Stupid Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

In the dark days of a previous elimination diet, I was forced to look for dessert options that excluded both gluten (shit) and dairy (fuck). It was a dark time, indeed. Luckily, one good thing came out those days of deprivation, and it was the discovery of this recipe. I truly had no expectations of something labeled a “3 ingredient cookie”, but when you can’t eat dairy or gluten, you start to accept a lot of mediocrity in your food choices. As it turned out, these cookies were not relegated to the category of “good for being gluten-/dairy-free” but simply to the category of “good”. Also, to the category of “shit, it’s work potluck tomorrow and I have NOTHING TO OFFER”. Seriously, while there are certainly better cookie recipes that exist in the world, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find one that is this quick to whip up while also being this tasty. I suspect that part of the tastiness is contingent on using non-crap peanut butter (please don’t test these using Skippy or Kraft, I’m pretty sure their success hinges on the type of peanut butter that comes with a puddle of oil on top). I have now made these upwards of 7 times, always using some oily AF, hippy-dippy peanut butter (different brands). Interestingly, they do turn out differently with different brands of peanut butter – sometimes a bit chewier, other times a bit softer. The difference is never huge, but of course in a recipe with so few ingredients, even a tiny change is likely to yield a noticeable shift in texture.

Stupid Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Molly Baz (Epicurious)

Makes ~20 cookies

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1 cup creamy peanut butter (Good quality! Stirred well! Don’t cheat!)
1 cup white sugar
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
200 gr dark chocolate (preferably ~70%), chopped

Directions:

Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Prepare 1 large or 2 small baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone mat(s). In a medium bowl, beat the egg to blend. Pour in the peanut butter and sugar, whisking or stirring until both are fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. It’s a funny thing, but sometimes I find that I need to fridge up this dough for awhile (~30 minutes) before rolling, and other times not. I think it must depend on the peanut butter I use and probably the ambient temperature. Anyway, make that call for yourself: if the dough seems firm enough to roll, go for it, if not, let it chill for a half hour or so.

When you’re ready, scoop tablespoonfuls of dough out, roll into balls, and space 2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet(s). Lightly press the balls with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on top of each cookie. Sprinkle cookies with flaky sea salt. Bake for ~10-11 minutes, rotating the cookies from top to bottom rack halfway through cooking (do this regardless of whether you used 2 trays or not). Pull the cookies from the oven once they are lightly golden brown. Set the tray(s) on wire cooling racks for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly onto the rack to continue cooling.

While the cookies cool, melt the chocolate in a small saucepan set over low heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once melted, you can either dip the cookies directly into the saucepan, or pour the chocolate into a small bowl (basically you just want to leave the chocolate in something small so it can be deep enough for dipping). Dip the cookies halfway in, then set on a large piece of parchment paper (or the baking trays!) to set. If you’re in a hurry, let the cookies set in the fridge, especially if it’s warm out. Also, no one said you couldn’t eat them while the chocolate was still warm, so do as your little heart pleases.