Custard's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Custard really loves the cookies, Mike "The Russian" our chef at The Grounds makes for him and the crew when they're on set.  These cookies are just how Custard's mum makes them (maybe even better).  Great as an energy packed snack or a treat for the lunch box.  These are easy to make and the clean-up is quick as it can all be mixed in one bowl or food processor.  Yum!

Difficulty: Easy

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Time to prepare: 20 minutes

Total time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

• 110g butter, softened
• 120g Peanut Butter (Crunchy, No Salt)
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ cups Plain flour
• Extra sugar for coating
• 100 g Chocolate chips (milk or dark)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Combine the butter and Pic’s Peanut Butter using an electric mixer
3. Blend in the sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and about half of the flour
4. Mix until combined, then blend in the remaining flour
5. If the dough is slightly sticky, cover it and put in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes
6. Pinch or spoon off bits of dough and roll into balls 3-4 cm's in diameter
7. Roll each ball in the extra sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving room between each for flattening
8. Flatten each ball  (1-1/2 cm thick) using the tines of a fork to make criss-cross pattern
9. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the cookies
10. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies just barely start to brown
11. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack

Tips & Tricks: 

• If you do not have an electric blender you can use a a bit of elbow grease and a flat spatula to complete steps 2 and 3.  It's a fun way to get your little one's helping too!
• Baking paper may be used on a standard cookie sheet but is not necessary. 
• Combining half of the flour in with the egg and butter mixture prevents the mix from separating and appearing curdled.
• If you are gluten intolerant, gluten free flour can also be used, but we recommend avoiding using cornflour or rice flour as they will produce dryer cookies.

A MOMENT WITH MIKE "THE RUSSIAN" SHATURA Mike "the Russian" Shatura, Head Chef of The Grounds (ex The Grove), grabs some time with our resident intern, to talk about his journey, passion for family dining and his future aspirations for The Grounds.