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Christmas

Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

by:
August 23, 2014
3.8
4 Ratings
Photo by Alpha Smoot
  • Makes approximately 12 to 15 cookies
Author Notes

Kids of all ages will go nuts for super-peanutty peanut butter cookies encrusted with crunchy sweet coconut toffee or plain toffee coated peanuts and (if you like) sprinkled with tiny pinches of crushed flaky sea salt. Tuck them into a lunch box, bring them to the office, or take them as a hostess gift. If your audience is adventuresome, trade the toffee peanuts for those Thai curry cashews in the bulk bin aisle of better supermarkets, or add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Thai curry paste or hot sauce to the dough. Really! Adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Cookies (Artisan Books 2010) By Alice Medrich. —Alice Medrich

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Ingredients
  • 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and warm
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) light or dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (255 grams) natural (the kind that is unsweetened and requires stirring) chunky peanut butter, well-stirred to blend in the oil before measuring
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/3 cups (170 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups (140 grams) purchased coconut toffee peanuts or toffee peanuts, coarsely chopped
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, peanut butter, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and egg. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Add the flour and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon just until evenly incorporated.
  2. Cover the dough and refrigerate for an hour or two, or up to 2 days.
  3. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  4. Pour the chopped nuts into a shallow bowl. Scoop about 2 level teaspoons of dough for each cookie, shape into a 1-inch ball or a fat little log, and coat the top and sides heavily with the chopped nuts, pressing in any pieces that fall off so that there are no bald spots. Place 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. If you like, sprinkle each cookie with a very tiny pinch of crushed flaky sea salt.
  5. Bake the cookies until they are lightly colored on top (and underneath), 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. The cookies will seem very soft to the touch, but they will firm up as they cool. Set the baking sheets on a rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for at least 2 weeks.
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My career was sparked by a single bite of a chocolate truffle, made by my Paris landlady in 1972. I returned home to open this country’s first chocolate bakery and dessert shop, Cocolat, and I am often “blamed” for introducing chocolate truffles to America. Today I am the James Beard Foundation and IACP award-winning author of ten cookbooks, teach a chocolate dessert class on Craftsy.com, and work with some of the world’s best chocolate companies. In 2018, I won the IACP Award for Best Food-Focused Column (this one!).

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10 Reviews

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Two T. January 28, 2015
Also! I think it should be noted that the yield of these as written would be more like a few dozen? I made 1/4 the recipe and got 11.
Two T. January 28, 2015
Made these today and just wanted to see if anyone else had to bake longer? Though I'm a huge Medrich fan, I was a tad confused by the dough, I kept mine in balls and they didn't really deflate in the oven or brown very much. I let them go more like 20-21 minutes and then pulled. Were the ones in the photo pressed down a bit? Dough was very soft when it came out of the oven but did indeed firm up as it cooled.

I suppose the fact that I just had 2 after they cooled and had to walk out of the room to end that afternoon snack situation, is a testament to the fact that they are quite good.
There'sAlwaysPie December 7, 2014
Made these tonight and they were simple to make and tasted great! I couldn't find toffee peanuts so I used Planters Salted Caramel peanuts and they worked just fine. Great recipe!
Cynthia D. September 29, 2014
These are delicious and so easy to make. I only had half as much natural peanut butter as the recipe calls for, so I substituted conventional crunchy PB for the rest, and reduced the amount of white sugar by about half to compensate for the added sweetness. I did not have toffee peanuts, either, so I chopped up some salted roasted peanuts and combined them with Heath toffee bits (the kind without the chocolate) instead. They came out great. The recipe made more than twice the number of cookies stated, even though I used 2 tsp. of dough per cookie as the recipe says to do. The next time I make these, I will not chill the dough, or at least chill it a lot less. The colder and stiffer the dough was, the harder it was to adhere the toppings.
Delia September 13, 2014
I've made these cookies several times (I first saw this recipe in one of Medrich's books) and they are excellent. I especially love the variation using curry paste, gives the cookies a subtle kick that really compliments the peanut butter.
Beth100 September 4, 2014
I made these, without chopped candied nuts and without chilling. Turned out beautifully!
Beth100 September 1, 2014
Yay for a peanut butter cookie recipe that actually calls for natural peanut butter! Can't wait to try this.
Kristen M. September 3, 2014
Great point!
melissa August 25, 2014
Where would I find coconut toffee peanuts?
Kristen M. August 30, 2014
If you can't find the coconut toffee kind specifically, you can use other kinds of candied peanuts or cashews, or go even more rogue (see the updated headnote above).