Best Peanut Butter Cookie Quest: Part One

You may have noticed that I'm capricious and that I get really "into" things for brief periods of time.  Awhile ago it was sewing.  Then photography.  Bikes for quite some time, but never long enough to hone any lasting expertise.  At one point it was the South, and this week it's Twitter, secret cafes, and Rickshaws.  I'm gearing up to be real into camping and web design, but in the meantime, I'm still all about baking—possibly my longest-running hobby—and therefore I have decided, as much as a noncommittal kid can, to undertake a quest for my personal favorite peanut butter cookie of all time.  Did I mention that the quest is going to be totally delicious?  Oh yes, absolutely yes.

This one here used to be my all-time favorite, but this time around I found the peanut butter flavor wasn't pronounced enough, partially because I think there might be too much butter, but also because the chocolate overpowered the peanut butter chips.  This is a peanut butter cookie recipe for a chocolate-lover, which I am, but which preference I will forego in favor of something more sincerely peanut buttery.  Stay posted:  If I don't suddenly decide to take up furniture design, I think constant baking energy could do us some sweet, sweet wonders.

Peanut Butter Cookies (makes 50 to 60 small cookies)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter (I used hand-milled chunky, but apparently the fake shit works best)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 large egg at room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I'd up to 3/4)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chips (I'd decrease to 1/4)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.  In a small bowl, mix flour baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter on medium-high until light and fluffy, two to three minutes.  Add in sugars and beat until smooth.  Add egg and mix well.  Add milk and vanilla, and a little bit at a time, beat in flour mixture.  Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix in all of the chips.

3.  Put a couple tablespoons of sprinkling sugar on a plate, and by rounded teaspoonfulls, drop balls of cookie dough onto the sugar and roll them around until covered.  Place the balls onto your cookie sheets (mine were bare, but parchment paper never hurts), press down lightly with a fork, and toss 'em in the oven for ten to 12 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Leave cookies on sheets for one minute only, then remove to a cooling rack to let cool completely.  These are awesome after they've been sitting for about an hour, eaten in groups of five or six.