Crunchy Peanut & Chocolate Chip Pepper Cookies

Crunchy Peanut & Chocolate Chip Pepper Cookies

My friend Diane is a great baker so when she posted this yummy-looking photo of a batch of cookies she made, I knew I had to share it with you.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¾ tsp. cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for pressing
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter, stirred well
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
  • ¾ cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Coat two cookies sheets with cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cayenne and baking soda.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla to the creamed mixture and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the peanuts and chocolate chips.
  5. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place on the prepared sheets at least 2 inches apart. Using a fork dipped in sugar, gently press a crisscross pattern in the top of each cookie, flattening it out to a 2-inch circle.
  6. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking process. Allow the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then move them to baking racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for 1 month.

Yields 24 cookies.

Adapted from this recipe.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chunk CookiesMy tasting panel (ten warehouse workers at my office) really liked these chewy yet crispy cookies and the extra chocolate from the addition of chunks with the chips.

This recipe yields 32 cookies which can be a lot of you’re only craving a quick dozen. The cookie dough can easily be divided and wrapped tightly in wax paper them aluminum foil and frozen for up to a month.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 ½ cup chocolate chunks

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, beating well after each one, until fully combined, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture – do not over mix.  Add the chips and mix until just combined.
  5. Line four cookie sheets with parchment paper (if you only have two cookie sheets, break up the baking in two phases making sure the cookie sheets cool completely from the first batch prior to doing the next). For each cookie, scoop one tablespoon of dough, place on a cookie sheet and flatten gently with the palm of your hand. Eight cookies will fit on each cookie sheet.
  6. Bake, two sheets at a time, until golden, about 13 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the process with the last two cookie sheets.

Makes 32 cookies.

Chocolate Crackle-Top Cookies

Chocolate Crackle-Top Cookies

Crackle-Top Cookie Ingredients

Crackle-Top Cookie Ingredients

The name for these easy-to-make and succulent cookies comes from the fact that the baking of the cookies causes ‘crackles’ in the powdered sugar coating. Kids LOVE to help roll the unbaked cookies in the powdered sugar, so summon help!

Crackle-Top Cookie Batter

Crackle-Top Cookie Batter

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 tbs. butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
Crackle-Top Cookie Dough Balls

Crackle-Top Cookie Dough Balls

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Microwave 1 cup chocolate for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave at 10 seconds intervals until completely melted.
  3. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Add melted chocolate until well blended.  Incorporate eggs, one at a time. Gradually incorporate flour mixture in the chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
  5. Shape cooled dough into 1 ½” balls (about 1 teaspoon).  Place powdered sugar in a shallow dish and roll dough balls into it to cover completely.
  6. Place balls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 13-15 minutes ( the cookies won’t be set in the center! ).
  7. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.

Makes 24 cookies.