Peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies with ginger and molasses
The ginger and molasses add a little flavour nuance to this rich, flaky cookie. This makes about a dozen larger cookies, up to two dozen small ones.
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter (I use crunchy)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1T cold water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (or more to taste if you have a sweet tooth)
1t blackstrap molasses
1/2t fresh ginger, grated and minced (or more to taste — I use 1t)
1/2 cup all purpose, unbleached flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour (I use bread flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk
25g bittersweet chocolate, chipped (I use a fairly traded, organic brand)
Optional: Use ready-made chocolate chips you prefer. You can make smaller cookies, use pastry flour instead of bread flour, use all whole wheat flour, change the sweetener, trade the coconut oil and water for plant-only margarine, add flax or banana for some additional binder, or make an all peanut butter version, but this will affect the overall chemistry. You may have to change the liquid balance and/or the bake time.
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the peanut butter with everything up to and including the ginger. Mix the flours and stir the combination into the peanut butter. Stir in the plant milk. Add the chipped chocolate to the dough, reserving about 1/3 to add to the cookies once pressed.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add the dough in about 2 tablespoon sizes. Press a little of the remaining chocolate into each cookie. Press each cookie lightly with a fork to crosshatch so that each is no more than 1/2″ high.
Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, shorter for softer cookies, longer for crunchier cookies, depending on your oven. Be careful not to overbake. Ovens vary; use the colour and texture of the cookie as a guide to bake time (they should be lightly browning at the tips for soft cookies).
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire frame for about 30 – 45 minutes for still warm, soft cookies, or cool for an hour or so, cover, and serve later.
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