Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

I've been on a baking jag lately, and I've been really enjoying it!  But I've made a lot of chocolate stuff.  (Check out my recipe for Oreo Truffles.  They're DA BOMB!!!)  So today I decided to make some peanut butter cookies.  I've found several yummy recipes online, but as I usually do, I've tweaked things a bit and here's the recipe I've come up with.  They're soft and chewy, with a little bit of crisp and crunch on the edges.  They're the best part of both cookie worlds.  They're the Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies.

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

granulated sugar (for rolling cookies)

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.) Beat butter and peanut butter together on medium speed until creamy (about 30 seconds).
3.) Add sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to peanut butter mixture and beat until combined.  (Make sure to scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula to get everything well mixed.)
4.) Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
5.) Add flour in two batches, mixing between each batch to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
6.) Take a teaspoonful of dough and roll into a ball.  Roll ball in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  (I like to use parchment paper on my cookie sheets.  It helps with cleanup.)
7.) Place cookies 2 inches apart on the sheet (They will spread a bit, so they need just a bit of room).
8.) Once you have all the cookies on the sheet, take a cup full of water and a fork.  Dip the fork in the water and then press it into the cookie twice - to make the traditional peanut butter cookie criss-cross pattern.

(Peanut butter cookies don't spread as much as chocolate chip cookies, so they need to be pressed down.  Dipping the fork in water after each cookie helps the dough not stick to the fork.  If you don't use water, you'll have quite a mess!)
9.) Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes. (I baked mine for 8 minutes and they turned out perfectly!)
10.) Enjoy!  (But try not to eat them all at one!)