I want to start off by saying, if you are allergic to peanuts, look away. There is some serious NSFW peanut butter love coming up and I don’t want to offend/or make life any harder for you.
Now that THAT is out of the way. Let’s talk peanut butter cookies! One of my top 20 favorite cookies. Yes I said 20, I just love cookies, don’t hate, I am an equal opportunity cookie enthusiast.
A good peanut butter cookie isn’t necessarily hard to find, it really depends what you are looking for – but I guess that is always the case, isn’t it? For me, a good peanut butter cookie is sturdy but not crunchy, so it has a little give to it, is sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet, and it is not dry. That last part is probably the most important factor. Dry cookies are THE WORST.
Finding a recipe for a peanut butter cookie with the perfect texture is not super hard. That isn’t the issue. The issue is most of those delicious cookies use shortening instead of butter. Now, I personally don’t have a big issue with shortening, but many of the people I force my baked goods on turn their nose up at shortening.
This recipe is for every peanut butter loving person you know, even those who are anti-shortening. These babies are all butter, no shortening in sight.
Did I mention they are the perfect base cookie for an ice cream sammy! I made mine oversized so they made the most delicious extra large sandwiches. Or if that is a little too much cookie for you, another idea might be to add some to your freshly churned (or store bought, no judgement) ice cream, either by crumbling a few up and mixing them in or just adding it to a sundae. There is literally no wrong way to eat these.
Ok, now it’s time for you to go make them, unless you are allergic to peanuts, in that case, I am so sorry.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Stand or Hand Mixer (although these can be made completely by hand if needed)
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter no stir kind
- 3 cups All – Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- Additional Granulated Sugar for Rolling
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer combine butter and sugars. Mix on medium for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Once totally smooth add the eggs one at a time and mix on high for about 1 minute, or until fully combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the vanilla and peanut butter to the bowl, mix on high until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until combined. Make sure not to overmix.
- Once the dough is combined (you will know it is ready because it will be pretty thick and sticky) it is time to chill. Cover the bowl tightly and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours (maximum of 2 days).
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Using a scooper or a spoon, portion the dough into balls, I wanted these to be extra large so I combined 2 – 1.5 tablespoons scoops for each cookie. This next step is optional, in a small bowl put the remainder of the granulated sugar and roll the dough in the sugar. This step adds a lovely, and sweet, crunch to the outside of the cookie.
- Place each ball of dough about 2 inches apart on the prepped baking sheets. Last step before placing the cookies in the oven, use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern in the tops of each of the cookies.
- Bake for about 11 minutes rotating halfway through at the 5-minute mark. The centers will look very soft and undone but the edges should be lightly browned.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, enjoy!
