The week goes by way too quickly for me, so when Sunday rolled around (yet again), I needed a baked good that was really quick to make for Meat and Tater Man to take along with him on assignment out of town for yet another week. In between loads of laundry, I reached for one of Elinor Klivans’ baking books. I’ve long been a fan of Elinor’s, a rather popular (and deliciously prolific) cookbook author and recipe writer. I have many of her books – they are easy to read, feature great food photography and book page layouts, the recipes aren’t complicated and are written in Elinor’s no nonsense prose, they’re very reliable, they rely on commonly used ingredients, and most of all, her baked goods are really good!
You can use an electric hand mixer for these, but I love using my KitchenAid stand mixer, because it allows me to multi-task while mixing. Something Meat and Tater Man doesn’t understand.
While the above observations may seem obvious or simplistic, they don’t always hold true for all cookbooks. Yes, I regret to tell you that not all published material is good, let alone reliable. If you need to go get a glass of wine to digest this rather unpalatable tidbit, go ahead. I’ll wait for you to get back. There now…ready to carry on with me? Good, because I’ve got my glass of wine too. Moving on.
Reliability is the cornerstone of usability, in cookbook print, don’t you think? I once baked a few recipes from one cookbook (whose author shall remain nameless), and every recipe I tried from this chef (yes, she is a professional chef and baker) failed in some way. Since I’ve been baking for the last 3 decades, I would rate myself a decent cook, but every one, including me, makes a mistake once in a while, even when following a recipe. So, I tried other recipes from the same book, and they failed too. Either the cooking times were too long, or the oven temperature setting wasn’t right, or the ingredient amounts were way off. I even tried another one of her books, just to be sure. Failure, again. I’m sure she’s a great chef (she has a cooking show on the food network that showcases her beautiful work), but her book recipes were either not very well tested or poorly edited. So, while her books still have a spot on my bookshelf, they’re there mostly for inspiration, and I no longer cook from them.
Unlike other cookie dough batters, this one isn’t too sticky and is easy to handle.
This tested and trusted recipe is from Elinor’s Cookies, Brownies & Bars (dozens of scrumptious recipes to bake and enjoy). It’s filled with recipe classics such as chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, ginger snaps, oatmeal raisin cookies, shortbread, brownies, and one of my favourites, the classic peanut butter cookie. In her book, Elinor tops her cookies with chopped unsalted roasted peanuts. Since I didn’t have any, I left mine unadorned, and they were still delightful. Think soft, chewy, peanutty cookie, that will still be good a few days after baking. Now that’s a cookie (and a recipe) that’s a keeper.
Elinor topped her cookies with chopped peanuts, but I stayed decidedly traditional and retro and cross-hatched my cookie tops with your standard issue dinner fork tines.
Incidentally, the most common mistake I make when I bake is to forget to add the sugar. I either end up adding it towards the end of the recipe (to no great effect, suprisingly, on the finished product), or I forget adding it altogether. The last time I did this was with a batch of biscotti, and you know what? They were still good, only more in a savoury biscuit kind of way, because they lacked that requisite sweetness to qualify as a true cookie. But not truly a failure per se. Which goes to show that all recipes have a bit of give and take, but published recipes that have been tested well and edited properly are worth their culinary weight in gold, so to speak, to the home baker.
My daughter loved these, and ate the whole stack you see here in one sitting. They’re that good. I won’t tell you how many I had. In one sitting or otherwise.
This classic cookie will have you reaching for the cookie jar more than once. They're soft and chewy, and keep well for days (if they last that long).
Adapted from Elinor Klivans' Cookies, Brownies & Bars.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper, or nonstick silicone baking sheets, such as Silpat.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar. Using a mixer on medium speed, beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low speed until the eggs are completely incorporated, scraping down the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated.
- Place heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of the chopped peanuts (if using) over each cookie, pressing lightly with your fingertips to help them adhere.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookie tops are evenly golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Repeat to bake and cool the remaining cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
I just finished making these cookies, and ate 2 right out of the oven! I could not resist. I like that they are not overly sweet.
There’s a nostalgia surrounding this cookie…I think of dad, as this is his favourite cookie (and I remember mom cooking these up when we were kids).
I will certainly make them again.
I loved these too, not just how they taste, but also how easy they are to make. And the dough is less sticky than other cookie doughs, so it drops easily onto the cookie sheets. Definitely a keeper!