I was inspired by Chef Josh Heiskell’s recipe for Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies to make this recipe.

Why change a wonderful thing and modify a wonderful recipe? Well, in California, we’re in the depths of a mind-bending order to shelter in place (quarantine) until May 3. Some of us have been shut in our homes since the second week of March. Many of us have become insomniacs (like me), and now that Netflix and online shopping have lost their charms, it’s time to focus on things I like to eat and what I can find in my kitchen.

I can’t lay claim to glorious stories of star chef or celebrity cooking, but I can tell you this: I’ve been an epicure and early little chef since I was very young. Of course, my recipes were small and humble, but my dreams and desire for delicious things were huge. They still are. My earliest and fondest childhood memory is of a strawberry flavored meringue candy in the shape of, naturally, a strawberry, from Paris. As a teenager stuck in an empty little barrio in the Philippines, I was able to make a multi layer cake out of crepes, whipped cream, and highly prized rare mountain strawberries for my brother on his 13th birthday.

I’ve never been able to find the little strawberry meringues, despite passionate searching in every Parisian bakery and sweet shop each time I return. Nevertheless, the flavor haunts me, and formed the beginning of an achingly sweet tooth and craving for French pastries.

Here are your instructions for these late night Peanut Butter Cookies

All ingredients in grams (imperial equivalent in [ ])

**in grams**

200g unsalted* butter (room temp) [15 Tablespoons]

125g brown unpacked sugar [1 cup]

125g unpackedsugar [1 cup]

2.5g salt [1/2 teaspoon]

1 teaspoon of the best vanilla extract you can find

190g crunchy peanut butter (room temp) [3/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon]

—

1 egg

—

250g All Purpose flour [2 cups]

2.5 g baking soda [1/2 teaspoon]

—

1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts

*if you don’t have unsalted butter, use salted butter, but reduce the salt in this recipe from 1/2 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon.

Preheat oven (no convection) to bake at 350°

Cream first 4 ingredients.

Add egg, incorporate fully.

Sift dry ingredients (flour and baking soda) and combine

Fold in peanuts. Do not over mix.

On a buttered cookie sheet, or parchment lined sheet, place a generous rounded spoonful (shape with your hands into a ball) of your cookie dough about 2 inches apart. Press the cookie dough with the back of a fork to form a crosshatch pattern.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, or until almost set (Check with a thin bladed knife or toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cookies are ready to take out).

When your cookies are done, cool over a wire rack, and enjoy with a cold glass of milk (if you have a grownup beverage you like with peanut butter cookies, please let me know in the comments below!).

Form the remaining dough into a log with waxed paper. Chill forever. When ready to use, slice log into rounds and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 2 in. apart. Press each round with the back of a fork for a crosshatch pattern.

Chef’s note: I prefer them a little underdone. That way they stay chewy.

Lessons from my Mother:

• Vanilla extract is your secret weapon for any sweet dessert.

• I used organic peanuts and organic peanut butter, just because.

• When measuring dry goods, such as sugar and flour, never pack your measuring cup unless the instructions tell you to. Lightly spoon your ingredients into the correct measuring cup, and level with the back of a knife. This will ensure consistent and accurate measurements every time.

• Be careful with baking soda, even a tiny bit over the measure can give your baked goods a funny taste. Not enough will give you a soft cookie with no crunch.

• Creaming and sifting are important because they ensure all your ingredients are fully incorporated, preventing surprise flavors from showing up when eating, and they ensure even cooking. For example, you don’t want to bite into a tiny baking soda pocket in your cookie.

• I also prefer using parchment paper to butter when preparing my cookie sheets. It feels cleaner and I know my ingredients are exact.

• I like to use extra large eggs in all my recipes because they give added richness.

The products I used in this recipe are:

• Clover Sonoma Organic Salted butter (it’s midnight, and coronavirus shelter in place rules mean that no stores are open and no one will deliver unsalted butter to me at this hour. I reduced my salt measurement to 1/4 teaspoon).

• Wholesome Mindfully Delicious Organic Dark Brown Sugar

• 365 Everyday Value Organic Cane Sugar

• MaraNatha Organic No Stir Peanut Butter, crunchy (it had been refrigerated, so I put it in the microwave with the lid off for 10 seconds).

• Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (I wouldn’t know what else to use, it’s the only baking soda I see at the store, and it’s what my mother used when I was a child)

• Frontier Co-op Organic Vanilla Extract

• Hain Pure Foods Iodized Sea Salt

• 365 Everyday Value Roasted & Salted Peanuts