“Wanna sip this smooth air, kick it in the sand”
Theme song by Glass Animals “Gooey” from Zaba
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Glass Animals is one of those bands I can thank Spotify for discovering. They are the kind of blissed-out alternative that seems to have taken over the indie scene since the mid-2010s. I dig them, but for the most part, really only the theme song for this cookie name. Do you know those songs that randomly pop up on loop in your head for no reason? This is one of those songs for me. Since “Gooey” first showed up in a Spotify Indie tracks playlist, I have not only loved the song but also find myself thinking about it for no real reason. Worse still, due to the lyrics, its random appearances also give me peanut butter cravings.
I have long professed to not being a baker. I believe the reason is precision. Cooking, to a certain extent, allows for wiggle room and improvisation. Baking is far more of a science. Precise measures are required to get quality results. When I started working on the Music & Food project, I made the decision to work on my baking skills. I am happy to say I have had more successes than failures, and have started to understand there is, in fact, a little wiggle room in baking. I’m still not ready to conquer pies or yeast bread, but my cookie game is on point.
I’m a big fan of soft chewy peanut butter cookies, perhaps even more than chocolate chip cookies. There is nothing worse than a hard peanut butter cookie, and yet all too often that’s what I encounter. The one way to improve a great peanut butter cookie would be even more peanut butter and perhaps chocolate because, well, chocolate and peanut butter are a no-brainer. Plus, adding gooey chocolate to chewy peanut butter ties this whole song to recipe thing together nicely. Thankfully, I ran into Smitten Kitchen’s peanut butter cookie recipe. I stuck fairly close to the original but used chunky peanut butter (because it is the best peanut butter) and I chill my cookie dough overnight. The combo of chunky peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips makes for one of the best cookies I’ve had in a long time. Definitely full of those gooey peanut butter (and chocolate) vibes.
GOOEY PEANUT BUTTER VIBE
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies
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, softened
1 cup chunky peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Scrape cookie dough out of the bowl and onto plastic wrap. Wrap the dough tightly and place it in the fridge overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350°F
Place the remaining tablespoon of sugar on a plate. Create 1 1/2 ounce balls of dough making sure to get some peanut butter and chocolate chips in each ball. Drop balls in the sprinkling sugar then place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. leaving 2 inches between each for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a criss-cross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but trust me they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.