Peanut Butter Cookies

I run. Not just for exercise or for the stress relief, but just because I really enjoy it. I haven’t always been a runner though. I’ve only been running for about 2 years It’s gone from being something that I just wanted to see if I could do… to something that I have to do.

Ever since I started kicking my mileage up to train for marathons, I notice that I crave salt so much. I contribute that to the fact that I always sweat buckets when I run, and I’m depleting my electrolytes and salt reserves when I run (who know if the salt part is really true, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?).

Previous to these random and serious salt cravings, I never really thought much about peanut butter cookies. They were never sweet enough for me. I preferred sweeter, chocolatey desserts. Not anymore. Now, I'll get these urgent and random salty, sweet cravings. I rummage around in my kitchen, I eat some popcorn (with extra salt added to it), then I immediately eat some hershey kisses. Salty and then sweet. In that order.

A couple of months ago, I made flourless peanut butter cookies Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies . I don’t even really like peanut butter cookies that much. But those cookies were so deliciously sweet and salty, that I have been craving them ever since. I keep opening my freezer hoping to see one that I forgot about, but alas, they’re all gone and have been for awhile now.

Since I started this blog, I hate baking the same recipe twice. Mainly because I feel like I can’t really blog about something more than once. It’s too boring. So, even though I’ve been wanting to make those cookies again, I’ve refrained.

So, this weekend, I really wanted those salty-sweet cookies, and I decided to make these cookies instead. Smitten Kitchen Peanut Butter Cookies

I chose to use half shortening instead of butter (and actually now that I type this, I think I actually forgot to add the water that you are supposed to add when you substitute shortening for butter in a recipe, ooops) and I didn’t use chopped peanuts. I used chocolate chips and m&ms.

These were really good cookies. But, honestly…. I still prefer the flourless ones. They did satisfy my salty sweet craving, though. At least for a time.