I'm afraid my grandson's aren't fans of the European-style cookies I usually feature here, so it behooved this grandma to get with the program and make something that's worthy of the cookie jar this summer. Longtime readers of my blog know that back in the day my family had a cookie jar we called Alonso. He was named after a pig who achieved some attention in the 40's because he was included in a verse much like the one that featured the Purple Cow.  At any rate, when Alonso was empty my mother would declare that it was time to feed the pig and he would be stuffed again.  The need to feed the proverbial pig led me  to the library in search of kid-friendly cookie recipes. I did some poking around and found the recipe for these peanut butter cookies in the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  This is a sweet and very interesting cookie. The cookies have  crisp edges,  but a soft, almost cake-like interior that's given some texture by the nuts and morsels that are folded into the dough. While the cookie is too sweet for my taste, the Silver Fox and the neighborhood cookie monsters have assured me that these will be perfect for the grandchildren, so space was made for them in my luggage and a batch of them made the trip east with us. Those of you who have a demanding sweet tooth will really enjoy these cookies. I hope you'll give them a try. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut and Milk Chocolate Morsels

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup chunky peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large eggs

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter morsels ( peanut butter chips)

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup sugar ( approximately, for rolling)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3) In a large bowl, beat butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy.

4) Add both types of sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla extract and mix well. Add flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in peanut butter and milk chocolate morsels. Stir in peanuts.

5) Refrigerate dough for 10-20 minutes. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into a bowl of granulated sugar.

6) Place onto ungreased cookie sheets, at least two inches apart. Using a fork, lightly indent with a criss-cross pattern (do not over flatten).

7) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone but they will continue to bake after removed from oven.

8) Cool cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

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