Cooking with Peanuts

Sunday, November 13, 2011

We aren’t a family who likes a lot of nuts in our baking.  We all agree that chocolate chip cookies and brownies are much better when they’re chewy throughout, with no crunchy nuts in the mix.  And when I bake for others, I’m always worried about nut allergies.  So if I’m taking food out for a group, or if I’m baking for a family whose allergies I’m not familiar with, I would never make anything that contained nuts.

At first glance, then, this recipe might not seem like a natural choice.  But for some reason, these Honey Peanut Wafers jumped off the page at me.  Andrew and the girls love peanut butter in their baking, and honey-roasted peanuts are just a small step away from that.  The recipe looked quite easy, but the honey-roasted peanut base was unusual enough to pique my interest.  Plus, the recipe was from Nick Malgieri’s book The Modern Baker, where I discovered one of my new favourite recipes, Caramel Crumb Bars.  (Seriously, if you haven’t made Caramel Crumb Bars yet, do it right now.  They are amazing.)

I’m thrilled that I tried this recipe.  We all loved these cookies, whether I served them plain or with a little drizzle of chocolate on top.  They just might be enough to change the minds of a family who thinks they don’t like nuts.



Honey Peanut Wafers
(from Nick Malgieri's The Modern Baker)

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups honey-roasted peanuts, finely chopped but not ground
semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the flour and baking soda together and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, honey and egg together until just mixed, avoiding making a foamy mixture.  Then whisk in the melted butter.  Stir in the flour mixture and the chopped peanuts.

Drop tablespoon-sized pieces of the batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, keeping them about 4 inches (10 cm) apart on all sides.  Moisten a fingertip with water and slightly flatten each mound of cookie.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until they have spread and are evenly golden.

Optional: melt a little semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate to drizzle over cookies.

43 comments:

laxsupermom said...

These sound delicious! So much more interesting than the typical peanut butter cookie. Thanks for sharing.

Gloria Baker said...

mmmm!Beth these look delicious!! gloria

Belinda said...

My my my! I love these! The texture...the thickness - such a great treat. I've got a glass of milk.....

Joanne said...

I'm with you on the nuts in cookies and brownies. To me, they take away from the treat. And wow, that chocolate drizzle ... Bring it on :)

Julie said...

These look delicious!! Love the chocolate!!! I have this cookbook and have hardly made anything from it. I need to dig it out.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Beth. Me too! I'm a major nuts-purist when it comes to baking. The cook in our sorority? Was not. There were nuts in EVERYTHING. And even where there weren't supposed to be any. The idea of tossing honey roasted nuts into anything never crossed my mind. I'm bookmarking this one ASAP.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

I don't think I've met a Nick Malgieri recipe I didn't love...I'm sure these are winners, too!

Carol said...

They look amazing, especially with the drizzle of chocolate!

sally said...

Honey-roasted peanuts sound like a great addition to these cookies! I like the drizzle of chocolate too!

Valerie Gamine said...

For such a small amount of butter (the love of my life), this recipe sounds delicious, and, dare I say, healthy?

By the way, I can't thank you enough for introducing me to those caramel crumb bars! :D

ZONE F DG TEAM said...

Those caramel crumb bars you linked to look devine. I've bookmarked them and hope to have everything on hand. Maybe this week, I'll give them a try.

Beth said...

Valerie, I forgot that you had made those bars too. Aren't they terrific?

And yes, the chocolate was a fun add-on for the peanut cookies!

laurie said...

I love nuts, these sound delicious!

Saucy Siciliana said...

My daughter loves peanuts and peanut butter, luckily it is now available in Italy. Yesterday I made her a banana and peanut butter sandwich ...Elvis is her idol:) Hello from Rome!

Anonymous said...

I don't often bake with nuts either! These look so delicious .. the honey probably makes them so perfect too! Yum :)

Emily Malloy said...

I think you knocked this one out of the park!

