Soft Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

Does the use of the word, "monster" in the title of a cookie mean that the cookie is REALLY BIG? For some reason, I always thought it meant the cookie had candy on top. It wasn’t until I started typing up this recipe that I realized it might be a reference to size rather than topping. Lucky for me, this recipe should satisfy both interpretations. It’s BIG (at least it can be) and it’s got candy loaded on top.

These cookies are great for many reasons; they are soft and chewy without being doughy yet still have a crisp "shell" that give the cookie a little crunch. The peanut butter shines through even when whole-wheat four is used.  They are sensational when eaten warm or at room temperature (they are even good after they have been stored in an airtight container for a few days-they stay moist). Finally, like many drop cookies, once shaped (and in this case, candied) they can be flash frozen and stored in a freezer bag in the freezer for a long time (internet says 3 months…I’m sure I’ve probably pushed that time recommendation to 4 or 6 months).

A peanut butter purist may not appreciate the peanut butter chips or candy on top and if you fall under that category, then just take out the peanut butter baking chips, replace it with the same measure of coarsely chopped peanuts and leave off the Reece’s Pieces. Unless you have a nut allergy, you are going to LOVE these cookies.

Soft Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

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Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used fresh milled white winter wheat)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

½ cup sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup peanut putter baking chips

1 cup Reese’s Pieces Candy

Directions:

1. Sift, four, salt, banking soda and baking powder together in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugars together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add Peanut Butter and continue to beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated then beat in vanilla. Scrape bowl as necessary. Add flour mixture in 2 batches. Cover dough and refrigerate until stiffened, about 30 minutes
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour Reese’s Pieces into a shallow bowl and set aside. Remove dough from fridge, and mix in 1 cup of peanut butter baking chips into the chilled dough. Scoop dough into 1 ½ to 2-inch balls and dip the top of the shaped dough ball into the bowl of Reese’s Pieces. Depending on the size of your cookie, each ball should have 8-14 pieces of candy stuck to it. Place the dough, candy side up, onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bake until the cookies are puffed and slightly brown along the edges and bottom (If you leave in until totally browned, they will not be chewy) about 10-13 minutes for large cookies and 7-10 minutes for smaller cookies. Let cookies rest on pan for 2 minutes then promptly transfer hem to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:

The whole wheat flour can be substituted for the same measure of all-purpose flour bringing your total flour measurement to 2 ½ cups flour).

Freezing and baking cookies from frozen dough:

Crowd as many shaped and candied dough balls onto the cookie sheet as will fit. Flash freeze the dough in a freezer, uncovered for 30 minutes then once firm transfer cookies to a zip lock bag and keep frozen until ready to bake. To bake frozen cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees, place dough on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 13-17 minutes. Cookies are ready to be removed from oven and transferred to a wire rack once they are slightly browned around the edges.

Source: Adapted from a recipe I found on cooks.com YEARS ago. Sorry I can no longer find the original reference.

 Gwenevere