , and then the eggs, and finally the vanilla. After these have been thoroughly whisked in, add the flour mixture one cup at a time, incorporating it thoroughly before adding the next cup. Repeat until all the flour has been added.

Spoon or scoop the batter, one heaping tablespoon at a time, onto cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, separating each cookie by one inch. Place in oven to bake between 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top of the cookie starts to crack. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Repeat until all the dough has been used.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whip together the softened butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. A hand mixer or bowl mixer will work wonders here.

After the cookies completely cool (as a heated cookie will melt the filling), place 1 tablespoon of filling on the bottom of a cookie. Top with another cookie and smoosh until filling start to leak out of the sides. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

Place cookies in refrigerator for thirty minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, give or take

Black raspberry bars

Last December, my brother-in-law came to me the day before Christmas and said, "So what do you want?"

Now THIS is a guy I can get behind. I have major baggage around gift-giving. I suck at it, for one. I can never think of the right gift, my wrapping skills are those of a preschooler, and I leave all of my shopping until the last minute. Part of me continues to think, birthday after birthday, Christmas after Christmas, Hanukkah after Hanukkah (in a cruel twist, though I'm Jewish, my extended family celebrates both holidays -- more gifts), that if I just wait it out, maybe I'll be called out of town or break a bone.

So when someone tells me what they want, they do me an enormous favor. And when they ask me what I want? Even better.

"Baked," I told my brother-in-law Mike. "I want the new cookbook Baked. It's by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. I'm sure they have it at the Borders across the street." And off he went.

When I got the book the next morning, I pretty much ignored everything else within a 20 foot radius and sat, rapt, scanning page after page of quirky, original recipes. A few minutes later, I grabbed a pack of post-its, flagging those that sounded the best.

Within 5 minutes, the book was a sea of yellow, rendering my exercise utterly useless.

One of my favorite recipes so far has been the Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars, which I tweaked just a little to take advantage of some frozen black raspberries I discovered and my affinity, at the moment, for blood oranges and whole wheat pastry flour. They're good any time of day.

They're even good today.

And if you happen to celebrate Purim, as I do, check out my adventures with poppy seed hamantaschen here. On Purim, cookies make perfectly acceptable gifts.

Now that's my kind of holiday.

...

Black Raspberry Crumb Bars

Adapted from Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008)

If you're looking for a fruity alternative to blondies or brownies, and one that you can justify eating before noon, these bars fit the bill. Frozen black raspberries make them especially pretty.

Makes 16 to 20 bars

Crust and Crumble
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1-1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

Filling
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon citrus zest (I used blood orange zest but you can use lemon or orange)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
One 12-ounce bag frozen black raspberries (do not thaw)
2 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice (or other citrus juice)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8x12 rectangular glass baking dish. Line the dish with 2 long perpendicular sheets of parchment so they extend over the sides and butter or spray the parchment.

In a food processor, combine the flour through the cinnamon and pulse until combined. Add the butter pieces and pulse about 20 times until you have loose crumbs. Set aside 1-1/2 cups of this mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. (Keep oven on.)

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, zest, cinnamon, and flour. Add the black raspberries, juice, and butter and toss with clean hands until the berries are evenly coated.

Scrape the fruit filling on top of the cooled crust and sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, turning the pan 2 or 3 times, until the top is nicely browned.

Cool completely, then cut into squares. (Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.)

This is another excellent recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, and our second favorite cookie made this holiday season.

The basic idea here is to have a cookie that tastes like Café au lait. But in actuality, the result is a bar where the espresso/coffee flavor is understated rather than dominant, giving the treat a bit of nuance that can often be lacking in cookies.

Yes, I said it. This cookie has nuance.

If you're a fan of coffee shops and cookies, this recipe is a must to put into your repertoire.

Also, while I am at it, let me give a hearty recommendation to the King Arthur Cookbook. I've tried several recipes from them lately, and every one of them has worked out well. Several other cookie cookbooks that I own cannot make that statement. The recipes are concise, correct, and in my opinion, delicious.

Note: Sugar, butter, flour, and coffee/espresso measurements all by weight, not volume.

• 3 large eggs
• 10.5 oz Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
• 6 oz. unsalted butter, melted
• 8.5 oz All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 oz. instant coffee crystals OR 3/8 oz. instant espresso powder
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup walnuts
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees F. and grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat the three eggs until thick. Add the sugar, and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add the vanilla and melted butter until the batter is thick. Then add the flour and salt, mixing well. The batter will be pasty at this point. But this is okay. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the batter and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix your coffee powder and cream together and then add to the remaining batter. Mix well, and then pour this batter into the 9 x 13 inch pan, spreading out the batter with a knife to ensure that the entire dish is covered.

Then take the batter than you had set aside and pour that on top of the coffee-laced batter. Use a knife to make any design you find appropriate.

