Three things happened recently, and the result was COOKIES. Let me tell you more.

The first thing that happened

Peanut Butter and Company came out with a new product called Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter, which is delicious. They hired me to make some recipes featuring the stuff, so I had a few extra jars on hand.

The second thing that happened

I bought a vintage book at a library sale (Better Homes and Gardens Cookies and Candies, published 1966) and found this page of recipes inside, which delighted me to no end:

The third thing that happened

I was hired to write an article about quick ways to soften butter for Craftsy.com, and in experimenting, found myself with a lot of soft butter (favorite method pictured below: whacking butter with a rolling pin), and so I decided to bake one of the cookies I had found in the above-mentioned book. To make them sort of fall-friendly, I decided to riff on the recipe a bit and use the Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter I had left over from making PSL peanut butter cupcakes.

I made a few changes to the recipe for the teen-approved "double peanut butter cookies" - instead of approaching it in a more pastry/pie crust way, I used the more traditional creaming method since the butter was already soft. I also left out the corn syrup and used a smaller amount of honey instead, and omitted the milk because the dough seemed to hold together fine without it.

They are special cookies. You bite into them expecting a peanut butter cookie, and to a certain degree they deliver, but then you're like "wh-what? why does this taste all pumpkin spice-y?!" and then you just kind of yield to the experience and feel all like "let's get cozy and drink PSLs and read In Touch Weekly by the fire!". Or at least that was my response to them.

I actually made two variations: the filled version as detailed in the original recipe, and some plain, standard looking peanut butter style cookies. If I had to choose one option for you to make, I would suggest the filled ones. When they're just-baked, they ooze, like so:

as they cool, the ooze factor is less amazing (more like this)

but no less tasty.

I'm willing to bet these cookies would still win the hearts of teens. And adults. After all, I'm 35, so I've seen nearly two full teenagers' years worth of life.

Go ahead, see for yourself how tasty these cookies can be.

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies, or about 16 of the filled variation - Printable version here

(note: since I divided the dough and did half and half, I am estimating what the yield would be if you did it all one way or the other. I ended up with 8 of the filled cookies and 13 of the regular cookies)

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup Peanut Butter and Company Pumpkin Spice peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon honey

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Set to the side.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and honey.

Add the dry mix, and beat on low to combine. Once fully combined, stop mixing; don't overdo it or the cookies will be tough.

Form the dough into balls about 1 inch around. Place on the sheet, and press down with the tines of a fork in a cross hatch pattern.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until toasty on the edges. Remove from the oven, and let cool on the sheet (they are delicate at first) for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

FILLED OPTION:

OOOH, here's a cool option, and it's TEEN APPROVED! You'll need a little more peanut butter if you want to make filled cookies.

To make the cookies in this way follow the same steps to prep the dough. But when you make balls of dough, make them smaller--about 3/4 inch each. Make sure you have an even number.

In your hands, flatten one of the balls, and spoon a small amount (no more than 1/2 teaspoon) on top, in the center. Flatten a second ball, and then stack it on top of the peanut butter atop the first portion of dough.