LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Reese's peanut butter cookies


Photos Susie Iventosch

We had a hankering for peanut butter cookies the other day, and my family loves this recipe made with chunky peanut butter, dark chocolate chips, and maple syrup! It's so delicious and easy to make. What we did differently this time was to add about a cup of quartered mini-Reese's peanut butter cups to the batter. If you feel like adding one mini peanut buttercup on top of each cookie, you can also do that for a fun look and extra Reese's flavor. Just push the peanut butter cup into the top of each cookie after you press the dough balls down with that quintessential criss-cross fork pattern!

In writing up this recipe, I became curious about the invention of peanut butter cookies. So, I started snooping on the Internet and discovered that there is a National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, which falls on June 12 each year! The origin of peanuts is thought to be as long as 3,500 years ago, somewhere around what is present day Brazil or Peru, and it was European explorers who brought peanuts from South America and Mexico to Africa and Asia. It wasn't until the 1700s that they were first introduced to the United States, and not until the 1800s when they actually became a commercial crop here, valued for their taste and protein content.

Finally, in 1912, George Washington Carver, well-known agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton as well as methods to prevent soil depletion, included a recipe for peanut butter cookies in his book "How to Grow the Peanut: And 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption." I have not read the book, but it is still available on Amazon and probably in local libraries and bookstores. When I looked into the table of contents, it appears that he actually has three peanut butter cookie recipes among his 105 ways to eat peanuts! Other recipes include peanut bisque, peanut donuts, peanut omelets, peanut cake, peanut bread, peanut butter, and even peanut coffee! I think I will have to order a copy of this book, since we love peanuts just about any way at our house!

INFO Box

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

https://nationaltoday.com/national-peanut-butter-cookie-day/

Reeses Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup (4 oz.) unsalted butter room temperature

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

5-6 oz. Reese's Minis Peanut Butter Cups unwrapped, cut into quarters (you want about 1 cup of the quartered Reese's)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Add brown sugar and beat until well integrated. Add egg and beat well. Stir in vanilla and maple syrup. Add flour and baking soda and beat until well-blended. Using a wooden spoon, stir in Reese's halves and dark chocolate chips by hand.

Roll dough into 20 evenly sized balls, approximately 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Dip a fork into a bowl of granulated sugar and press down twice, once in each direction to make a crosshatch pattern. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool enough to handle. Then dig in! Store extra cookies in an air-tight container or freeze them for later.