Peanut Butter-Barley Cookies with Add-Ins

Ingredients

4 ounces (115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar

½ cup lightly packed (105 g) light or dark brown sugar

½ cup (120 g) peanut butter, smooth or crunchy (you decide)

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons (165 g) barley flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

ADD-INS (OPTIONAL; SEE NOTE)

2 cups (270 g) crumbled

Peanut Brittle (recipe follows)

1 cup (50 g) crushed potato chips

1 cup (180 g) Reese's Pieces candy

Directions

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the peanut butter and mix just to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla a bit with a fork. Add to the butter and sugars and mix until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the barley flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the dough and mix on low speed until the flour is about halfway incorporated. If you're going for an add-in, stop the mixer, add the add-in, and finish mixing in the flour. Otherwise, just keep mixing the flour until it's incorporated. Don't overmix, or your cookies could be tough.

Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment. Scoop up 2-tablespoon balls of cookie dough and arrange them a few inches apart on the baking sheets. The cookies will ooze a little if they include brittle or candies, so leave plenty of space between them.

Bake until the cookies just start to puff and crack and turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes on the baking sheet (they'll be really fragile at first) before transferring to a rack to finish cooling completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

Note: If you're using more than one add-in, the total amount should not exceed 2 cups, so adjust as necessary.

Variation

For the best ice cream sandwich cookies: Replace 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar in the dough with 2 tablespoons honey and bake as directed. Sandwich a big scoop of chocolate, strawberry, or salted caramel ice cream between 2 cookies, freeze for a few hours, and enjoy. The cookies will be soft and perfectly chewy.

The subtle nuttiness of barley flour harmonizes really nicely with the peanut flavor in these crisp-chewy cookies. We're giving you three options for add-ins here-potato chips, peanut brittle, and Reese's Pieces candies-but the basic cookie is so satisfying, you can skip the add-ins and enjoy the simplicity. —Makes about 2 dozen cookies