Spicy Peanut Butter Cookies

My friend Melissa recently introduced me to "The Heat is On" peanut butter.  For me that spells trouble as it combines two of my favorite things: peanut butter and spice.  This stuff is great!  It is a great snack on celery, awesome in Thai noodle dished and, as I learned with this recipe, phenomenal as peanut butter cookies.  WARNING: These cookies pack some heat.  So if you don't like spicy food, they are probably not for you.

Spice Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup The Heat is On Natural Peanut Butter
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons turbinado (or light brown sugar)

1/3 cup oil (I used safflower)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF and place rack in the top third of oven.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Combine you dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) in a small bowl.

In the bowl separate bowl, combine peanut butter, maple syrup, turbinado, oil, and vanilla.  Mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated. You can use a hand mixer, but I didn't.

Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet, and mix again just until the flour disappears.  The dough should be crumbly but stiff.  Let dough rest for five minutes, then give another stir or two.

Scoop dough by packed, rounded tablespoon onto baking sheet about an inch apart (they don’t spread while they bake).  Using a fork, create a cross-hatch pattern on top of each scoop, while also pressing down to flatten the cookie.  The dough will want to crack around the edges; use your fingers to gently press any cracks back together.

Bake in batches on the top rack of the oven about 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Use a toothpick to make sure the middle is cooked through.  Sprinkle with a mixture of the salt and turbinado.

Makes about 30 cookies.