Warm Cookies: The World's Most Powerful Substance

I play in a band.

What does this have to do with warm cookies, you ask? Patience, grasshopper. We'll get there.

It was just three days before an important gig when my amp started acting up -- crackling and buzzing instead of nice clean music. I called my local repair shop and explained the problem.

"Probably a loose connection. Bring it in," he said.

"How soon can you get to it?" I asked.

"We're swamped. I won't be able to even look at it for at least a week. Maybe two."

"But I have a gig on Saturday!"

"Everybody has a gig."

What to do? As usual when I'm panicked about something, I ran to the kitchen and looked in the pantry, hoping that by some miracle, salvation will be sitting there between the soup and the tuna. Sometimes it's there, usually it's not. Miracles are unreliable that way. Today fate was on my side in the form of a jar of peanut butter.

This is not a new cookie recipe. I've made it for years but it always surprises me how good it is for something so simple and how most people I describe it to don't believe that it will even MAKE cookies -- sometimes while eating them.

MAGIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 cup of peanut butter
3/4 cup of sugar
1 egg

Mix it all up, roll by hand into 1" balls and plop them on a cookie sheet. Don't smash them down, just leave 'em alone. Pop in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes. They'll be very soft when they first come out -- don't worry, they firm up quick. But you'll never want a different peanut butter cookie. I promise.

Variations are up to you. I'm a purist, but use your imagination -- creamy or chunky peanut butter, add-ins such as mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut or chopped dates. Try this: Press a Hershey's Kiss into the middle of each one just as it comes out of the oven. Bliss!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, fried amp. I baked the cookies, boxed them up as soon as they were firm enough, tossed cookies and amp in the car and zipped off to the repair shop.

I will never forget the look of delighted, childlike wonder on his face when he opened the box and they were still warm.

He repaired my amp while I waited.

To my fellow musicians: I apologize for jumping in front of you, but honestly I only delayed your repair by maybe a half hour, tops. And you totally would have done the same if you'd thought of it. Don't lie.

I figure beer would work too. But he will never forget those cookies.