These are an adaptation of my dad’s Peanut Fluff Cookies.
Instead of peanut butter, my dad uses ground peanuts which means these cookies can be made with just about any nut you fancy. I had pecan pieces on hand so I made the cookie base with pecans and instead of chocolate chips, I stuck a Hershey’s kiss into the top of each cookie.
The recipe below is straight from the master himself using peanuts, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. The invitation is to get after these cookies in whatever nut and chocolate combination you have on hand. They’re simple, sweet, just lightly cakey, and a perfect afternoon snack. Thanks Dad!
CLIFF’S PEANUT PUFFS A cookie-cake experience
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk (discard the white)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts chopped super fine
- 2 1/3 cups un-sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
Instructions
- Soften 1 stick unsalted butter in a large bowl. Slice up the other stick of butter and place into a small silver-bottomed pan over medium heat. While it’s melting, swirl it around over the heat. It will froth and crackle because the water is evaporating. When the foam disappears, keep swirling the pan until you see specks of fat solids start to form and brown. The butter will have a rich nutty smell. Once the butter reaches a golden color and the particles at the bottom are a very dark brown color, remove from heat and transfer to a small heat-proof bowl to cool.
- While the melted butter is cooling, put the dry roasted, unsalted peanuts into a food processor and pulverize for several seconds until the peanuts have released their oil and begin to clump together almost like peanut butter. Set aside. NOTE: If you don’t have a food processor, chop the nuts until super fine and crumbly.
- When the butter has adequately cooled, add it to the bowl containing the 1 stick of softened butter. Then add the sugars, and with an electric hand mixer, blend the butter and sugars thoroughly. Add the whole egg, the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Then blend in the pulverized peanuts. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Dump into the butter mixture, and with a wooden spoon, stir together vigorously. Add chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and mix thoroughly. Shape into 2 logs on 2 sheets of wax paper. Wrap them up and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pull off the chilled dough from the log and shape into 1 ½ inch balls. Space nicely apart on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
- Bake in the 350 degrees oven for about 12 minutes until the puffs are a golden color and lightly browned on top. They should be puffy. Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve slightly warm or completely cool. Enjoy!
