The Best Peanut Butter Cookie

Beware child in my son's class with nut allergies, don't even get near Helper Munchkin within a week of eating these cookies! They are the nuttiest peanut butter cookies this side of the Mississippi!

Nutty and soft and yummy, this Cook's Illustrated recipe is a keeper (unless you're the mom of nut allergy boy, in that case you're s.o.l.)

Ingredients

2 1/2 c All-purpose flour
1/2 ts Baking soda
1/2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 lb Butter; salted, (2 sticks)
1 c Firmly packed dark brown
1 c Granulated sugar
1 c Extra-crunchy peanut butter;
2 lg Eggs
2 ts Vanilla extract
1 c Roasted salted peanuts (I used salted cashews!);



Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.


3. Working with 2 Tablespoons dough at a time (see illustration 1, below), roll into large balls, placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Following illustration 2, below, press each dough ball with back of dinner fork dipped in cold water to make criss-cross design.



Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked).

Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, refrigerated in an air-tight container, up to 7 days.