Honey peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies

That's a mouthful, right? These cookies satisfy a lot of my wants, cookie-wise. They're slightly chewy, texturally interesting, not composed primarily of chocolate, and mildly honey-flavored.

I'm moving up to DC and I'm staying with friends this weekend while I look for an apartment, so I made several dozen cookies to take to them. I don't like to go with empty hands when I have to impose upon the goodwill of my friends, especially Sarah and Justin, who are just the bee's knees, as far as friends go.

This is a pretty easy recipe, with only a few steps. It makes five dozen cookies the size of my palm.

Mix the dry ingredients.

Beat the wet ingredients and sugars together.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Chop the chocolate. I like using bars instead of chips, because I like the shards and chunks and slivers that come from chopping the chocolate. It seems like the chocolate goes farther too, so you don't have to use as much.

Stir in the chopped chocolate and then refrigerate the dough for half an hour. This, I think, keeps the cookies from spreading as much in the oven and prevents the dough from burning on the bottom so quickly.

Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets and bake for 9-10 minutes. You have to watch the cookies at the end, because you don't want them burning on the bottoms.

When you're done, you have glorious, peanut buttery cookies with melty bits of chocolate. The honey isn't prominent, but you can definitely taste that it's in there, especially when the cookies cool. It's the perfect cookie to eat with a frosty glass of milk. Enjoy!


Honey peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies
(makes about 60 cookies)
adapted from Bon Appetit

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat together 2 sticks very soft butter, 2 cups packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 2 cups peanut butter (chunky or smooth), and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until just incorporated.

Chop 8-10 ounces dark chocolate. Stir the chocolate into the cookie dough. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350F. On a parchment-covered cookie sheet, scoop cookie dough out by the tablespoonful, leaving a couple inches space around each cookie so they don't stick together. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookie is golden, but not brown. If you're not careful, the bottoms of the cookies will burn.

Let the cookies cool on a countertop or cookie rack (off of the cookie sheets). Enjoy warm or at room temperature.