Honey Roasted Peanut butter cookies

Just when I had thought that we were back to our normal sleeping schedule, daylight savings time rolls around.  Nuts!  I was just getting back to sleeping normal person hours again and now I'm waking up an hour early again.  At least I'm not waking up four hours early, so it should be a little easier to adjust, two days instead of an entire week!

After readjusting to Eastern standard time, I felt like I could finally get back into the kitchen this weekend.  It's been a little while since I was in front of the oven, so I needed a little help in deciding what to make.  Early Saturday morning I was looking through recipes and trying to decide what to make for the week and I thought that we could use some cookies.

I turned to boyfriend and asked what kind of cookies he wanted.  "Peanut butter."  Okay, plain and simple.  I've posted a few peanut butter cookies on here before and thought you could use something a little more special than just plain peanut butter cookies.  Then I remembered a recipe that I made a number of years ago while I was in grad school.  I remember making them so vividly because how long it took to make the recipe. 

This is not a complicated recipe, but as written in the cookbook, this recipe yields over eight dozen cookies.  Between making the dough, baking the cookies and icing them, it took an entire evening to make the recipe as written.  I wanted to make them again, but not nearly that many cookies.  So, I present to you a smaller batch, with a bigger boost of peanut butter.  I also thought we could use a little whole grain in our treats this weekend and swapped out half of the flour for whole wheat flour. 

Honey-roasted peanut cookies

Adapted from Best Cookies Cookbook

These cookies are salty and sweet, my favorite combination of flavors.  The addition of the honey to the cookie dough gives them a great depth of flavor.  You won't use the entire container of peanuts, so be sure to have someone in the house that loves to eat them by the handful! 

Recipe yields ~5 dozen cookies

For the cookies

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

For the Topping

3 tbsp peanut butter
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp hot water
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl, beat until fluffy.  Add peanut butter, egg, egg yolk honey and vanilla, beat until completely mixed.  In a smaller bowl, combine flours, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture.  Mix until combined.

Drop dough be rounded tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Dip the bottom of a glass in flour and flatten cookies a little.  Bake for 9-10 minutes.  Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool completely before icing.

In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter, honey and hot water.  Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.  Ice cookies with a dollop of icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.  Let icing set and store between layers of wax paper.  Be sure to share!