peanut butter, two ways

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I haven´t always understood the fascination with peanut butter. Now before you kill me, peanut butter isn´t common all over the world, we do have a peanut butter candy called Mantecol, but other than that, you just don´t see peanut butter. Which is why when I first tried it in the US a few years ago, I was a bit taken aback. First of all, how come it wasn´t sweet? I just grabbed a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter, put it in my mouth and went “ewww this is actually a bit salty!”. And after that, I just never liked eating it by itself.

But using it in baked goods… well, that´s a completely different story! Last month, I got together with my friend Jenny and we had salads for lunch, followed by this monument to all things fattening: peanut butter brownies (with a chocolate glaze just in case you needed something extra). These were eaten a bit too fast to get more than one decent picture, so go and check out Deb´s site for the pictures and the recipe.

As for the second incursion into peanut-butter land, I did Dorie´s peanut butter crisscrosses (using natural peanut butter because it was all I had, and although a bit crumbly, they were amazing.) So this would be another case where you need to let go of your biased ways and explore different things, in your constant crusade to fatten you and others up.

Peanut butter crisscrosses (adapted from Baking from my Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pinch of all-spice

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

About 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350°F (about 175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicon mats.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and all-spice (or nutmeg if you want.)

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add peanut butter and beat for another minute. Add the sugars and beat until well combined, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly mixed – scraping down the sides a couple times. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until combined – stir in the chopped peanuts.

4. Put the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out portions of the dough and roll the dough in your hands to form balls. Place the balls into the bowl of sugar and roll around to coat them. Place the balls on parchment lined baking sheets about 2″ apart to allow for spreading. Place a fork or potato masher into the sugar bowl and flatten the dough balls twice, in alternation directions, to form the crisscrosses.

5. Bake until the cookies are set, but still a little soft – about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at midway point. Remove and let cool for 1 or 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack with a metal spatula to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out portions of the dough and roll the dough in your hands to form balls. Place the balls into the bowl of sugar and roll around to coat them. Place the balls on parchment lined baking sheets about 2″ apart to allow for spreading. Place a fork or potato masher into the sugar bowl and flatten the dough balls twice, in alternation directions, to form the crisscrosses.

Bake until the cookies are set, but still a little soft – about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and let cool for 1 or 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

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