Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Cookies

 

I haven't made peanut butter cookies in a while.  Cookies are a great snack to have on hand, either as portioned dough or pre-baked treats in the freezer.  Sure, they aren't healthy, but you don't always want an apple for afternoon snack.

This time, I decided to use the Bible's recipe, which is for honey PB cookies.  To mellow the honey tang, I decided to add white chocolate chips.  I'm putting it as mini chips in the recipe, but what I happen to have are micro-chips, the kind you use for cake decorating or in fancy espresso drinks because they melt easily. They melted into nothing in these cookies, which was my goal anyway.

Because these are traditional-recipe PB cookies, they will not be super soft.  Also, I used up the last of the free Bob's GF flour, so they came out crispy once cooled.  That just makes them great for dunking with tea, coffee, or Ovaltine.

Some of the amounts are going to be a bit odd because I made a half batch.  I saw "1 cup peanut butter" and skipped to the number of eggs in case I could cut it down.

1 C + 2 Tb flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
*1/2 C peanut butter, creamy or chunky ok
1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
*1/3 C honey
1/4 C sugar
1 egg, room temperature
*1/2 C white chocolate chips, mini preferred

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment or a silicone mat.

2.  Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Set aside.

3.  In mixer, cream together peanut butter, butter, honey, and sugar.  Quick tip for measuring the honey and PB: spray the measuring cup with pan spray first.  Once smooth, beat in egg.

4.  Stir in flour mixture until mostly combined.  Stir in chips.

5.  If dough is super soft, chill before proceeding.  Since I was using GF flour, my experience might be different, but I had to use a scoop.  Shape dough into 1-1/2" balls (about 1 oz) and place on cookie sheets 3" apart.  At this point, you can freeze the balls for later if desired.  If so, freeze them on wax paper on a flat tray, then store in a freezer baggie.  Defrost for a couple of hours before baking if you want to press them into shape.

6.  With the back of a floured fork, press down in a criss-cross pattern.  Bake 15 minutes, until just barely starting to brown.  By the time they start to look dark, they will be overdone.  Maybe start with 12 minutes and add time as necessary.  Allow to cool 2 minutes on the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 18

Difficulty rating  π