Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt*
5. 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), softened*
6. 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
7. 1 cup granulated sugar
8. 1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
9. 2 large eggs, room temperature
10. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
11. 1 cup roasted salted peanuts, ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. 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 just incorporated.
4. Roll two tablespoons of dough into a ball and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Dip a dinner fork in cold water and make crisscross design. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: 3 dozen cookies

Note: * If using unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 teaspoon.

**The key to soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies is you have to pull them out of the oven even if they don't exactly look done. when you lift them off the cookie sheet and they look very light tan they are done. they will stiffen up as they are on the cooling rack. and come out nice and soft. for some reason my very first batch of cookies always come out overdone i have no idea why, but timing is the key. even when you take them off the pan they will seem super soft but that's what you're looking for. :)

Also, When Criss-Crossing them w/ a fork only do it ever so lightly w/ sugar on the back of the fork they will look like little thumbprint size cookies but flatten out.