Peanut butter and chocolate cookies

I love peanut butter. The best use for peanut butter (crunchy, not the smooth stuff) is in a fluffernutter. Made with 2 slices of white toast instead of bread, it is my absolute favourite yummy treat. I am also partial to peanut butter cookies, but as the children don't like them, I don't make them too often.

Then, I had a breakthrough. Emma now likes peanut and honey based cereal, and so I have an excuse for trying a brand new peanut cookie recipe on the family. Introducing the peanut butter and chocolate chip dairy-free cookie - I think it needs a better name.


Ingredients

3 oz soya margarine
4 oz soft brown sugar
5 1/2 oz peanut butter
4 1/2 oz plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg (I used a medium sized one)
6 oz dairy-free chocolate chips (I used 3 oz of dark and 3 oz of milk)

Method

Cream together the margarine and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Add the peanut butter and mix.
Add the flour and bicarb and mix to make a soft dough.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
You are supposed to put the dough for peanut butter cookies in the fridge for an hour to firm the dough and make it easier to use, but I am always in too much of a rush to bother. It does help the next stage if you do, though.
Take a tablespoon of mix at a time and place on a baking tray, then squash it down to a biscuit shape with a fork. I forgot to do this bit today, so I got mine out of the oven after a minute or so and squashed them - the chocolate was already melted and oozed all over the place, hence the finished biscuits having a mashed-up chocolatey top to them.
Cook at 180c for about 12 minutes, until they are browning around the edges.
Use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 18 large cookies.

On tasting them, I think that they needed a bit more sugar, and when I make them again (they are very good) I will use 5 oz of sugar. I love the crumbly texture you get from the peanut butter and the fact that these are a little less nutty than plain peanut butter ones. Conclusion - I am very pleased.