Macadamia chocolate sandies

Baking cookies when so many varieties are readily available in the market makes no sense until we lamented that there is no one cookie that is customized to contain each of our favorite ingredients .

And so started  an earnest search for a suitable cookie recipe that has the robust structure to contain girl2's favorite dark chocolate, hubby's must-have peanut butter and my favorite macadamia nut snack. 

The final product took the form of a chocolate macadamia sandie with peanut butter overtones. I scaled back on  the sugar, since the peanut butter and chocolate will lend some of its sweetness. As for the butter, it was also reduced but compensated by an additional egg, for moisture and  holding power for the batter. The overall effect was a thin crusted sandie with a mildly cakey center.

What is attractive about the production process is its relative ease in making it and the very short baking time.  In under an hour, the cookies materialized from 2 1/2 cups of flour, providing a happy pre-midnight snack .

Makes 48 macadamia chocolate sandies.

Ingredients :

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

160g  unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter- crunchy

1/2 cup molasses, organic

1/4 cup caster sugar

3 small eggs

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate, shaved with a sharp knife

1  cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Method :

Preheat oven  to 180 C . Line 3 baking trays with parchment paper ( I baked in 3 batches )

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat the butter on medium spee until fluffy and creamy, 3 minutes.

Add the peanut butter . Whisk well.

Add the sugars . Whisk 3  minutes .

Add the eggs one at a time, beating  1 minute after each addition.

Whisk in the dry ingredients, on low speed. Stop immediately when they are just incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.  Dough should be soft and pliable.

Pour  1 cup sugar into a small bowl.

Spoon a level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie and knock it into the sugar. Roll the dough to coat with sugar.

Lay the cookies on the tray, leaving 1-2  inches between them.

Press the tines of the fork  against the cookie. It should be  flattened with crisscross indentations.

Chill the cookies for 10 minutes.

Bake the dough for 13-14  minutes, the longer time yielding a firmer cookie.

The cookies will be sandy coloured and slightly  soft. Let cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, to firm up,  before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Cool to room temperature before storing them in an airtight container.

Inspired by http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/>