Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

I know. My last post featured decadent chocolate muffins. You'd expect that my chocolate craving would have been satisfied for a bit. At least for a day or two. But, alas. It was not.

If you are a true chocolate lover, you won't bat an eyelash when I tell you that I found myself craving more chocolate as soon as I finished my first muffin. If you enjoy chocolate like I do, you'll understand when I tell you that I needed a chocolate fix.

This time, it had to be salty-sweet. These cookies (another Dorie Greenspan Baking special) were just the thing. The hint of cocoa in the batter, plus the generous helping of chocolate chips, gave it just enough chocolatey richness. The fresh chopped peanuts plus the creamy peanut butter added a saltiness that complemented the cocoa. If you like Reeses' Peanut Butter cups, these will be just the thing for you. And you can make them pareve!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking
I made a few tweaks to the recipe and am listing it here the way I tried it. If you have the cookbook and want to take a look at the original recipe, it's the Peanut Butter Crisscrosses recipe on page 78. I did the cocoa-peanut butter version. 

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 sticks butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jif)
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cups chopped salted peanuts
1 cup chocolate chips

About 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350*. Line two cookie sheets with foil sprayed with Pam, or with parchment paper.

Cream the butter in a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the peanut butter and beat for a couple of minutes. Add the sugars and beat for 3-5 minutes longer, till light and fluffy. Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine briefly.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low speed, add the flour, cocoa, chopped peanuts and chocolate chips. Combine briefly. The dough will be soft and mushy.

Pour the 1/2 cup sugar into a small bowl. Working with about a tablespoonful of dough, roll the dough into balls and then drop each one into the sugar, rolling it to coat.

Place the balls on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten them first in one direction and then another, to create a crisscross indentation along the top.

Bake for about 13 minutes, until the cookies are done but still a bit soft. Let them cool for a few minutes on the sheets and then transfer to racks to cool completely.

When the cookie sheets are cool, repeat with the remaining cookies. (I got all of my cookies done with just 3 sheets.)