Spanish Peanut Saucers
Monday, October 5th, 2009
After reading Great Cookies cover to cover, I finally settled which cookie to bake first. It was tough, I’m not gonna lie. There are so many great recipes to choose from. The spanish peanut saucers just looked so wonderfully delicious!
I’ve never been a huge peanut butter cookie fan but after baking these, I’m having second thoughts. Sometimes I find peanut butter cookies can tend to be dry (am I the only one that thinks that?). Thankfully these were really moist and soft. The addition of chopped spanish peanuts in the dough and sugar-crusted whole Spanish peanuts on top really adds a nice texture to them.
This picture is slightly deceiving… these things are huge, measuring in at about 4″ across! Which makes sense as to why they were in the “Big Boys” chapter of the cookbook. I think that’s my favorite chapter so far. Great cookies, page after page.
Did you know it’s National Cookie Month? It’s also National Popcorn Poppin’ Month, Celebrate Sun Dried Tomatoes Month, National Pickled Peppers Month and my personal favorite, National Toilet Tank Repair Month. Just in case you were wondering. Hey, you never know when you might need to know this stuff.
Spanish Peanut Saucers
adapted from Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets
2 cups salted Spanish peanuts, divided 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter 1 1/3 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons, divided 5 egg whites, divided 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 teaspoons water |
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Put 1/2 cup of the Spanish peanuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Pulse until the peanuts are chopped really small, about 1/4 inch. In a 3-quart sauce pan, melt the butter slowly over low heat. Set aside and cool to tepid. Whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Stir in 1 1/3 cups of the sugar and mix until smooth. Add four of the egg whites, and mix thoroughly. Blend in the vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Whisk the remaining egg white with the water in a shallow bowl. Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups peanuts in a wide shallow dish. For each cookie, measure the dough into a 1/4-cup measure. Dip the top side of the each cookie into the egg white, then into the peanuts, making sure to coat them generously. Place the dough, peanut side up, on the cookie sheet and press the top gently with the heel of your hand, flattening the ball into a 3-inch disk that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place cookies 3 inches apart on each cookie sheet (about 6 per sheet). Sprinkle the tops with about 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the sides are slightly brown and tops are set. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. You can store them in an airtight container up to 5 days or freeze them. Makes about 16 4-inch cookies. |
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