Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love peanut butter cookies, but only when they are soft and chewy, and not hard and crunchy or crispy, which seems to be the result of most recipes I have tried.

Even more than PB cookies, I LOVE anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter. Oh yum! It's a perfect combination.

Well, I found the perfect Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Holy cow, it's delicious! AND, it's super easy. You can make the dough in about 2 minutes, and you only need a bowl and a spoon... no mixer. It's actually a "Kids Recipe" from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.

When you look at this recipe, you are going to think it's wrong because several basic cookie ingredients are missing. Because of the fat in the PB*, there is no butter in the recipe, hence no creaming-of-butter-and-sugar involved. And very little sugar because the PB also has that, along with salt. But the surprising thing is, there is no flour! Trust me, it's perfect. Just make the recipe as is, and let me know what you think!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 egg
1 c. creamy peanut butter*
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crack egg into a large bowl and beat with a fork. Add remaining ingredients (seriously, just dump them in) and stir with a wooden spoon (or whatever) until combined and smooth. Make 24 balls, place on cookie sheets, and press with a fork in two directions to make a crosshatch pattern. Bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden. (Don't overbake!) Let cool on pan. (They will continue to "cook" a little bit while they cool.)

Pour a cold glass of milk and ENJOY! These will stay soft, even after a few days! (If you can go that long without eating all of them.)



* I only use "real" peanut butter (just peanuts and salt, or sometimes just peanuts... I like Trader Joe's) for sandwiches . Unfortunately, for this recipe you need what I refer to as "junk peanut butter" with all the additives (i.e. JIF, Skippy), since you need the fat and sugar already included. I can't stand to actually "eat" the stuff, but I bought it (the cheap Wal-Mart brand) just to make these cookies.