Big City, Little Kitchen

It’s no secret that salt makes desserts taste better; just a pinch enhances the sweeter elements in the dish.  It can also play a larger role and provide an interesting counterpart to the sweetness:  salted-caramel macarons at Laduree, truffles topped with fleur de sel, even something as pedestrian as chocolate-covered pretzels.

I wanted to apply this idea to a peanut-butter dessert, so I used Dorie Greenspan’s peanut butter cookie recipe in Baking:  From My Home to Yours, as my template.  After omitting a few ingredients, ramping up the salt (I think it is important to use large-grain sea salt here, to confine the salt to little flavor-pockets throughout, rather than end up with an overall too-salty cookie), and using dark brown sugar instead of light for more chewiness and depth of flavor, I have arrived at what I think is a fun (and good-tasting) example of the successful contrast between salty and sweet.

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from Peanut Butter Crisscrosses in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp Maldon sea salt, or other large-grain salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone mats.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes; beat in peanut butter until well-combined.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, and periodically scraping down sides of bowl.  On low speed, mix in dry ingredients just until combined.

Drop tablespoon-fulls of the dough onto the lined cookie sheets, leaving about two inches between each.  Sprinkle each drop of dough with a bit of salt, according to taste; I used a small pinch for each.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges begin to turn brown and the middle of the cookie is only slightly set.  Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

These are compulsively snackable on their own, but would be amazing sandwiched together with dark-chocolate ice cream or gelato.  You could also simply mix in chocolate chips or chunks for a Reese’s-type spin.