Peanut butter cookies with salted peanut caramel

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer make the cookie dough by beating the butter, brown and granulated sugar until smooth with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the peanut butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir until there are no patches of flour.

Scoop up teaspoon-sized portions of the dough and roll each piece between your hands so they’re as smooth as possible so they don’t crack at the edges when performing the next step.

Space them 1 ½-inches apart on the baking sheets, then use the rounded end of a wooden spoon, or your thumb, to make a depression in each one. If the sides crack, just push them back together.

Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during cooking, until they are light-golden brown and the edges barely start to darken. Remove from oven, and while they’re warm, press in to reinforce each depression with the end of the wooden spoon.

Let cool completely while you make the caramel.

Make the salted peanut caramel by warming the cream in a saucepan or microwave, and setting it aside. Cook the water, 1 cup sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a caramel, gently swirling the pan only if necessary (to ensure it melt and cooks evenly) until it turns a nice golden brown. This will take a bit of time, and you can burn it in a second, so keep an eye on it.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the hot cream in a slow, steady stream.

Cool until warm and pourable, then add the chopped peanuts.

Spoon some of the caramel into each cookie, letting it set for about an hour Keep them in an airtight container, at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer make the cookie dough by beating the butter, brown and granulated sugar until smooth with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the peanut butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir until there are no patches of flour.

Scoop up teaspoon-sized portions of the dough and roll each piece between your hands so they’re as smooth as possible so they don’t crack at the edges when performing the next step.

Space them 1 ½-inches apart on the baking sheets, then use the rounded end of a wooden spoon, or your thumb, to make a depression in each one. If the sides crack, just push them back together.

Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during cooking, until they are light-golden brown and the edges barely start to darken. Remove from oven, and while they’re warm, press in to reinforce each depression with the end of the wooden spoon.

Let cool completely while you make the caramel.

Make the salted peanut caramel by warming the cream in a saucepan or microwave, and setting it aside. Cook the water, 1 cup sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a caramel, gently swirling the pan only if necessary (to ensure it melt and cooks evenly) until it turns a nice golden brown. This will take a bit of time, and you can burn it in a second, so keep an eye on it.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the hot cream in a slow, steady stream.

Cool until warm and pourable, then add the chopped peanuts.

Spoon some of the caramel into each cookie, letting it set for about an hour Keep them in an airtight container, at room temperature.