How many of you out there like cookies? Let me guess... almost everyone. Well, recently I was possessed by a crazy cookie-spirit and made these. This recipe takes me allll the way back to my tween days. Can you picture that?
Now, you might not believe it (or maybe you will), but life as a tween Chantilly was a lonely one. I was socially awkward, constantly worried about my weight (I was normal and healthy), and my biggest embarrassment in life was that I'd never had a boyfriend. I spent a lot of time by myself... singing in my private space in the attic, making up cheering routines (yeah, I was a cheerleader), or spending time with my family. Dreaming of a time when things could be different.
At some point, I cultivated baking as a hobby. I was making a lot of cookies, and getting pretty experimental in my recipes. I added some cocoa to one particular batch of peanut butter cookies, and I remember they tasted exactly like butterfingers.
Now, getting back to the socially awkward stuff for a second... in Chantilly-tween-land, getting invited to "go over" someone's house, or a friend "coming over" yours was a big deal. At least to me it was. I had basically no friends at that point, and was always overhearing the popular girls talking about being at each other's houses. I was mortified that I didn't have anyone to share this special friend-bonding ritual with.
Until one day... another loner/ cast-off like myself invited herself to my house... and it felt pretty awesome, even if she wasn't one of the "cool" girls. I remember her coming over... and she couldn't stop eating these butterfinger cookies I had made the day before. I took it as a compliment, and felt a sense of pride for my baking skills. We had a nice chat in my kitchen, and ended up being best friends for about five years.
We laughed, had adventures together, talked about sex, and physically faught once or twice. The friendship ended badly... but the experiences we had were worth it. And it all started with some cookies :) That hour spent in my kitchen getting to know someone new is what I was reminded of when I bit into this fresh batch in the here-and-now.
So the moral of the story is... bake cookies, and you will attract new friends :P Here are my super-secret tips to make the best friend-attracting-peanut-butter-cocoa cookies:
1~ Start with your favorite PB cookie recipe. For this, I used the one from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
2~ Substitute butter-flavored crisco for butter. It might not be healthy, but this makes the cookies more delicious than you can believe. Trust the girl who did nothing but bake cookies for a solid year.
3~ Add cocoa powder liberally. I didn't use an exact measurement... I just kept adding and taste-testing until it was to my liking.
That's it! Enjoy :)
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