Pour on the walnuts and then place the glass dish into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with the chocolate chips whilst the bars are still hot. Allow to cool before cutting.

Makes about 24 bars

I have no idea where this recipe sits in the pantheon of "real baking". I'm sure that there's a handful of people out there who feel, simply because of it's relationship to a corporation (in this case the folks at Kellogg's) or perhaps because it's so blessedly easy to make, that this cookie recipe isn't worth their time to either acknowledge or document.

Let me take a moment to dissuade you of either notion. It is in my opinion that Rice Krispie Treats are as good as a cookie recipe as one can make with five simple ingredients. They are chewy yet crispy at the same time. There's the sweetness of the marshmallows mixed with the ever present butter taste.

Proust may have had his madeleines to kick start his remembrance of things past, but I am sure that a fair amount of Americans have their Rice Krispie treats. Memories of baking with one's parents or grandparents usually involve this recipe as it is extremely forgiving. Easy enough for a child to make is a cliche that is actually quite true in this case.

And it's adaptable as well. Nuts, chocolate chips, even icing have been added to this recipe by others. Myself? I go the M&M's route.

It's time we start recognizing the place the Rice Krispie Treats have in the pantheon of American cookies. It's not on the level of, say, a peanut butter cookie, or the ever-popular Toll House. But show me a person who does not enjoy a Rice Krispie treat and I'll show you someone who doesn't enjoy life.

Note that the marshmallow and Rice Krispie measurements are by weight and not by volume.

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 oz. marshmallows
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
• 6 1/2 oz. Rice Krispies (6 cups, give or take)
• 1 cup plain M&M's

Place a sauce pan over low to medium/low heat. Add your butter, salt and marshmallows, and vanilla. Stir and cook until the marshmallows melt and you get a smooth consistency. Remove from heat.

Add the Rice Krispies and M&M's, folding them into the marshmallows, ensuring the all get coated. Place the mixture into a greased or buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Using a buttered spatula, press the krispie mixture until it fills the pan, and has some measure of consistent height.

Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting.

Makes 2 dozen bars

I see that Kate has been discussing various types of cookies and will add one more to the mix -- icebox cookies, aka refrigerator / freezer / slice-and-bake. Like the names suggest, you make the dough, roll it into a log, chill it and when you're ready -- slice and bake. These are great time savers since the dough keeps in the fridge or the freezer until you're ready, and then you can bake as many or as few as you have time for.

And now, onto my originally scheduled post:

I have a love-hate relationship with eggnog. Love the taste, hate the texture. Some versions are thick as pudding and cloying; some are watery and sweet. I've tried it on its own, laced with rum and even as a substitute for milk in my morning latte. After sampling many variations, both spiked and kid-friendly, I've decided what I really like about eggnog is not the drink itself but the combination of rum and nutmeg.

So, when I came across a recipe for eggnog cookies -- which contains no eggnog -- I had to try it. And I'm glad I did.

This recipe, like my families simple Scottish shortbreads, is a classic icebox cookie. Just mix, roll, chill, slice and bake. Although the recipe says they'll keep for up to 10 days in an airtight container, I doubt they'll last that long.

Eggnog Cookies
Excerpt from Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season by Lisa Zwirn

Makes about 40 cookies

Capturing the flavors of eggnog, a traditional Christmastime beverage, in a cookie is easy. These rich, buttery rounds hint of nutmeg and cinnamon and are topped with a spoonful of rum icing. A dusting of freshly grated nutmeg adds to the holiday motif.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg yolk

Rum Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons light rum
1 whole nutmeg, for grating on top of cookies

For the cookies:
Whisk together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the granulated and confectioners' sugar and beat until thoroughly blended and velvety. Beat in the egg yolk. With the beaters on low speed, mix in the flour mixture just until thoroughly combined and the dough starts to come together. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide it in half.

Working with one half of the dough at a time, place it on a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape it into a log and then roll it back and forth to form a smooth cylinder about 6 to 7 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and secure with a layer of foil. Repeat with the remaining dough. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until very firm. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.)

Preheat over to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Working with one log at a time, use a sharp knife to cut the dough into slices between 1/4 and 1/3 inch thick. Place the rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, arranging them about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 13 minutes or until the cookies are pale and golden, a little browner around the edges. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

For the Rum Icing:
Whisk the confectioner's sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons rum in a small bowl until smooth. Add a little more rum as needed to get a spreadable, slightly thin consistency. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of icing onto the center of each cookie and spread it with the back of a spoon to form a 1 1/4 inch circle. Place the cookies on a rack, and while the icing is still wet, grate a little nutmeg over the top of the cookies. Let stand until the icing set completely.

Store, in layers separated by waxed paper, in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

If I'm going to write about cookies, it would be nice if I actually provided a recipe for one. It's nearly the least I could do.

