The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

We’ve tried so many different types of peanut butter cookies over the years & they are often sub-par…either too sweet or too greasy/oily, with very little peanut flavor. We have found one recipe that has consistently beat out all the rest. These peanut butter cookies are somewhere between chewy & cake-like…they have a slight crisp around the edges and are wonderfully puffy in the center. Using chunky-style peanut butter in combination with the extra addition of crushed peanuts gives a peanut flavor above all others we’ve tried.

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie | theinspiredparent.com

This amazing recipe, adapted from our well-worn, 2004 copy of Baking Illustrated by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, is by far our absolute favorite. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie | theinspiredparent.com

The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie
The Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:7]

 

Our Favorite Pumpkin Bread

What we like about this bread is that it has a moist, lighter crumb compared with some denser varieties. The delightfully crispy top does soften up a bit after it is wrapped for storage, as happens with most quick breads, so enjoy a couple of pieces the day you bake these tasty treats. We like to make one loaf with chocolate chips and one without. Another option is adding 1/2 c. of nuts (chopped walnuts are yummy).

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 Ingredients:
  • 3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
  • 2 – 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 – 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground nutmeg (freshly ground, if you have it)
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 c. unsalted butter, well-softened
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • One 15 oz. can of pumpkin
  • ½ c. Ghirardelli mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F & grease two 9 x5″ loaf pans with butter.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder & salt together.
  3. In a larger mixing bowl, cream the sugar, butter & eggs for about 2 minutes, ’til fluffy. Add the pumpkin and blend with a spatula.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time, gently folding ’til combined.
  5. Once the batter is combined, pour half of the batter into a one of the prepared pans. Fold the chocolate chips (and/or nuts) into the remaining batter and then pour it into the other pan.
  6. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer in the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes 2 loaves