Real Deal Peanut Butter Cookies

A few weeks ago, I got the sudden urge to make old-school peanut butter cookies. You know, pressed down with fork tines and all. But most peanut butter cookies don't cut it for me - the peanut butter flavor is subdued by the flour, and you have to keep eating them to get sufficient peanut flavor. (Not to mention the fact that they're usually made with processed peanut butters that don't just taste of peanuts.)

So with a quick Google search for "flourless peanut butter cookies," I found about 40,000 versions of this one recipe. It's ridiculously easy, and because it's so simple, you can play with it however you want. I used an all-natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts, salt) because I prefer the taste, although it makes the texture of the cookies just a little bit more delicate. I also sprinkled chopped chocolate on some cookies, but I ended up preferring the plain peanut butter cookies much more. If you play around with this recipe, let me know what you choose to do. Chopped peanuts would be delicious, or you can make them more like thumbprint cookies and add a dollop of jam to the tops.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine peanut butter and sugars in a bowl and mix until well combined. Add egg and baking soda and continue to mix until well combined. Roll dough into small balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press the balls down with a fork to create a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Between batches, cover the dough with plastic wrap, as it will dry out and get crumbly.