Mozart and Peanut Butter

One of the many, many wonderful things about living in New York City is the gobs of free culture floating around everywhere. Gobs! Among my favorite of the aforementioned gobs is the annual concerts in the park, hosted by the Metropolitan Opera and the Philharmonic. Unfortunately, I was away this summer for the opera concert, but thanks to a handy bout of swine flu, four friends and I found ourselves in Central Park on a perfect night, listening to some Mozart and having a lovely time.

"But wait, Sarah!" you say. "What does this have to do with baking?" Patience, grasshopper. Bringing a picnic dinner is a time-honored tradition at the concerts, and in addition to the usual spread from Zabars, we made Dorie Greenspan's Peanut Butter Criss Cross cookies. And just as, once upon a time, Rebecca and I put peanut butter cups into chocolate chip cookies, so too did we insert chocolate chips into these peanut butter cookies. What a vicious, delicious cycle.

These cookies were great! They managed to avoid the usual peanut butter cookie traps of either being too dry or being so rich that you gasp and beg for a glass of milk whenever you take a bite. That said, they were kind of annoying to make. Luckily, I had several lovely assistants to do the criss-crossing with the forks, which is definitely the most time-consuming part of the process. Make them with a friend, make them for a picnic- just make them!