I love the smell of homemade cookies baking in the oven. It reminds me of childhood. Waiting patiently for what feels like ages for the timer to finally ding! and the hot trays carrying sweet discs of chocolate or peanut butter or plain old sugar to come out of the oven and land on these strange looking racks for cooling. This was always where the problem began. I rationalized that I had already waited long enough for them to get hot and bake, so why on earth should I not have to wait for them to cool down? A few burnt fingers and about 10 minutes later, I was sitting at the kitchen counter with an ice cold glass of milk and a still warm cookie, and it was perfection, throbbing digits and all.
I debated for quite a while what type of cookie to make and write about first. I decided on the perfect combination of salty and sweet, chocolatey and peanut buttery. One to suit a multitude of different tastes (and also my craving for chocolate covered pretzels!).
Peanut Butter & Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use dark, but you can use any combo)
1 1/2 cups salted pretzels, broken up into half inch pieces
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat on a low speed, using an electric mixer. Add the brown sugar, increase the speed to medium, and beat until creamy. Mix in the peanut butter until incorporated and then add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
With the mixer still on a medium speed, gradually add the dry ingredient mixture (flour etc.) just until incorporated. You want to be sure that the mixture is just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel bits just until evenly distributed.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I like to refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight to be sure the dough is firm and will not spread to much when baking. You can store the dough for up to a week. Sometimes I like to make the dough and bake them in batches for freshly baked cookies every day! Anyhow…
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325ºF/160ºC. Line or grease two baking sheets. Remove dough from fridge and unwrap.
Make tablespoon size balls of dough, using a spoon or scoop, and place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten with a fork (or with the palm or your hand if you’re being a bit lazy like me!).
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Once completely cooled, these can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container.
