instant gratification

It is sticky hot in central Texas this week, well into the 90s; really much too hot for mid-April. I’ve been working in my yard; got my basil in and I actually have tomatoes on my cherry tomato plants! Its too hot to simmer anything… I’ve pretty much been getting by on pasta salad. That is not a bad thing, mind you, but still, it makes for a slow food week.

All is not lost, however. A few months ago I got one of those chain recipe emails… you know, “send this to 10 people you know and move up the recipient list”. I figured why not, and (hopefully) without irritating too many of my friends I sent it along and sent a recipe dutifully to the first name on the list.

I received a brief flurry of interesting recipes, 5 or 6, that came in shortly thereafter, and one that surprised me by showing up this week! It seemed perfect but you know me; I can’t leave anything alone! This is an easy recipe, gluten-free, yummy, and here is the original exactly as I received it:

Peanut Butter Cookies Don’t Need Flour

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Mix all ingredients.  Roll into balls and press onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8–10 minutes.  Makes about 24 when you keep them small.
***

Easy enough, and I only changed it a little (grin). Here’s what I did:

Burning Kumquat Delight Peanut Butter Cookies (take two)

quick and easy mmmmm...

1 C peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, I like crunchy)
1/2 C white sugar + 2 T for “rolling” when needed
1/4 C brown sugar
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C tiny “mini” chocolate chips

Combine the white sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar and peanut butter and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix all ingredients very well. Roll into a log about 1-inch in diameter, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least one hour or up to a week.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Open the plastic wrap and cut off pieces about 1/2-inch thick so you have small discs about 1/2 inch thick by 1-inch across. Roll these in white sugar and lay on the parchment leaving about 2 inches between discs as they will spread. Mash slightly with a fork to make the traditional “crisscross” peanut butter cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack. Mmmm… got milk?
***

Rolling the unbaked discs in sugar gives the cookies a shiny look when they’re done, and just a little extra crunch. The “instant” part comes from being able to hold the dough for up to a week in the fridge. You can have cookies almost as fast as you can preheat your oven. You don’t have to bake the entire batch at once either; you can make just a few at a time. And, if you have a toaster oven, weeeelllll…. cookies for breakfast works for me!

So, a question: How much can you or do you change a recipe before you call it your own? I’m just curious… mostly because I’m always fiddling with recipes, even ones that I make often. This is not my recipe, and yet it is. I’m happy to cite the source, certainly, and for me part of enjoying good food is remembering where I got a recipe or an idea. What do you think?

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