White Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies

I had some time this week and I enjoyed being able to look through some year-old magazines that my husband had on his iPad. One of the reasons the iPad is so great is that it allows us to subscribe to some British food magazines that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to consistently access. Sure, we could find the issues in the bookstore from time to time, or we could pay a fortune to get a print subscription, but the electronic subscription is easier all around.

My goal was to find this week’s cookies in the magazines. There perhaps aren’t quite as many cookie/biscuit recipes in these magazines, but I can usually find a few in each issue. I came across some great looking things, but I knew I would be making these fairly late in the evening. It had to be something fairly fast. I came across these and thought: who doesn’t love a good peanut butter cookie? (Don’t worry, I made note of all those other recipes that looked good!)

These whip up quickly and don’t require refrigeration, which is unusual for a peanut butter cookie. I toyed with the idea of substituting Biscoff spread or Nutella for the peanut butter; maybe I will try that next. You bang the cookie sheet on the counter half way through the baking time, which flattens the cookies I bit. I imagine that they would be fine if you didn’t do that. I baked these for just 10 minutes total. They may look under baked, but that keeps them nice and soft in the center but a little bit crispy around the edges. They aren’t super sweet (typical of British cookies) and are a great variation to traditional peanut butter cookies.

White Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) peanut butter

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) brown sugar

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) sugar

1 egg

4 ounces (1 cup minus 1 tablespoon) flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and stir to incorporate. In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. With a spatula, stir in the white chocolate chunks.

Bake the cookies for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and drop it on the counter (or the top of your stove, any flat surface) to flatten the cookies somewhat. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are browned. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine