I had high hopes the weekend would provide something of interest to write about, but as I sit down with this post at 10 p.m. on Sunday, I have nothing. Unless you want to hear about the four hours I spent at the auto shop, the next four hours I spent reading the last third of The Orphan Master’s Son, and the multi-episode Game of Thrones bender I went on yesterday. I followed Saturday up by making tremendous messes in the kitchen today. So, I may not have anything to write about, but at least you shall have some recipes!
This recipe for spicy peanut butter cookies with dukka (also known as dukkah) is actually a carry over from last weekend. The reasons it caught my eye are two-fold. I loved the idea of a spicy peanut butter cookie, and I had no idea what dukka was. I have since learned it is a mixture of nuts, seeds and spices with origins in Middle Eastern dishes.
For this cookie, the dukka is comprised of peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin and coriander. In terms of nuts and seeds, there is quite a bit of variation out there, but the use of coriander and cumin seems consistent across the board.
These cookies are not at all like the chewy peanut butter cookie I am used to. They have an almost cracker-like texture, and they sort of melt in your mouth after the first bite. I was not so sure about them, but when I shared, they received positive reviews.
As it is written below, the recipe yielded double the peanut dukka I needed. You could try to halve it as best as possible, or simply use the leftovers to amp up the flavor of hummus or other dips and sauces. Though I would not recommend it with the peanut variety, a number of people have indicated dukka is a great spice mixture to sprinkle over eggs. This variety might pair better with popcorn or flatbread instead.
One of my favorite dukka ideas is to toss it with roasted vegetables. That recipe, and four more, are available via this blog post from The New York Times. Or you could just make more cookies. Enjoy!
- For the Peanut Dukka
- 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ cup roasted peanuts
- 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For the Cookies
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1½ cups creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- To prepare the dukka, combine the three types of seeds in a skillet over medium heat and toast until the sesame seeds are lightly browned and the seeds are aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse a few times to partially grind the seeds.
- Add the peanuts and pulse a few times more until they are finely chopped and well blended with the seeds. Take care not to over process into a paste.
- Finally, add the paprika and salt and pulse a final few times to blend.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl and set aside.
- To prepare the cookies, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir until combined, then stir in the remaining flour mixture and stir until well incorporated and a smooth dough forms.
- Roll a tablespoon of dough between your palms to form a ball, then roll the ball in the dukka to evenly coat. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
- Place the coated dough balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets, keeping about two inches of space between each dough ball.
- Lightly press the balls with the bottom of a glass to flatten. Twisting the glass as you pull up from the dough will help it to relase from the cookies.
- Bake at 350 F until the cookies are firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
