Puffy Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip and Golden Oreo Cookies

Lemme tell you something about these cookies.They're great! So great that ...

1) They have turned mere mortals into baking converts! I first made these with Susan (She's obsessed with peanut butter, carrot cake and thinks she is amazing ;p). She wanted a total peanut butter hit so we put peanut butter chips, peanut M&Ms and Reese's Pieces in them (That's another great thing about these cookies, feel free to swap the chocolate chips and Oreos for other things - smarties, m&ms, chunks of your favourite bar of chocolate, anything!).
They were so simple to make that when they were all ready and in the oven, she kept saying: "But that can't be it. We can't be finished already". But that was it. We really were finished. They really are that simple! Half an hour after you start, you've got hot cookies!

And FYI, Susan has gone on to bake white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies, peanut butter banana bread and a French yogurt cake. All because of these cookies ;p

2) God himself endorses these cookies! Well, I like to think He endorses everything I bake but I made these for Church and got a text from the Pastor's wife (Monica) that evening saying how good they were. And then a couple of days later, the Pastor himself (Mark) texted to say he really enjoyed them. I don't think Mark has eaten any of my baking before and I just assumed he didn't have a sweet tooth but a couple of weeks later, Monica asked for the recipe as Mark had been hassling her to make them.

So there you have it. Make these cookies!

Quick aside - Isnt' it funny how in this post, I was lamenting my genetic inability to bake cookies and muffins and now I'm like the cookie queen! Cookie queen is a title I'm trying on for size and I really like it!

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Makes about 20 cookies

2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
113g butter
6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter (I bought crunchy by mistake and I like to think it gave it a little sumthin' sumthin')
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup Golden Oreos broken into bits. Regular Oreos would work too.

1 - Preheat oven to 170C / Gas Mark 3 / 325F. Line your baking trays with grease proof paper.
2 - Add peanut butter and butter to a microwave safe bowl, then heat in 30 second increments until melted. Let cool completely.

3 - Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
4 - In another bowl, mix the the cooled butter/peanut butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed.

Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms - it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. Use your hands to bring it all together if you want.
5 - Fold in chocolate chips and Oreo bits.

6 - Shape the dough into balls the size of a golf ball.

Place on your baking tray two inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. The centres should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake. Let cool completely.