Rita said...

Now you have just handed 2 recipes that I must try; they look so good; I don't bake too much anymore, but like to indulge when the kids come to visit.Merci.
Rita

Anna said...

Mmm, I love peanut butter cookies and these look great! I also don't like nuts in brownies or cakes, but in cookies I can get on board!

Christina Lee said...

Yum! And honey *and* sugar is used-interesting!

Bonnie said...

Beth, I love peanut butter. And, I love peanut butter cookies. This recipe looks wonderful. I also love caramel. I will checking that recipe as well. Bonnie

lisa is cooking said...

These cookies are so good! I haven't found a recipe in that book that isn't great, and these cookies are one of my favorites in it. I need to make these again soon!

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

I'm not a fan of nuts in most baked goods either, but these cookies look scrumptious!

Amy

Anonymous said...

These look perfect. Peanutty anything with chocolate is total yumminess.

Claudia said...

Nick Malgieri does know from whence he speaks. Love the use of honey-roasted nuts to enhance the honey flavor even more. I also don't incorporate nuts in baking when I bake for others - the allergy is just plain scary. But when I know all is fine with my group - I do like the crunch of nuts.

Fresh Local and Best said...

I am not a peanut fan, but I love a recipe that challenges such biases. These look like wonderful cookies.

Ryan said...

I like my cookies chewy too and these look delicious, especially with that chocolate drizzle! These sound delicious and I want to try the caramel crumb bars. They sound decadent!

Miriam said...

They sound truly wonderful to me! Of course, I am a nut lover at heart anyway :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

Anonymous said...

Love the chocolate lines on the cookies!

Angie's Recipes said...

Those cookie wafers look so good!

Anonymous said...

I'm totally with you on the crunchy-chewy front! I have issues with textures, but I bet I would love these.
Bookmarked for the holidays!

Joanne said...

I HATE peanuts in my baked goods...but peanut butter? Whole.Other.Story.

These sound amazing!

shaz said...

Oooh, they do sound delightful! I'm nuts about nuts, so I know I'd love these.

julie said...

Sounds absolutely divine! I need to go check out those caramel crumb bars as well. They may just get added to my Thanksgiving week menu!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Well, I'm a sucker for peanut butter, peanuts, and nuts of all kinds (in fact I just finished a piece of toast spread with chunky peanut butter!) so I'm a sucker for this recipe. Sounds great - and with the chocolate on top? Who could resist. Not me! Thanks.

Lorraine said...

Though I love nuts in everything, my family does not, but like your family, I think they would love these because they do love honey-roasted nuts. Thanks for sharing the recipe. They sound really yummy:)

Sue said...

Mmmm, I'll have to drizzle chocolate on my peanut butter cookies next time I make them~great idea, Beth!

Anonymous said...

Those caramel crumb bars *are* amazing! Since we can't have any nut products in the house, I practically inhale honey roasted peanuts if I run across them while I am out. But, I'm with you--I usually don't care for nuts in my baking. They do sound interesting in that particular cookie, though. You were definitely spot on to add the chocolate drizzle. :)

cocoa and coconut said...

Hi Beth,
Sorry it's been so long since I've visited you. Normally I love nuts in my recipes - and definitely my family does. I can't eat them at the moment but my family will. Nuts and honey is a great combination too. Glad your family enjoyed them.

Ashlea Taylor said...

Oh yum! I love the idea of the chocolate lines. You can't beat pb and chocolate in any form!

Simply Life said...

what a great cookie!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, I love the addition of the chocolate drizzle...such yummy cookies, Beth :)

Elaine said...

I love Nick Malgieri's recipes, so I know I would enjoy these cookies. They look wonderful with the stripes of chocolate. Honey roasted peanuts for the base sound so delicious.

grace said...

nuts definitely have their place in certain creations, but i agree--some things are better with one smooth texture. this is a unique cookie and i'm excited to try it for myself!

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