My daughter loves Toll House Cookies. Invented right here in Massachusetts, this cookie has become arguably one of the most popular treats in the United States. Also known as chocolate chip cookies, the butter-and-sugar dough studded with semi-sweet morsels and walnuts, there are thousands of variations, every one of them with at a large fan base of cookie lovers.

We were making cookies recently to send to a friend of hers at college and, spying the peanut butter in the cupboard, asked what would happen if we put peanut butter in the cookie dough. She’s the daughter of a scientist, the granddaughter of a reference librarian and the great-granddaughter of an inventor so this recipe is the result of her birthright — scientific inquiry.
But these cookies are not just science-y, they’re absolutely delectable. And totally necessary when you have lab reports to finish for your Advanced Placement Chemistry class tomorrow.

Yield: about 2½ dozen (3 × 10¹) cookies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ cup butter, at room temperature

½ cup all-natural, no-sugar-added peanut butter

¼ cup granulated white sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar (packed)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F (not Kelvin).

Combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, peanut butter, vanilla and sugars. Once the mixture is uniform, add the egg and beat well. Add half the dry ingredients and stir on lower speed until incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour mixture. After all the flour is in, add the chocolate chips and mix well so that they are evenly distributed.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches (5.08 centimeters) apart onto a cool cookie sheet. Shape lightly with your hands into a consistent size and shape.

Bake for 8 minutes. Do not overbake! They will be very soft when you remove them from the oven. Take them carefully from the cookie sheet with a spatula and cool on a rack until the chocolate is no longer going to burn you.

Eat them warm with a cold glass of milk
while doing lab reports.

Extra credit will be given to anyone who can name the chemical composition of the cookie ingredients.

Text and Photos Copyright © 2009  CoyoteOldStyle
All Rights Reserved.