Peanut Butter & Choco Chip Cookies (eggless)

Today seems like such a cookie kinda day to me…all I want to do is grab a good book, some cookies and curl up on the couch! But I won’t, because I am a nice person (😉) and I chose to share a delicious recipe with you guys!!

May I say I am choosy about my cookies?! I am sure there are many who’ll wholeheartedly agree with me on this. Don’t go putting anything that comes out of a pretty carton into your mouth. Most of those haven’t been made with all the loving that you’d put into a homemade cookie! Yes, love makes all the difference…it tastes better…melts in your mouth and your (my) hubby goes crazy for them! 😍

Look wise, ahem…I’d say don’t pin your hopes on making every cookie look exactly the same or all perfect around the edges, still if can do that, great! For me homemade cookies should look the part…I don’t go trying to make each of them look even and all…!! Some are bigger than the rest…who cares, get a nibble or two extra😁

I love the bits of Choco chips in every bite and they compliment peanut butter just right. These are absolutely crisp and stay fresh for about 2-3 days in an airtight container, that’s the max they last in my home…maybe they’d keep fresh longer! Who’s to know?! 😂

My suggestion – bake a smaller batch, they taste great when fresh.

Also, you can freeze the dough for upto a week. Portion them before freezing, spread the portioned dough on a plate and freeze. Once frozen, store them in ziplock bags. Later, thaw the number of cookies you want to bake at room temperature for about and hour or until they come to room temperature, then pop them in the refrigerator for 15 mins to set a bit else they will spread too much while baking. Bake them as per the instructions given below.

Anyways…if you are as enthusiastic as me about baking your own cookies, check these out too….. Karachi Biscuits/ Tutti Fruity Cookies, Brookies – fudgy mocha flavoured, glutenfree Amaranth cookies (rajgira), Bourbons, Almond Shortbread Cookies, no bake Peanut Butter Cookies, Chewy Butter Biscuits, Sugar Cookies with icing. (Most of these too are eggless…perfect isn’t it!?)

Let’s bake some cookies….:)

Yield: 9-10 cookies (I make them slightly large, yield depends on how you portion them..maybe if you’d keep them smaller, you’ll make around 12-13 cookies)

Equipment: measuring cups/ spoons, baking tray, mixing bowl, fork, parchment paper, a whisk/ electric whisk, cooling rack.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Maida (all purpose flour)

1/4 cup brown sugar (I used Demerara sugar)

1/4 cup castor sugar

1 1/4 tsp milk

1/4 cup softened unsalted butter

5-6 drops vanilla extract/ essence

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup chocolate chips

2 tbsp peanut butter (I used smooth)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, both sugars, vanilla extract & milk until well combined and fluffy. (I used a manual whisk as it was a small quantity, but use a electric whisk if making double or triple the batch as they must be well combined)

Next, add the flour, Choco chips & baking soda. Fold them in gently. Lastly add the peanut butter and fold again.

The dough is ready, rest it in the refrigerator for an hour to set the dough.

Once chilled, portion the cookie dough in equal sized balls, flatten them using a fork and place them an inch or two apart as they spread on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Chill the portioned dough balls again for 15 mins in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven at 180’c for 10 mins. Take the chilled portioned dough balls from the refrigerator and bake them at 180’c for 20-25 mins or until the cookies turn golden brown on all sides. (Bake using just the lower heating rods for first 20 mins, then turn on the upper rods too for the last 5-6 mins, please note every oven works differently so keep an eye on the cookies)

Once the cookies are baked, take them out of the oven, let the cookies first rest on the baking tray for 15 mins as they continue to crisp up further. Then transfer them on to the cooling rack for another 10 mins. Once they are completely cooled, store them in a parchment lined airtight container.