Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Peanut Butter Maple Cookies

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 14 comments » / cookies, dessert

There’s a lot of food blog talk back and forth about whether or not it’s too early for pumpkin. I know, I know, technically it’s still summer, but did you know Starbucks brought their much-loved “Pumpkin Spice Latte” back on Sept 1st? While I’m dying to add some new pumpkin treats to my pumpkin tag (OMG have you seen my posts for pumpkin fudge, pumpkin cream cheese truffles, or pumpkin white chocolate bars?), I might hold off just a bit longer.

Luckily, I haven’t heard any petitioning for patience in using maple syrup! While on my recent trip to NYC (I keep meaning to work on that blog post), I picked up a jar of Peanut Butter & Co.‘s Mighty Maple flavored peanut butter. I’m a peanut butter addict. I was so excited to pick up this flavor, as well as their Cinnamon Raisin flavor. (I can already profess the deliciousness of their Dark Chocolate Dreams, and White Chocolate Wonderful flavors) I knew I wanted to ration these and use them for a baked good or two. Unfortunately, Cinnamon Raisin just tasted too delicious on mini-bagels, and is almost gone. But I managed to hide the Mighty Maple from myself long enough to research a recipe.

After my first test-taste of the Mighty Maple I loved the subtle maple flavor. I think this would taste great on waffles or toast, or even in oatmeal. When tasting this, I was also hit with how much sweeter it is than my usual choice in peanut butters. I often get the peanut butter that is fresh ground right there in the store, or at least the all-natural kind that lists just one ingredient, “whole roasted peanuts”. And at most two ingredients, “peanuts, salt”. I chose this Taste of Home recipe for Peanut Butter Maple Cookies, and decided to halve the recipe. My first change while adjusting the measurements, was to reduce the sugar. The original recipe seemed to call for a LOT of it, and as I said before, this peanut butter seemed really sweet to me to begin with. The reduced amount of sugar was perfect. Also the Taste of Home recipe called for 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup, so half of that would be 1.5 teaspoons. I thought with using maple flavored peanut butter, I’d be alright reducing the maple syrup to 1 teaspoon, but I don’t think the maple flavor of the finished cookie was as pronounced as I’d hoped. When making these again, I’ll be sure to use 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, and I’ve reflected that in the recipe below.

These cookies were so fantastic, The Boy & I couldn’t part with them. I love that this is more than your average peanut butter cookie, with the addition of the maple syrup, oats, and peanut butter chips. It’s unlike any other cookie, yet the flavors on their own are so comforting and familiar, you’ll feel like home when you take a bite. The original plan was to send them into work with him, but when I noticed the speed in which they disappeared, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I’m embarrassed to say between the two of us, we ate them in the span of 4 days. My favorite part, was opening the plastic container I was storing them in, and just SMELLING the wonderful peanut butter AND maple aromas! *Sigh* I need to make these again!

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Peanut Butter Maple Cookies

adapted from Taste of Home
yields 18 cookies (using Pampered Chef's medium cookie scoop, approx 2 Tablespoons)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 eggs
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
heaping 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 package (5 ounces) peanut butter chips

Taste of Home's note: Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.
Erin's note: Peanut Butter & Co.'s Mighty Maple Peanut Butter is definitely recommended if you can find it, but it's not a requirement if you can't. Don't let that stop you from making these cookies!

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in syrup and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Taste of Home's note: Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.
Erin's note: Peanut Butter & Co.'s Mighty Maple Peanut Butter is definitely recommended if you can find it, but it's not a requirement if you can't. Don't let that stop you from making these cookies!