Dan Lepard's muscovado peanut cookies recipe

The unrefined sugar gives these cookies a rich, dark flavour, but it can taste slightly bitter with a strong, mineral kick, which is where the lemon and cocoa come in. The lemon brightens the flavour on the first bite, while the cocoa helps to push the aftertaste towards chocolate. 75g unsalted butter, softened 50g crunchy peanut butter 225g muscovado or dark molasses sugar 1 good tbsp black treacle or molasses Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 1 large egg 200g plain flour 1 tbsp cocoa 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 175g salted peanuts In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, treacle and lemon until smooth. Add the egg and beat in really well. Add the flour, cocoa and soda, mix until the soft dough is smooth, then stir in the peanuts. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with foil or nonstick paper. Place round, teaspoon-sized balls of the dough on to the tray, spaced 5cm apart, and bake for 12-14 minutes, until puffed. Remove the tray from the oven and leave for five minutes to set slightly, then use a spatula to move the cookies to a wire rack or cold plate to cool. danlepard.com/guardian