College Boy Peanut Chocolate Chippers

Peanut butter is tricky these days.  Lots of folks are allergic and now the Peter Pan problem with salmonella - yikes!  These are the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet if you like peanut butter in your cookies, and if you leave out the chips, they are stellar peanut butter cookies as well.  We make them with milk chocolate chips sometimes and also use premium chocolate chunks on occasion.  Changes them slightly, but they are always delicious. I always double the recipe and mail them to my son at college (the one who only eats chocolate desserts). He says more than six dozen are tough to eat by himself within a week, so he shares them with his roommate, frisbee teammates and frat brothers.  Nice way to stay in touch with distant twenty year olds!

I no longer send these to dinners or parties with lots of folks since a woman with a terrible allergy once ate one by mistake.  She broke off the epi-pen in her leg and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.  Peanut butter can definitely cause problems!  

Baking on parchment is my favorite way to produce uniform cookies.  That way the old and new baking sheets don’t affect the browning of the cookie or the cooking time.  You may reuse sheets also once the cookies are removed.   One other tip - measure the dough as you drop it.  The cookies will be evenly cooked if they are all of the same size.  I make mine on the small side;  anyone can buy a big old commercial mix cookie!

Peanut Chocolate Chippers

Makes 6 dozen

• 1 1/4 cup AP flour (I use unbleached)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1- 4oz stick butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I use granulated)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 6 oz chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment (or grease them if you don’t use parchment).  Combine first three ingredients.  In separate mixer bowl, cream butter & peanut butter with sugar then add egg and vanilla.  Add flour mixture gradually beating just until combined.  Stir in chips if used.  Form into small balls and roll in sugar. Place onto parchment and criss cross top with fork flattening cookie and leaving room for it to spread.  Bake 9-10 minutes on rack in upper half of oven (not too high).  Cool on sheet for a few minutes then remove to rack if possible - leave on parchment otherwise.