Peanut Butter Cookies-Promise

It's amazing what kids remember. I mean how selective it is. Like, they can't remember that you asked them to clean their room, but they can remember some obscure promise. A few months back, my husband and I were discussing an upcoming trip, and we were talking about the possibility of taking the kids fishing. They were not involved in the conversation. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember them being present. Fast forward to said vacation. We took a different vehicle, couldn't fit the fishing equipment, 1,200 miles from home, made other plans. My father-in-law starts talking about some fishing spots, and suddenly, out of now where, our then 3-year-old, says, "I want to go fishing!" My husband and I exchange glances, and my husband answers, carefully, "Well, we might go."
"But Dad, you said were going fishing! You promised. You lied to me!" We both stood there, slack-jawed.
Whoa, whoa...back up the train. We had been discussing lying lately, but didn't expect to have the tables turned.
Or, how about when you say something like this, "Maybe, (you didn't really mean that, right, Mom?) if you are good, and you clean up your room, and eat all your dinner, and do everything else that I tell you to do, maybe, just maybe we will have ice cream." That's all they heard.Or, we can make cookies. Everything else just fades into the background, and they never let you forget it. "But you said...." "But Mom said...." "Daddy promised...." There are no maybe's or possibilities to children. Just promises. Promises you made and you sure as anything better keep.
So, when you have made that promise, and can't back out, here are some cookies to get you out of a jam.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies with milk Chocolate

2 cups plus 1 teaspoon pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cup, packed brown sugar
3/4 cup plus sugar
2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped milk chocolate
1 cup chopped peanuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine the pastry flour, baking soda, and salt, and whisk well.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add the peanut butter and vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed to blend. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing on low speed until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the chocolate, and beat briefly on low speed, just until evenly incorporated. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter onto the prepared sheet pan, taking care to leave plenty of space between cookies.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and pale golden around the edges, but their tops have no color.  After five minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.