Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookies

A true American classic, that does not apologise for what it is. Why should it? These biscuits yeld the same addictive combination that made salted caramel so successful: i.e., the saltiness (of the peanut butter) that marries wonderfully with the sweetness (of the brown sugar and the milk chocolate). They are light and crispy on the surface, but chewy and fugdy in the middle. Make a big batch to to share with friends on a cold afternoon, while watching a DVD and sipping hot chocolate.

INGREDIENTS (makes approx. 20 cookies)
This recipe is from "The Hummigbird Bakery cookbook"

• 225 gr unsalted butter at room temperature
• 200 gr caster sugar
• 200 gr soft brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 240 gr crunchy peanut butter
• 340 gr plain flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 75 gr dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven at 170°C. Put the butter and sugars in a bowl and whisk them together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at the time, making sure they are mixed in well with the rest of the ingredients. Gently beat in the vanilla extract and peanut butter (turn your whisk/electric mixer down to a lower setting for this last step).

Beat in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt to the mixture, until a smooth dough if formed. Mmm, cookie dough! Resist the temptation to eat it as it is and stir in the chocolate pieces, until evenly distributed.

Arrange six equal amounts of cookie dough (approximately a tablespoon) on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, ensuring you leave enough space between each ball of dough as they will spread out while baking.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes; the cookies should be golden brown and their edges quite flat, but their centre still rather soft. Let them cool in the tray for approximately five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, they keep for a few days in an air-tight container.