So why this recipe? Well for one, members of my household love the flavor of butterscotch, both the real and artificial kind (and yes, there is a huge difference between the two). Second, with a name like "Butterscotch Sundae", I was intrigued as to how close the recipe could get to an ice cream flavor. Finally, it was a simple drop cookie, so I didn't have to sweat things like cookie cutters or press guns.

The recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. The more I go through this book, the more I find myself falling in love with it. This isn't a bad thing. Romantic love of course, and very much unrequited.

Part of my love affair comes from the fact that it provides the amounts of key ingredients in both weight and volume sizing. As I dig further into the realms of baking, I'm finding that the American preference for measuring cups lends itself to inconsistencies in results.

Speaking of results, keep an eye on these cookies when in the oven. The use of dark brown sugar in the recipe makes it difficult to see if the cookie is overdone. Twelve to thirteen minutes is really all you need, eleven if you like moister cookies.

Do the cookies taste good? Yes. Very much so. But they don't taste a thing like an ice cream sundae.

• 3 oz. (by weight) unsalted butter
• 8 oz. (by weight) chopped pecans
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz. (by weight) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 10.875 oz. (by weight) dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. dark spiced rum
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 8.5 oz. (by weight) all purpose flour, sifted
• 6 oz. (by weight) butterscotch chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a skillet over medium-low heat on your stove top and melt the 3 oz. of butter. Add the pecans and coat with the melted butter.

When the pecans begin to brown and start to smell toasty, add your 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix well, and then remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the 6 oz. of butter, brown sugar, and rum. Add to this mixture the eggs, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Once thoroughly incorporated, slowly add the flour, pecans, and butterscotch chips.

On a baking sheet that has parchment paper, drop 1 tablespoon of the dough repeatedly until the sheet is full, keeping between 1 to 2 inches between each drop of dough.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and allow to bake between twelve and thirteen minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

What I wanted to do today was a spritz cookie. But alas, I fell in love with a cookie gun, a love that was sadly unrequited. The gun required an excessive amount of oil in order to get it work properly. So when the cookies went into the oven, they cooked far quicker than I wished, and ended up burned.

So, after a tantrum on my part, I went back to the cookie drawing board, and decided on a simple drop cookie, as it had the benefit of not requiring the use of unreliable tools.

That's not to say that one should look upon these as a second choice cookie. Far from it. These cookies are delicious and well worth a moment of your time. Total time from when I mixed the flour to when I removed the last tray of cookies from the oven? Forty minutes. This is a great return on your time investment.

• 4 1/2 oz (by weight) All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 6 Tbs. Butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tbs. Vegetable Shortening, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, delumped
• 1 egg, large, also room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl combine your APF, Cocoa, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt. Mix until all has been incorporated into one another. Set aside.

Then in a mixing bowl, cream together your butter and shortening. Add both the granulated and brown sugars. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

At this point you want to start slowly adding the flour mixture that you had set aside earlier, 1/3 of a cup at a time. Mix well before adding the next third of a cup, until there is no flour mixture left. Mix in the almonds.

Spoon out the cookie dough 1 teaspoon at a time onto parchment paper that has been placed on cookie sheets. Ensure that there is at least 1 inch between each drop of dough.

Place in oven and bake for eleven minutes (+/- 1 minute). Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool.

Makes 2 dozen

This site is getting to that age where it becomes necessary for me to check the archives to see if I have done a certain recipe before or not. This seems like a simple task until one realizes that my categorization index can best be described as unfortunate and the discipline needed to maintain the unfortunate categories is scatter shot.

All of this is my way of saying that I don't believe that I've posted a recipe for peanut butter cookies on Accidental Hedonist before, but I wouldn't be surprised if I am wrong.

Which seems quite odd for me, because out of all of the cookies out there, classic or otherwise, peanut butter cookies are one of my favorite. Even more so than the far more famous Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie. (I steadfastly refuse to call it Nestle's Toll House, as all they did was buy the recipe, rather than come up with it). There is nothing better than a well-made peanut butter cookie.

And I like peanuts in mine. I'm not sure who decided that peanut butter cookies should be made with creamy peanut butter, but they missed the point. So, to make up for others lack of judgement, not only have I used crunchy peanut butter here, I've added another 1/3 cup of peanuts to top it off.

Enjoy!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, crunchy
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, shelled and chopped
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup AP Flour, sifted

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter, until both are thoroughly combined. Then add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Add the peanuts, also mixing them in well.

Add the egg and vanilla until combined. Then add the flour, a bit at a time. Once thoroughly incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.

Pre-heat the over to 375 degrees F.

Shape the dough into 1-inch. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, two inches away from any other cookie dough. Flatten with a crisscross pattern with the tines of a dinner fork.

Bake in the oven between 7 to 9 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 3 dozen, give or take