Peanut Butter Picnic Cookies

If I were taking the family on a picnic, these would be a staple in my picnic basket. They are large, which always makes the kids happy, and they are loaded with salted peanuts. They are crispy on the edges but chewy in the center. To make these I doubled my original peanut butter cookie recipe and added chopped peanuts. I used a large cookie scoop which is probably 2 rounded tablespoons of dough.

makes about 5 dozen

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup(2 sticks)softened, unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2/3 cup chopped salted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl place the butter and sugars, mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the peanut butter and the vanilla. Add the baking soda, salt and flour and mix until just combined. Stir in the peanuts. Place some sugar onto a plate. Using a large cookie scoop,scoop balls of dough onto the sugar coated plate. Roll the dough around in the sugar to coat and place onto baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silpats. Press each dough ball flat with the bottom of a large glass. Sprinkle more sugar on the top of each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown at the edges.