Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ick. I seriously need to stop taking my food shots with my camera phone. It just makes me sad! I got a ridiculously nice point-and-shoot digital camera for Christmas, even, and yet it never seems to be around when I need to take these shots. So, I heartily apologize for the terrible quality and color of this post's pictures, HOWEVER you will not have to deal with my camera phone crapola in the next post! I got to do some baking with my good friend John Fetherston, from Arizona, while he was in town, and he's a brilliant photographer with a pretty awesome photoblog (although he is waaay to humble to admit it) called "Life Through My Lens." I'm super excited to see his shots of me, up to my elbows in flour and butter. I am oh so attractive, after all...

Anyway, on to this post! On Wednesday, I drove to Columbus with Joelle Diane, Caitlin, and Leah for a Repower America rally. The day before, I decided that I wanted to make something pretty simple and basic that would be a good roadtripping snack. I decided to research some chocolate chip cookie recipes to make later that night, and read about 15 recipes online. I had the idea to use cocoa powder to flavor the dough and substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate ones, and I went out and bought my ingredients. Of course, when I got home late that night and got ready to bake, our internet decided it just didn't want to play along. I, then, had to search my memory for (read: make up completely) the measurements and ingredients for these cookies. Given the circumstances, the results were absolutely jaw dropping.

Straight out of the oven, I had to leave the kitchen while they cooled, so as not to eat them all. The centers were gooey and warm and amaaaaazing, like the best Reese's cup you've ever imagined. The next day, they were a super big hit with my roadtripping sisters-in-arms. After they were all gone, there were multiple times when someone said "I really want one of those cookies!" My mother also made my brother eat all of the ones I left in her kitchen, because she was afraid to have them in the house. The verdict? Entirely too addictive for words, and simple to boot!

Audrey's Mostly Made-Up Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 c. butter, cut into pieces
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter chips

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Add by half cups to the creamed mixture, mixing to just barely combined after each addition. Fold in the peanut butter chips.
4. Form dough into 1" balls and bake for 11 minutes. Cool on tray for 5 minutes, and then completely on a wire rack (if you can resist them that long).

Some Notes:

• I really have nothing that I would change to this recipe. It was that good. Maybe I'll try substituting white chocolate chips next time.
• I used Ghiradelli cocoa powder. I wouldn't be willing to compromise for cocoa powder of any poorer quality, because it lends the primary flavour to the cookies.