Peanut Butter Cookies

As you know, an invite to a friends house for lunch is always an excuse to do some baking and Saturday was no exception. We were invited to Norbiton for lunch and rugby watching (six nations fans will understand) so my challenge was to make something that didn't have chocolate in it and was quick and easy to do on Saturday morning. I chose Peanut Butter Cookies from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, assembled my ingredients and set to work. I used my new Breville stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar, but I'm not sure how good it is. It doesn't seem to mix very well, certainly not until it's "light and fluffy". I'm not sure what I need to do, maybe I just need to leave it for longer, be more patient. But I didn't and carried on adding in the eggs, peanut butter, flour, bicarbonate of soda and vanilla essence. Measuring the amount per cookie and the space between them has never been my strong point, I always think that they are too small and add more. That's what I did on Saturday and, of course, they all melded into one another and looked a bit like a jigsaw puzzle! Not great for gifts. Luckily I had some more cookie dough left and managed to make a decent batch which then made it to my friends. The picture shows mine next to what they should look like, I don't know how they get that cracked surface and I didn't really like the taste, they tasted a bit like bicarbonate of soda and very little like peanut butter. Was that the fault of the recipe, me (I put everything in as I was instructed) or was it something to do with the mixing, the Breville? I need to persevere with it, I can't just dismiss it after a few goes. I guess it's like anything I have to get the measure of it. So Friday will be my next usage and we shall see how we go.