Peanut Butter Cookies with a kick

[drmimi]

I want to jazz up a homemade peanut butter recipe with unusual spice combos or ingredients. No alcohol please: but something with a bit of a kick that would get a 10 year old drooling.

[coll]

I just got a compliment yesterday on one of my Christmas cookies, the easiest one I make. It's a ball of peanut butter dough wrapped around a mini Snickers bar: after you cook it, everyone wants to know how the heck you got the caramel and chocolate inside!

[reannd]

maybe the menu @ this store will inspire you..

http://www.pbloco.com/cafes_menu.asp

[drmimi]

thanks for the inspirations everyone...

[Bunnyfood]

Oh, and cinnamon! Really really good!

[empfam]

I've been making a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie for years that everyone seems to love. I have used Valrhona 72% dark which comes out great, but in a pinch I use the Ghiradellis chocolate chips from Trader Joe's.

The recipe is from the martha stewart website:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/b...

[drmimi]

I was thinking something more than the usual suspects, brown sugar, jelly and chocolate. Thinking more of spice combos--
Such as what is added to Thai peanut sauce-- may make an interesting cookie
or West African spices to be found in ground nut stew.
What inspired me was a shortbread cooking in the December 2007 Sunset Magazine-- spicy instead of sweet-- flavored with cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cayenne. They were supposed to be a gift but never made it out of my house.
My kid is half Ethiopian so he loves the spicy stuff..

[soypower]

if that's what you're looking for...why not try some grated lime rind or some slivers of thai basil?

[drmimi]

thanks for the example-- also need add ons that are not citrus- unfortunately I get hives eating citrus-- makes flavor combos a bit more tricky...

[digkv]

Maybe you could try fresh grated ginger (or galangal if you can get it) and maybe lemongrass (though I have no idea how you could put that in it, maybe there's an extract out there). Dried coconut may be a nicely added touch and add some diced up Thai chili peppers. Actually, that's sort of sounding weird for a cookie. You could just try sticking to adding a tablespoon or chili oil or maybe try dark sesame oil which may give a sort Asian taste.

[Bunnyfood]

I made a batch once with ginger, and although I loved them......Not sure if ginger is the choice for the youngins... Kind of spicy and complex for the young palate. Coconut is tasty and of course, chocolate- chips, dipped, drizzle or ganache sandwiches(my fave)...

[drmimi]

my youngin loves my freshly grated ginger in my apple gingerbread and banana gingerbread. He is a complex kind of little dude:)

[Bunnyfood]

right on! I can't even get the adults in my life to give ginger the respect its due...

[drmimi]

in my house-- a day without freshly grated or pickled ginger is like a day without sunshine...Jamaican Ginger Beer is my son's most favorite treat to drink...

[digkv]

You might want to try making thumbprint cookies out of your peanut butter cookie dough and add grape jelly or something as the filling to make peanut butter jelly cookies. Maybe try upping the amount of salt in your cookie which is always nice especially if you add chocolate chips or something to it. Maybe even cocoa powder to the dough may add a twist but make it a familiar flavor combination.

[Non Cognomina]

Try adding dark brown sugar instead of white sugar. Or try it with macadamia butter or cashew butter instead of peanut butter--both are sold at Trader Joe's.