Shelly Register of A Restaurant and Market, Part Three

Photo by Todd Barnes

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Today, we conclude our series with a recipe for Chef Shelly's Peanut Butter Cookies. If you missed it, read Part One and Part Two of this week's interview.

If you watched last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts, you know that one chef made a brilliant cookie and another made a completely boring one (won't spoil it if you haven't watched yet). As with any kitchen success, it's not just the ingredients that made a difference on TV last night, but the love and attention to detail that went into crafting the cookie. Compare your version of Chef Shelly's peanut butter cookie with Shelly's own at A Market!

Shelly Register's Peanut Butter Cookies
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen smallish cookies

2½ cups         All-purpose flour
½ teaspoon    Baking powder
½ teaspoon    Baking soda
1 teaspoon     Salt

8 oz.  Unsalted butter
1 cup  Brown sugar
1 cup  Granulated sugar
1 cup  Peanut butter, creamy
2 ea   Eggs, large
2 tsp  Vanilla extract
1 cup  Raw Peanuts, roasted, salted, coarsely ground
1 cup  Peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in peanut butter.
Add vanilla and eggs one at a time and mix until well combined.
Add "dries" [dry ingredients] and mix until just combined.
Fold in peanuts and peanut butter chips. 
Scoop cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.
For a more traditional look, dip tines of a fork in granulated sugar and press a crisscross pattern into the dough.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

A Market, 3400 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach, (949) 650-6515; www.arestaurantnb.com