I have smart friends. And when my smart friends inspire me, things like Bourbon Honeycomb Chocolate Chunk Cookies Happen. This time, my friend Brooks from Cakewalker made some seriously peanutty peanut butter cookies, and I was inspired to make what I am modestly calling The Best Black Bottom Triple Peanut Butter Cookies. Let us begin, shall we?
If you’d rather not read all the ins and outs of why I made the cookies the way I did, you can always
For everyone else, they’re called “black bottom” because I spread a layer of chocolate on their backs. They’re triple peanut because in the dough lives:
- one cup of natural, organic peanut butter
- one ounce of peanut butter powder
- 3 oz of chopped peanut brittle.
Yes, you read that correctly. I chopped peanut brittle and added it to my peanut butter cookie dough. Use your favorite peanut brittle recipe, buy some at the store, or even go with a chopped up Pay Day candy bar. That would work too.
So, what makes these the best black bottom triple peanut butter cookies in the ‘Verse? Aside from the aforementioned three kinds of peanutty goodness and the chocolate and using Brooks’s base recipe, I think what makes them so spectacular is the long refrigerated overnight rest I gave the dough before shaping and baking. Letting the dough “ripen” in the fridge for even a couple of hours does a few things: it allows all the flavors to mingle, get to know each other and marry. The rest allows the flour to fully hydrate before baking making for a much more consistent cookie and one that has a bit more chew than those made from “unrested” dough. Chilling also allows the sugar to go into solution with the water in the dough (from the butter, from egg white, and from the vanilla). At the same time, the butterfat (and peanut oils) solidify. Both of these Happenings help keep the cookies from spreading too far and becoming really thin.
Another change that takes place, and thank you PJ Hamel from the King Arthur Flour Blog, Flourish, for this: You’ll also find that chilling the dough allows the flavors to concentrate a bit as some of the liquid evaporates out of the dough–you know things tend to dry out in the fridge, and that’s what happens to your dough. It dries out just enough to concentrate the flavors. Huzzah!
So, pretty much no matter what kind of creaming method drop cookie you’re making–chocolate chip, oatmeal, the best black bottom triple peanut butter cookies–giving your dough a bit of a chill–from an hour or two up to a few days can transform agood cookie into a great one and a great cookie into the best cookie.
And now, in honor of National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, I give you:
The Best Black Bottom Triple Peanut Butter Cookies
…with thanks to my buddy Brooks from Cakewalker (see the original peanut butter cookie recipe here), to the folks at Chocoley Chocolates for making a coating chocolate that actually tastes amazing, and to P J Hamel and the other folks who write for King Arthur’s Flourish and who do so much research and should be one of your trusted baking sources if she is not already.
Brooks says
You knocked these out of the ballpark, my friend. 🙂 Triple the peanut flavor AND chocolaty black bottoms? I’m in! The attention to detail and flavor sensibility in this recipe makes it a 5-star winner. Can’t wait to try them. Thank you for the nod.
Jennifer Field says
Your base was just about perfect as is–I just never met a lily I didn’t want to gild at least a little bit! =) Thanks so much for letting me play with your recipe, Brooks! You weren’t kidding when you said they pack a peanut punch!
Kelsey @ Kelsey in the Kitchen says
I love the idea of coating the bottom of the cookie in chocolate! You still get the chocolate awesomeness without it becoming the focus of the entire cookie. Brilliant idea. 😀
Anne says
Omg YASSSS I love peanut butter and chocolate so much and in a cookie, it’s even better 😀
Jennifer Field says
I have to say that, while peanut butter cookies have never been my favorite, these are Very Hard to stop eating, Anne! =)
Karly says
Holy cow, these look INSANE! I’m a total peanut butter lover, and these have my undivided attention. I cannot wait to give them a try!
Jennifer Field says
I can (almost) guarantee you’ll fall in love, Karly! Peanut butter cookies are not my Very Favorite, but these guys are dangerous and I had to send most of them to work with my husband because I cannot be trusted! lol
Judith says
What is peanut powder?
Jennifer Field says
I gave 2 examples of brand names in the post, I believe, Judith, but you’re right, I didn’t explain what it is. It’s peanuts that have been pressed of most of their oils and then ground into a fine powder. You can reconstitute it with a bit of water, salt and maybe a touch of sweetener for a low-fat peanut butter option, or you can blend it into smoothies or do what I did and use it in cookies or other baking. Here’s a link to a popular US brand: https://www.bellplantation.com/ Hope that helps!