Recipes for peanut butter cookies abound, but this one packs a particularly powerful punch. The dough is studded with whole salted peanuts for extra crunch. Sandwich a few with jelly for an afternoon snack. Or embellish them instead by piping melted semisweet chocolate into the lines of the cross-hatch pattern.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

　　1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flattening cookies

　　3/4 teaspoon baking soda

　　1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

　　1/2 cup granulated sugar

　　1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

　　1 large egg

　　1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　1 cup smooth peanut butter

　　1/2 cup salted peanuts

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour and baking soda into a bowl.

　　

Step 2

Put butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until well combined. Mix in vanilla and then peanut butter. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in peanuts.

　　

Step 3

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Dip the bottom of a glass in flour, tapping off excess, and use it to flatten balls slightly. Firmly press fork tines into each dough ball to make a cross-hatch pattern.

　　

Step 4

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until centers are firm and edges are lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

　　Martha Stewart's Cookies