Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies for National Peanut Butter Day

Do you believe that things happen for a reason? Or that there's a silver lining in every cloud? Well I do :) I was supposed to go to the gym (stop laughing!) today for a double session but I got stuck in an almighty traffic jam causing me to be very late for my gym class so I did what any sensible person would do which was to head home and cook a delicious dinner! I saw a tweet from Mike's Baking announcing that it's National Peanut Butter Day. I absolutely LOVE peanut butter so I definitely could not let it go pass without baking something suitable. I believe that I was meant to make these cookies which is why I never made it to the gym (yes yes call me delusional!)

I won a lifetime membership to Eat Your Books from Jam and Clotted Cream recently - thank you again! If you have not already discovered eat your books, check it out NOW! It's absolutely amazing!! It's basically an online cookbook search engine. You add the books you have on your bookshelf (and online recipes too) and when you want to make something, just type in the ingredient and it will search your cookbooks for you. Today I typed in peanut butter and the first recipe to appear was Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies by Lorraine Pascale from Baking Made Easy. It was fate. I had to make it and I'm so glad I did as these cookies are Delicious!! Yes with a capital D :)

If you are a peanut butter lover like me then you will definitely enjoy these cookies. I can see why Lorraine calls them irresistible! They are really soft and crumbly with the lovely peanut buttery taste. I love the crunch of the peanuts on top and the sweet, salty combination. 

 flatten cookies with a fork 

 sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top 

 Delicious!! 

Recipe adapted  from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy 

130g butter

175g light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

200g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

300g peanut butter (I used crunchy as I prefer the crunch)

Handful of ready roasted, salted peanuts - chopped. (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Grease and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add in the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Add in the egg.
• Finally, stir in the peanut butter - don't overmix the batter. 
• Scoop small scoops of dough using a small ice cream scoop and place at least 2 inches apart. 
• Use a fork (lightly dipped in water if required) to flatten the cookies.
• Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top (or skip this step)
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
• The cookies will be very soft when removed from the oven but will firm up once it's cooled. 
• Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.