Pumpkin and Spice

Peanut butter is, for American children, at least, a comfort food without peer. It's sweet, salty, creamy, gooey, and nutritious. Unless you had a nut allergy, odds are it was a lunchtime staple when you were growing up, be it on a classic peanut butter and jelly (apricot preserves have always been my "jelly" of choice) or a fluffernutter (peanut butter and marshmallow goo? Yes, please!) or even just plain on a spoon. To this day, a bowl of Campbell's Chicken Noodle with a PB&J ranks a close second to grilled cheese and tomato soup as my favorite soup/sandwich pairing.

No discussion on peanut butter is really complete without addressing the subject of peanut butter cookies. There are so many variations on the peanut butter cookie that it's difficult to say with any authority what the "best" way to make one is. Some people like them crispy, others prefer chewy, with nuts, without nuts... Well, I'm going to throw this out there, feel free to disagree if you like... I make a pretty damn fine peanut butter cookie. They get my brother's stamp of approval, and he is to peanut butter cookies what a sommelier is to wine, so they have to be decent. And, one of the best things about them is that they are easily customizeable to your cookie tastes. (I'm not claiming these cookies are revolutionary, just that they are a good, solid cookie recipe- one of my trusted go-to recipes.)

Myself, I like my cookies thick and chewy, and "medium rare" (which is to say, a little raw in the center). In a peanut butter cookie, I like little peanut chunks and I also like peanut butter chips. If you wanna do these just like me, use extra chunky peanut butter, Reese's peanut butter chips, and scoop them with an ice cream scoop straight onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Don't flatten them. Bake for about 8-10min. They won't spread, will be lightly crisp on the outsides, and a bit gooey in the center.

Obviously, if you don't like peanut bits, you can use smooth peanut butter, and of course, you can omit the chips. If you like a crisper cookie, scoop the dough, and roll it in granulated sugar. Place on your cookie sheet and flatten a bit with a fork, making a traditional criss cross on top. Bake for about 12min, up to 14 if you like them super crisp.

I'd also like to point out that if you scoop the dough out in rows on a cookie sheet and freeze them, you can put the frozen dough balls in a ziploc bag and keep them frozen. Then, you can just bake a couple when you're craving a warm fresh cookie. Bake them from frozen, just add about 2min to your bake time. Who needs cookie dough in a tube?!

Oh, and bear in mind, this recipe is by weight, not volume. Break out the kitchen scale!

Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen

• 10 oz butter, softened (2 1/2 sticks)
• 8oz sugar
• 8oz dark brown sugar
• 1t coarse kosher salt
• 1lb extra chunky peanut butter (or creamy, depending on your preference)
• 3 eggs
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1lb AP flour
• 1t baking soda
• 2 cups peanut butter chips (or Reese's Pieces) optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together the butter, sugars and salt until light. Add peanut butter and cream until incorporated. Add vanilla, then eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl well, then add flour and baking soda, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter chips, if using. Scoop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets, flattening with a fork if desired. Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on desired doneness.