Professor Butter Beard’s Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies
5 Dozen Cookies
2 cups chopped peanuts, toasted with 1 tsp Kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp Chinese Five-Spice Powder
1 cups dark brown sugar
Zest of one orange
16 Tbsp (two sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
4 Tbsp honey
2 whole eggs and 2 additional egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla paste
Garnish: additional Kosher salt
1) In a cast iron pan, toast the chopped peanuts with the salt, tossing often, until peanuts are shiny and aromatic. Set aside to cool.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and Chinese Five-Spice.
3) In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the brown sugar and orange zest until evenly distributed. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the butter, peanut butter and honey. Mix until smooth. Add the honey, eggs, additional yolks and vanilla paste. Mix until smooth again, stopping often to scrape the sides of the bowl.
4) Add the dry ingredients and mix into a dough. Add the cooled peanuts and mix to incorporate evenly.
5) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, portion the dough into 5 dozen balls. Chill on the sheet in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
6) When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly place 16 cookies on the first sheet, make classic indentations with a fork, and then bake for 7 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for 4 minutes more – just until the edges are beginning to brown.
7) Remove the pan and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with additional Kosher salt while still hot. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5-7 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8) Let the oven come back up to temperature before baking the second sheet.
