Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm trying to clean out all the excess food in my room before the end of the year.  Which means cookies!!  And what better way to use up baking materials and the peanut butter that's been chilling in my refrigerator than a batch of delicious peanut butter cookies?

Peanut Butter Cookies

from 500 Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1/2 cup unrefined light brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup (8 oz.) crunchy peanut butter

pinch of salt

Sift the flour and baking soda together (psh).  Beat the butter and sugars until they are soft and creamy (ie. microwave butter).  Combine the egg, flour mixture, peanut butter, and salt.  Add the butter and sugar mixture and mix until smooth.

Wrap the dough in foil or parchment and refrigerate overnight, or at least for 2 hours (pain, I know).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Shape the cookies into 1 1/4-in. balls.  Flatten slightly with a fork and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

Let 'em cool.

the unshaped dough ready to fulfill
their magical cookie destiny

***

We've already talked about the whole sifting thing.  And I realize that this recipe doesn't really allow for spontaneity (damn the refrigeration), but chilling the dough achieves that lovely crumbly-peanut-butter-cookie quality.  Also, little tip:  if you don't care too much about the aesthetics of your cookies, just cut the refrigerated dough with a knife and slap those puppies on the baking sheet.

I've been doing a lot of programming lately, which means I've been listening to a lot of Moby.  For some reason it just makes sense.  Here's Moby's "In My Heart" (I love the piano in the beginning):

Vanstone, Philippa.  500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need.  Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005.  Print.