Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Last Saturday I took things easy. No complicated baking. No egg separation, no stiff peaks, soft peaks and what nots. I wasn't really in the mood to bake. Having just recovered from food poisoning, I was still weak and my digestion wasn't very good. And it was terribly hot. But I still had to have my baking fix and I settled on something unbelievably simple. 

The first time I came across these cookies was Louiz's Peanut Butter Chewies and I found it quite unbelievable that these cookies are made with only 3 ingredients. On top of that there is no flour used at all. So when I was browsing through Paula Deen's recipes, out popped this Magical Peanut Butter Cookies recipe and Louiz's bake immediately sproinked into my head!

So I got busy. One cup of peanut butter, one cup of sugar and one egg. Another ingredient is vanilla extract which I think is optional. But I added it anyway. All into one bowl and mix, mix, mix. I wish I hadn't added the vanilla because somehow it didn't quite fit in. Didn't smell right to me, vanilla and peanut butter. But that's just me. You might like it. And what I got was a dough that surprisingly wasn't sticky and didn't stick to my hands.

All I had to do was give the dough a pinch, roll it into marble sized balls and use a fork to flatten the dough.

Pinch and roll into a ball.

Use a fork to flatten the dough.

I quite enjoyed this process.

I then baked the cookies at 180C for 14 minutes. I was very excited to try the cookies. As I was busy peeping into the oven, I felt a sharp stab at the corner of my left eye. Pesky eyelash! That's what I thought. I hate it when a stray eyelash lodges itself at the corner of my eye and starts poking. I instinctively rubbed my eye to get rid of the irritation. Then I realized that my left eye vision was blur. Oh dear, my contact lens must have moved away to the corner of my eye (happened before). I ran upstairs to look in the mirror. Nope, it wasn't there. I ran back to the kitchen. And there it was.

My contact lens took a hike.

On the kitchen floor. Haiz.....I picked it up, went upstairs and rinsed in with saline. And popped it back into my eye and ran downstairs to the kitchen again. That is a lot of exercise for me in one day. My cookies were done and I left them to cool on the dining table. My partner was having his lunch and he asked me "Can eat, ah?". "They are still hot, let them cool a bit first", I told him. But the moment I went back into the kitchen he grabbed a cookie. "Mmmm...nice. Like peanut cookies". I told him the cookies were made of peanut butter. And of course I had to taste one too. 

It was nice but these cookies are of the soft and chewy type, not my favorite. But not bad. The second batch of cookies were ready and I baked this batch for 12 minutes only. "So how is it?", I asked him as he munched in deep concentration. "I can't really say. I need another one". He munched again. "So, how?". "One more, I need one more". More munching. "This batch is more soggy", he pronounced. Three cookies and this is the verdict. Men. LOL!

This recipe makes only a small batch of cookies. How many? Sorry I didn't count. I'm an accountant and you would think that I like to count stuff but most of the time I forget. hah..hah...As you can see up there, I only managed to fill up a small plastic canister. Overall, these cookies are just OK for me. Good to satisfy craving for peanut butter and for small munching. In spite of using no sugar added peanut butter, I found that 1 cup of sugar is still way too sweet for me. So will I bake this again? Maybe. Maybe.

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe source : Paula Deen

Ingredients :
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sugar (125g) (I would reduce in future)
- 1 cup peanut butter (250g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (I would leave out)

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla (if using). Stir well with a spoon.
3. Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking tray.
4.  With a fork, press on each cookie.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes, remove from oven and cool before storing in an airtight container.