Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't go tossing around the word "Ultimate" in recipe titles all willy nilly for a couple of reasons. One reason being that most recipes I come across with the word ultimate in the title are just recipes on "roids", meaning let's take a pretty basic recipe and throw in every item in the pantry and called it ultimate. Sometimes this produces an epic recipe, sometimes an epic calorie bomb with no flavor being a stand out. Another reason I shy away from the word ultimate is because it comes with the negative connotation that I'm just trying to be an attention whore and you all know by now how much I dislike that.  (Feel free to quit laughing at any point so we can get on with the recipe.)

In an ideal world when I conjure up the word "Ultimate", I imagine that it means a perfect balance between objects, a complete composed symphony of flavors, textures, sweetness, saltiness and aaahhh (because umami is so yesterday.)

Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup salted crispy peanuts, chopped into large pieces (I buy mine at an Asian grocery store, but any salty peanuts will work.)

Heat an oven to 350 degrees F.

To a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, oil, and peanut butter, mix for a minute until combined.  Add the sugar and egg and mix until combined.  Add the flour, cocoa, vanilla and salt and mix until combined.  Stir in the peanuts.

Scoop the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, parchment or buttered.  I use a medium sized cookie scoop that holds 2 tablespoons of dough.  If you use a spoon you are looking for golf ball sized balls. (Why does the word balls make me giggle?)

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  You just want the cookies set in the middle.  Let cool.

Note:  I didn't flatten the balls prior to placing them in the oven and since I wanted to stack them for a photo I just pressed them a bit when they came out of the oven to give them a flat top.  Just be sure your glass is heat resistant.

Makes 24 cookies.

I placed a photo of these on my FB going into the oven and within 15 minutes I had my brother and niece knocking on my door for samples.  Here is a direct quote from my brother "Probably the best cookie I ever had." So now you know why I have complete confidence in naming these cookies Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. 

Enjoy,

Gina