Dessert First

Yields: About 5 dozen

Cook’s notes: This is a basic recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies, and it’s fabulous as is: With nothing to mask the peanuts, the flavor is full-on and the crumbly-chewy texture makes your teeth ache with pleasure. Gilding the lily is especially fun here, though: Add a dash of vanilla, a pinch of salt, or about a cup of chocolate chips or mini M&Ms (these can be hard to find, but some groceries stock them with chocolate chips). Sandwich them with ganache, drizzle the tops with melted chocolate, or press a mini Hershey’s kiss into the tops as soon as they come out of the oven.

1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together peanut butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in egg, then baking soda, until well mixed.

Roll (or scoop) teaspoons of dough into balls and place about 1 inch apart on greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheets. With tines of a fork, flatten balls slightly, pressing down to make a crosshatch pattern. Bake cookies until puffed and pale golden, about 10 minutes. (If you bake more than one sheet at a time, swap them from top to bottom after 5 minutes.)

Cool cookies on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.