I'm good at some stuff, really! (Cookie recipe!)

It was pretty hard for me to be so honest about how I really don't like gardening. I kind of hate being so open- letting you all see my flaws. I do it as often as I can though in the hopes that one day I'll kick this pride habit and stop hating it so much.

I'll let you know how that goes.

I feel the need to talk about something I DO like. Ok, ok... I just want to talk about something I'm good at to try to cast shadow over the thing I'm horrible bad at. Ugh. I seriously hate gardening.

Back to it

I am crazy bonkers about baking. Love it. I think one of the reasons why I love fall so much is because the summer feels like this drought for me - too hot to turn on my oven, and no homemade baked goodies in my belly. Sad day. And then comes fall.... cooler temperatures mean I sleep better (don't we all?) and more importantly it means I can bake up a storm. Fall makes me exactly 236 times happier than summer for that exact reason. (Happier than summer? Blasphemy!)

I want to share my absolute favorite cookie recipe with you because when I eat them, I feel so happy it makes me giggle. Especially if they are warm out the oven. The only other food that has this effect on me is homemade falafels. Chris can certainly confirm this odd detail for you on request. Coincidence that they both come out of the oven? I think not.

Ok, here we go. Don't let the name freak you out. It's long, but trust me, you should NOT be afraid of these cookies!

Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanuts
Coarse salt for sprinkling


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts.

4. Drop by two heaping tablespoonfuls of dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a small pinch of coarse salt on top of each cookie. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the outside of the cookies are set but the middles are still a little soft. Cool cookies on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container.


Ta da!! See that light coming from above? Sure, it might be under cupboard lighting. Or maybe... it's heaven.

You're going to need to eat at least 2 . 25 cookies straight off the baking sheet with a tall glass of ice cold milk. No more than that though. It's a slippery slope. Very very slippery.