I’ve been in a baking rut lately. Mainly baking cookies cause they are so quick & easy, my guy loves them, & they are portion controlled. My guy’s mom sent me a link to the United States of Cookies which says there are 50 States thus 50 reasons to bake with a cookie from each state.

This was sent to me last Friday. I thought it was awesome. New recipes to try & then I realized there were 50 weeks left in the year. 50 states, 50 cookies, in 50 weeks? Yes please! I thought it would be a perfect mini-challenge for me to complete this year. I haven’t done a baking challenge in awhile so this was like a gift from the baking gods. It couldn’t have turned out more perfectly.

First state in alphabetical order is Alabama. Their cookie was the Salted Caramel Peanut Butter cookie. I had all the ingredients in my baking cupboard so that too was perfect. Personally, I think the caramel needs to be tripled. Not every cookie gets some or enough. Adding the caramel drizzle would help with this as well. The recipe tells you that the caramel will ooze out & any excess can be broken off when transferred to a wire rack to cool. What they don’t tell you is how hard it will be to refrain from eating all those tasty caramel bits that break off.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/salted-caramel-peanut-butter-cookies-alabama/

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie from Alabama (recipe from Laura from Southern Made Simple) 
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Corn Starch
2-1/2 cups Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
10-15 Soft Caramel Candies chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup Salted Peanut Halves
a sprinkle of Course Sea Salt for each cookie
Caramel topping for adding an extra drizzle optional

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars While mixing, add in eggs one at a time.
Add in vanilla, baking soda and corn starch. Add in caramel pieces and peanut halves.
Slowly add in flour – making sure it gets fully incorporated into the dough Scoop a spoon full of dough into your hands and roll into a ball – making sure no caramel pieces are visible. You can gently flatten the dough a little with your palm if you like a flatter cookie.
Place each ball on a foil lined greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with just a pinch of sea salt.
Bake for 10-12 minutes (Note: Caramel WILL ooze out – don’t be alarmed). Allow to cool on pan for no longer than a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling (Any excess caramel that oozed out should easily break off at this time). Serve with a glass of milk and enjoy!