Peanut Butter

This may be the most sought-after cookie recipe in the book, the cookie that makes it into Seattle Metropolitan magazine's food lover's guide year after year. Once, when director, screenwriter (When Harry Met Sally), and novelist Nora Ephron was in town, she stopped by the dahlia Bakery and bought a few of these cookies. Later she e-mailed me, saying this was her all-time favorite and asked for the recipe. Naturally, I sent it to Nora along with a big package of cookies. When I asked Nora if I could name the cookie after her in my cookbook, she said, "Are you kidding me? This may be the greatest cookie ever ever ever." A sandwich cookie takes more effort than a drop cookie, because you have to make both cookies and filling. In addition, this recipe involves a chilling step and requires the cookies to be double-panned. But the results are worth it for the best-textured peanut butter cookie with the creamiest peanut filling. After arranging the scoops of cookie batter on a baking sheet, slip another baking sheet underneath to double-pan so the cookies bake more slowly and evenly. Since you can bake only eight cookies per baking sheet, and the cookies must be double-panned, you'll have to bake them in batches. Be sure to let the baking sheets cool thoroughly before reusing them. We use two different peanut butters in this recipe. Skippy creamy peanut butter makes the filling smooth and creamy. Adams crunchy peanut butter, which like other natural peanut butters must be well mixed before using to incorporate the oil, has just the right almost-runny consistency and crunchy bits of peanuts to give the cookies the perfect texture. To re-create our peanut butter sandwich cookies, we suggest you use the same or similar brands. We prefer moist brown sugar from a resealable plastic bag rather than from a box. This recipe requires a 2-hour or longer chill of the shaped cookie dough, so plan accordingly. The amount of salt in the filling is a perfect balance to the creamy peanut butter, but if you are substituting table salt for the kosher salt called for in the recipe, be sure to cut the amount in half. This recipe was inspired by the Bouchon Bakery.

This cake is perfect for beginners—it's moist, forgiving, and easy. Jif creamy peanut butter is our favorite for the decadent frosting.

Peanut butter, eggs and milk deliver 13 grams of protein in each slice of this pie. Your body uses more energy to process protein than it does for fat or carbs—now get to work!

The creamy peanut marinade comes together in just minutes. For maximum flavor, we like to soak the chicken for at least three hours.

Whether they're braving the Kingsroad during war, fighting beyond the Wall, or foraging in the last days before the long winter, acorn paste can satisfy travelers' hunger. Even children have no problem preparing this food in a moment of need. This spread goes nicely on biscuits and bread—a luxury in the wild. (A Clash of Kings, Chapter 19—Arya)

This chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting gets a generous (and fun!) garnish of chopped chocolate and peanuts.

I've been doing the previous marinades forever. This new one is first cousin to a good barbecued tofu: piquant, sweet-hot-rich, and scintillatingly tasty. The tofu is baked in the marinade/sauce, which cooks down and coats it, caramelizing them. You'll probably have to soak the baking dish overnight before washing it, but it's worth it. Vary this using fruit juice concentrate instead of honey or sugar, and adding extra ginger, orange zest, or both. For an incendiary smokiness, add chipotle in adobo.

Keep the pan of simmering water nearby to re-warm the chocolate as you are working. You will need about 30 1 1/2-inch and 12 2 1/2-inch paper candy cups; they are available at most baking supply stores.

You can make bite-size cookies by rolling the dough into smaller balls.

Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This recipe calls for natural peanut butter, which has less sugar than regular and gives the cookies a richer peanut flavor.

Drain the noodles well before coating with sauce.

The broth left over from poaching chicken breasts makes a delicious soup base. Refrigerate it in an airtight container up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks; bring to a boil before using.

This recipe makes more than you will need for the salad; serve extra sauce on the side so guests can help themselves. Unused sauce can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

This has long been a family favorite as an everyday kind of cake. A version of it is in my first book, Vegetariana, but here I’ve updated it—no more margarine, milk, or eggs, but the result is still a moist, rich, super-easy treat. I often make it when I’m asked to bring dessert to a gathering, and when I do, I double the recipe so I can leave one of the cakes at home!