Peanut Butter Cookie Paradise

I am always on the prowl for a great recipe and these are the perfect peanut butter cookies! For reals! If you think I'm lying then try them for yourselves . . . I dare you. They are chewy and crunchy, salty and sweet, and oh so delicious. They came from The Best Recipe cookbook. But, I will provide it for you below. Thank me later.

Everything I have made from this cookbook is fantastic. I highly recommend it because there are so many tempting cookbooks out there that, once bought, are hardly used. This one is different in that way. The recipes are sure to please as they have already been tried and proved. If you are unfamiliar with the process a recipe goes through before it makes it into the cookbook I will explain. Basically, the team of chefs prepare countless batches or dishes of the same item, each time with slight variations in order to find out the exact ingredients and amounts that yield the tastiest outcome. They even describe the process at the head of each recipe and tell you why they opted to add just 1/2 t of water to chocolate chip cookies, why Jif peanut butter is better for the recipe than other brands, or why superfine sugar is best for Mexican wedding cakes while regular granulated is best for sugar cookies.

The cookies make about 3 dozen, so they are great for entertaining because they yield so many, if you are willing to share them. Put this America's Test Kitchen recipe to the test and I am sure they will put a smile on your face as they so easily do mine. :)

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose
1/2 t (teaspoon) baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup brow sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter, preferably Jif, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup roasted, salted peanuts, ground in a food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (don't over pulse or you might end up making peanut butter)

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350º. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper (I have never had these handy when I have made these and the cookies were just fine).
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until incorporated.
4. Working with generous 2 T (tablespoons) each time, roll dough into 2-inch balls. Place balls on prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. Press each dough ball twice with dinner fork dipped in ice water, to make crisscross design.
5. Bake reversing positions of cookie sheets halfway through baking time (from top to bottom racks and back to front), until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges but not on top (this is the most important part), 10 to 12 minutes. (Cookies will not look fully baked.) Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.