Double chocolate peanut butter cookies and being short

Back in my school days, I hated being short – I had all sorts of nicknames, and not many were cute as Smurfette (I believe that was the only one I liked). At 34 I no longer care and funnily enough I have developed a taste for mini food – humans are strange beings, I know. :D

A jar of peanut butter in the cupboard and a Donna Hay magazine with several pb recipes (which had already produced these lovely cupcakes) were the reason behind these cookies. I decided to make them fairly small using only 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie, and since they did not spread while in the oven – partially because I added more flour to my dough and partially because I did not flatten them before baking – the result was a tiny, delicate cookie that reminded of petit fours served with tea - the difference is that these are much better served with a glass of cold milk.

Double chocolate peanut butter cookies
slightly adapted from the always amazing Donna Hay Magazine

185g all purpose flour – my dough was much too soft, I ended using 200g flour total
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (130g) crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g light brown sugar*
1 egg
75g dark chocolate chips
75g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until creamy and well combined. Beat in the egg until evenly incorporated. On low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie, roll into balls and place 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, especially around the edges. Cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to rack and cool completely.

* I used less sugar than the amount called for in the recipe, but still thought the cookies were a tad too sweet – if I were to make these again I would use 150g sugar

Makes 45