This recipe reminds me so much of my childhood – peanut butter cookies. My mom was always steering us toward healthier food, and in a bid to take our minds off what every child really wants {chocolate chip cookies} she would make us peanut butter cookies. She also used to water down our Coca-Cola with orange juice, but that’s a different story altogether.

Last week I had a hankering for peanut butter cookies, and I realized I haven’t made them in about … 10 years. Fiance then said he never had them before. So in a desperate attempt to make up for lost time, I made four batches since then.

For those of you yet to experience the yumminess that is peanut butter cookies, all the gooey details for your inner child can be found after the jump. Get your om nom on.

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter – if you have smooth peanut butter, add 1/4 cup of peanuts for a bit of bite
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Mix in the peanut butter, followed by the egg and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients 1/2 a cup at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.

Using your hands, roll the mixture into 1 inch {2.5cm] balls, placing on your baking tray about 2cm apart. Now the part that is forever associated with peanut butter cookies – using the back of a fork, press on the dough. You can do one fork imprint, or two making a crisscross pattern. I never knew why it was done, but it’s the international signage for peanut butter cookies.

Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes at 180C until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. I like to chase mine with a big glass of milk.

This is my condensed version of The Joy of Baking’s delicious recipe. Click here for a handy cooking calculator, should you prefer to measure in cups, mls, oz, etc.