1cupcrushed salted or lightly salted cocktail peanuts (see Note)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy in a medium-size bowl using an electric mixer. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Mix in the crushed peanuts.
Form the dough into about 18 (1 ½-inch) balls and divide them between two baking sheets. Use a fork to press down on the cookies, creating a crosshatch pattern as you flatten them to about ½-inch thick.
Bake the cookies until very lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes — they will still be soft to the touch but will firm up as they cool. Let them cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
How to Crush Peanuts for Peanut Cookies:
For 1 cup of crushed peanuts, place 1 1/2 cups of peanuts in a sturdy zipper-top bag and gently whack with a rolling pin or a wine bottle or something of that nature. Don’t crush them into a powder; you want some texture. However, larger pieces of peanuts may make the cookies fall apart a bit, so try not to leave any big chunks of peanuts. The varying sizes of peanuts in the cookie will provide varying bits of crunchiness in every bite.