There are things in life that were just meant to go together: a warm day and ice cream, movies and popcorn, Sunday mornings and donuts (why do all my examples have to do with food?!). And, then there are magical match-ups, like PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE! Seriously, it’s like a match made in heaven.
I think my husband and I are a match made in heaven too, except for one dividing factor:
Chocolate.
While he could quite happily go the rest of his life without eating chocolate, I feel it should be a daily indulgence.
My husband is under the false impression that chocolate “ruins” whatever it touches. Whenever I make cookies he always asks, “Why do you always have to put chocolate chips in them?!” What a silly question. Because they make everything delicious!!!!! (I once put peanut butter and chocolate chips on a rice cake, you know, to be healthy).
So, I decided to conduct an experiment and see who was right: me (obviously) or Mr. Chocolate-Is-Gross. I made these yummy cookies, split the dough in half and put chocolate in one half and chopped peanuts in the other. He thinks his cookies were the best. He is wrong, of course. Because chocolate really does make everything better!
Anyway, try this experiment on your own family, because science is educational!
Fluffy PB & C Cookies:
- ½ cup peanut butter (I used natural)
- ¼ cup butter (1/2 of a cube)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour (I used gluten-free flour)
- Dash of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup chocolate chips OR peanuts (if you’re making a single batch of the same kind)
Cream the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir together. Split the dough in half and add a scant ½ cup of chocolate chips to one half and the same amount of chopped peanuts to the other half. (If you’re smart, like me, just skip separating the dough and add the ¾ cup of chocolate chips to the whole thing).
Shape the dough into balls and chill for a few hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten them slightly with a fork dipped in flour. Bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on your oven).
Eat one of each and see which kind you prefer. Repeat. Repeat again. Because, with science you have to make sure your results are correct! (The chocolate chip ones were better, the end).
