An oldie but a goodie.

With a bit of a twist. 

I am usually baking up a flourless peanut butter cookie.

But, there are days that call for a classic.  

An old-fashioned peanut butter cookie that is crunchy, but still soft in the middle.  It's not too sweet.  And, it has those familiar fork marks.

This recipe is adapted from a peanut butter cookie by Martha Stewart. The cookie was featured in Martha’s “Cookies” cookbook that I have used since high school.  The book sits on a kitchen shelf at home, along with my mom’s other cookbooks.  

When I was home recently, I flipped through the chocolate-splattered and flour-covered book. With “xxx” written on recipes tagged with post-it notes, indicating cookies that were a hit. The changes I made were written in the margins, tweaking the recipes. 

I can still remember the days I spent baking each recipe. 

This peanut butter cookie I adapted from “Cookies” is one I have gone back to countless times over the years.

I prefer using whole-wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose.  You will not notice a difference!  And since I use creamy peanut butter, I love to add in chopped roasted peanuts for a crunch. 

Whole-Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies with Roasted Peanuts

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup JIF Natural Smooth Peanut Butter
• ½ cup white sugar 
• ½ cup packed dark-brown or light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup roasted and lightly salted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Cream butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until well combined.

- In another bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture, and beat until just combined. Fold in the chopped peanuts, if using.

- Pour ½ cup sugar into a small bowl to roll the dough balls in.  Scoop out tablespoon-sized dough and shape into balls, and roll them in the bowl of sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Press the dough balls lightly with the back of the fork to flatten them slightly (dip the fork back in the water for each dough ball, to prevent sticking). Sprinkle with a few peanuts, if desired.

- Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool.

- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Some days we just need those fork marks.