Monster cookies

Monster Cookies

Big Boys. Saucers. Monsters. Whatever you call them, these cookies are huge. They are as big as a saucer plate and will not fit through the opening of your typical cookie jar. But the oversize treats are still fun to make and surprise people. On the positive side, you don’t have to keep going back for more. These colossal cookies are as satisfying as a single meal. I found one of the best recipes in my favorite cookie cookbook Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter (Clarkson/Potter Publishers). The one recipe that seems to illicit the best response is Spanish Peanut Saucers.

They are chewy, chock-full of peanuts and have a wonderful sugary crisp exterior and soft, gooey peanut butter interior. I have made a few tweaks to the recipe, such as using salted butter and unsalted Spanish peanuts. The original recipe calls for salted peanuts and unsalted butter. It’s usually easier for me to find the unsalted variety in my grocery store. And I didn’t add the additional egg white and roll the cookies in it and the remaining 1 1/2 cups Spanish peanuts and 3 tablespoons of sugar. You can do this step if you like, but I have found that I enjoy more of the nuts inside the cookie, and you can still sprinkle the cookies with a sugar topping and reserve 1/2 cup of whole nuts to decorate the top.

Spanish Peanut Saucers

1 1/2 cups unsalted Spanish peanuts

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup salted butter

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 1/3 cups sugar

4 egg whites

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dab corners of two cookie sheets with butter and line with baking parchment.

Place peanuts in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Pulse 12 to 15 times until the nuts are chopped into small pieces. Place butter into a 3-quart saucepan and melt slowly over low heat. Set aside to cool to tepid.

Blend in the peanut butter using a whisk, stirring until smooth and creamy. Stir in sugar, mixing until smooth. Add egg whites, mixing thoroughly to blend. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until combined.

Spoon the dough into 1/4 cup. Tap on the counter to release. (You may follow the original instructions here and dip the top side of the dough into a bowl containing 1 egg white and 2 teaspoons of water. Have ready  1 1/2 cups of peanuts scattered on a cookie sheet. After dipping in the bowl, dip in peanuts and place on cookie sheet).

Place the dough, nutty side up, on the cookie sheet and press the surface gently with the heel of your hand, flattening the ball into a 3-inch disk that is 1/2 inch thick. Place six mounds of dough, 3 inches apart, on each cookie sheet. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with 1 teaspoon of the remaining sugar.

Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until the sides of the cookies begin to brown and the tops are set. Remove from the oven and let rest on the pan 4 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Loosen the cookies with a large spatula and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Servings: 16