I think I have been carrying on a love affair with peanut butter my whole life. I come by it honestly. My father also loves it. My bedtime snack of choice has always been a slice of bread or toast (whole wheat these days) and peanut butter, and I can remember as a child when my mom was cooking the Sunday morning bacon and eggs for the rest of the family, I chose to have peanut butter on toast with my bacon instead of eggs.
These are gorgously tasty cookies and quite different than the usual peanut butter cookie. You should smell them when they are baking!
The recipe is adapted from a cookery book entitled Canteen, Great British Food, and makes only 15 to 20 cookies. That is not a problem from where I am sitting. We are a small family and I am not supposed to be eating things like this.
Oh the smell though . . . when they are baking. Absolutely Heavenly! Bliss! Actually as far as biscuits go, although quite high in sugar (most cookies are), they contain healthy carbs in the way of oats and whole wheat flour.
The dough is a bit sticky when you go to roll it into balls. But not so sticky that it is impossible to work with. Just roll them and put them onto the baking tray. Do leave plenty of space in between as they do spread a LOT. I baked only 8 at a time, spread out on a medium sized paper lined tray.
The original recipe called for a bake time of only 8 to 10 minutes, but I found that to be far too short. I baked them for 15, which was just perfect. They were crunchy without being hard, and having just a tiny bit of chew in the middle. The peanut garnish on the top is my own addition. These are great!
*Oaty Peanut Butter Cookies*Makes 15 to 20Printable Recipe
Sweet and salty and wholesome with the addition of oats and whole wheat flour. Scrumptious.
75g soft butter (1/3 cup) softened110g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed plus 1 TBS)90g caster sugar (1/2 cup)1 large free range egg1 tsp pure vanilla120g peanut butter (can use smooth or crunchy) (2/3 cup)60g plain wholemeal flour (7 1/2 TBS wholewheat)1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)75g porrige oats (scant cup)80g roasted salted peanuts, chopped
Optional - a few whole salted peanuts to garnish each cookie
Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
Cream together both sugars and the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the remaining ingredients, mixing well together.
Roll in your hands into walnut sized balls and place spaced well apart on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly and top each (optional) with a few more salted peanuts.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before scooping off onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat as necessary until all the cookies have baked. Store in an airtight tin.
If you are looking for a great cookie to bake for a weekend treat, or to pop into the kids lunch boxes next week, or even just to enjoy with your morning cuppa, and you love peanut butter as much as I do, you can't go very far wrong with these tasty biscuits! Crisp, sweet and salty, they go down a real treat! Bon appetit!
