Cookies

Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies
Serving Size : 8 cookies

1/3 cup all-purpose flour -- plus
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
pinch baking soda pinch salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter -- at room temperature
2 teaspoons egg -- well beaten egg, or egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup peanut butter -- extra-chunky
Place flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.

Place the sugar, brown sugar, butter, beaten egg, and vanilla in a medium-size mixing bowl, and beat with a hand-held electric mixer on low until blended, about 1 minute. Beat in the peanut butter until blended, about 20 seconds. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough is blended, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and press it out to form a thick disk. Wrap it well in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is pliable, about 30 minutes.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325� F. Set aside a greased baking sheet.

Shape the dough, by tablespoonfuls, into mounds on the baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 1 inch apart. Using a fork, flatten each one to form a 1/3-inch-thick round, making grooves in the surface with the tines of the fork. Press the fork lightly in the opposite direction to make a crisscross pattern in the tops of the Cookies. (Sprinkle extra sugar on top if you wish) Bake the cookies until they are golden, about 13 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the wire rack, and let them cool completely.

Serves 3 or 4

Adapted from "Small Batch Baking"