BACK TO PEANUTS

Since it's National Peanut Month, I'm on the lookout for anything related to the glorious goober. Today I picked up some peanut butter chips at my local health food store, Vitamin City, and had hoped to do some baking this afternoon. Unfortunately, Southern California is in the middle of a heat wave so I don't know if I feel like turning on the oven, which might cause my house to implode (yesterday's temp in Long Beach reached 94 degrees!).

Perhaps where you live turning on the oven would be a pleasure. If so, here's a recipe for cookies using SunSpire Peanut Butter Chips:

Double Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup MaraNatha® Peanut Butter
4 oz. unsalted butter (1 cube), softened
1/2 cup (packed) dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup Sunspire® Peanut Butter Baking Chips
4 Tbsp. organic sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside. In another mixing bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars until smooth. Add the vanilla and egg, mix until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixuture just until all wet and dry ingredients combine. Add in your baking chips and mix. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Scoop 2 tsp. of dough and shape into a ball. Roll the ball into the remaining sugar and place on the cookie sheet. Lightly press down on the top of each cookie with the bottom of a jelly jar. Leaving 1 inch in between each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on whether you desire a soft or crisp cookie. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack for remaining cooling time.

Yields: 4-6 dozen

*Image and recipe courtesy SunSpire.

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