New Year's Eve Peanut Butter Cookies

Pin It Now! Happy New Year!  2011 was full of so many blessings and new experiences.  I am excited to see what 2012 brings!  I think I'll usher in the new year with something yummy... because, why not??

These are not your average ho-hum peanut butter cookies.  You see, these are more than peanut butter cookies.  They are soft, chewy peanut butter cookies drizzled with Ghirardelli chocolate.  Ohhhhh yes.  I'd love to meet the genius who first thought to pair chocolate and peanut butter.  That person deserves the first Nobel prize in deliciousness.

This recipe is so simple, yet so good, and I guarantee you have all the ingredients on hand at any given time.  And hey, if you don't feel like messing around with melting chocolate and drizzling (but who wouldn't?!) toss in a cup of chocolate chips and call it a day!  And of course make sure you sample them right out of the oven when they're all melty ooey gooey...  mmmmmm....

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 3/4 c AP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 c peanut butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.  Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add in peanut butter and beat until creamy.  Beat in sugars, egg and vanilla until fully blended.  Add flour mixture and slowly mix until fully incorporated.  Dough will be somewhat crumbly.

Form about 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball for each cookie.  Place a sheet of wax paper over cookies and lightly flatten with your hands.  (Alternately, you can also go the traditional route and flatten with the tines of a fork.)  Bake cookies for 9 minutes, or until just very lightly brown on the edges.  Cool for one minute on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.  Drizzle with chocolate once completely cooled.