What is more enticing than a fresh-baked cookie that’s still warm from the oven? Everyone loves a homemade, sweet and gooey cookie. The store-bought cookies do not compare to the ones made at home with love and care. Peanut butter cookies are a specialty salty and sweet treat that can please any crowd. People love eating this indulgent treat with a glass of ice-cold milk. This recipe will impress your audience and leave them craving more. If you make these cookies yourself, you can save money and calories! You can avoid the packaged cookies at the grocery store which are loaded with preservatives and artificial flavors, colors, and ingredients. These fresh peanut butter cookies have a superior taste and flavor. I have baked these cookies for several holiday parties, birthday parties, and potlucks. They are a hit every time! People always ask me for the recipe.
If you are looking for a fun activity to do with the kids, whip out your baking supplies and give this recipe a try! It is fun for the whole family to mix together the ingredients and make little balls of peanut buttery goodness. The taste of a homemade peanut butter cookie is honestly one of a kind. They are sweet yet a little salty and full of that rich butter flavor. Baking these cookies from scratch is superior to buying them at the store because it truly is a simple recipe and the end result is so worth it!
Peanut butter cookies are a delicious blend of simple ingredients that you may already have in your pantry. These common and every day ingredients mix together to create these magical and delectable cookies.
Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Beat in the eggs.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour and add in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir the combined dry ingredients into the butter mixture bowl to create dough.
- Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets (common size of 18 by 13 inch) with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork and be sure to create crisscross pattern.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until desired doneness.
Over the course of my baking career, I have discovered some handy tricks that work for me when making peanut butter cookies.
Enjoy your Peanut Butter Cookies within 2 days
If you want your cookies to taste delicious and fresh, you need to use consume the cookies within 2 days. The cookies keep best in an air-tight container. If you are baking these for a holiday or a party, do not bake them more than 1 day in advance. If you still have some leftover cookies after two days that you want to enjoy, you can soften them up with this easy trick. Wrap a cookie in a damp paper towel and microwave on the medium setting for 15 to 20 seconds. This will breathe life back into the cookie to make it soft and moist.
Mix it up with crunchy peanut butter
Sometimes you want a silky-smooth peanut butter cookie, but when you are feeling a little different, crunchy peanut butter is the way to go! Using crunchy peanut butter adds an enjoyable crisp texture to your cookies that will satisfy your sweet tooth. If you want an extra fresh crunch, add finely chopped peanuts to the recipe.
Use real butter in you cookies
When you are baking, especially if you bake often or in large quantities, it is tempting to buy butter substitutes. Real butter can get expensive real quick! In order to save a buck, you may be wondering if you can make these tasty cookies without real butter. In my experience, if you want the best tasting cookies, do not use any imitation butters. Do not replace real butter with shortening or margarine. The end result is not as rich. If you are on a budget, try making this recipe less often so that you can keep the ingredients as high quality as possible in order for it to be a special treat!
Be consistent with your measurements
When baking, you do have to be quite precise with your measurements in order to achieve a good product. The best way to do this is with a digital food scale. However, if you do not have a digital food scale, do not be alarmed as you can still make scrumptious cookies. Just make sure that you have several sets of the same brand of measuring spoons and cups. Different brands have different manufacturing methods and the measurement of a half cup could vary wildly from one brand to the next. To keep it consistent, make sure you are using the same brand of measuring cup (for example, Pyrex) to measure 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of flour. Always spoon your flour and level out your measuring cup when you are measuring flour.
Take the cookies to the next level
If you want to take these cookies to the next culinary level or if you’re just a lover of everything sweet, try dipping these cookies in some melted milk chocolate! Chocolate and peanut butter go together like peas and carrots. It is a match made in heaven for these two delicious ingredients. Several popular candies like Reese’s peanut butter cups or Butterfinger’s display the artful combination of chocolate and peanut butter. You can dip the baked peanut butter cookies in milk chocolate and make beautiful and intricate designs or you can drizzle some white chocolate on top of them for a messy yet refined look. You could also add peanut butter, butterscotch, or chocolate chips to the recipe. If you like a chewier cookie, you could even add oats! The possibilities are endless when you want to dress up these classic cookies.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES FAQ
When baking your peanut butter cookies, many questions may come to your mind. Here are the most frequently asked questions and their very helpful answers!
Can i make the dough in advance?
Yes, you can. This particular dough recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance. However, you will need to leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes before you start to mold your little cookie balls. The recipe has a very high fat content, which comes from the butter and peanut butter. This means the fat will go solid in the refrigerator so it won’t be as pliable as soon as you take it out. Just set it on your counter and come back half an hour later before sculpting your cookies.
Can i double the recipe?
Absolutely! I’ve made this recipe for many parties and gathering where I have needed a large yield of cookies. Simply double all the ingredients listed in the recipe and you will be good to go for all your party needs.
Do the cookies freeze well?
If you accidentally made too many cookies or if you are anything like me and intentionally made a lot of cookies to enjoy later, you can absolutely freeze these peanut butter cookies. Once baked and completely cooled, simply stack these cookies with sheets of parchment paper in between in an air-tight container. Make sure you have an air-tight container as you want to avoid any freezer burn. These cookies keep in the freezer for up to two months. When you are ready to enjoy them, simply thaw the cookies at room temperature.
Why are my cookies crumbly?
If your cookies are crumbly, you likely used too much flour. Always make sure that you spoon and level your flour in the measuring cup. This lets your flour measurement be as accurate as possible. You do not want to let flour get packed into the bottom of your measuring cup as this will give you more flour than required for the recipe. Another reason for crumbly cookies could be the type of peanut butter used. All-natural nut butters may be better for your health but they are not the type of nut butter that you need for this recipe. A final reason that could explain crumbly cookies is that they are simply over-baked. Peanut butter cookies are deceiving in the oven because when they are done, they will appear to be a little underdone. Do not worry as they will firm up as they cool outside of the oven.
What is the purpose of the fork marks?
Believe it or not, the fork marks that you think are merely decorative actually serve a practical purpose as well! Peanut butter cookie dough is typically more dense than other doughs. The pressing down of the fork onto the cookie dough ball helps flatten the dough without over-compressing it. This helps the cookies bake evenly.
HISTORY OF PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
The history of the peanut butter cookies goes back to the 1910s. George Washington Carver, an American scientist, was responsible for the promotion of the peanut as a replacement for the cotton crop. He put together 105 different peanut recipes from various cookbooks and made a research bulletin titled How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption. He had recipes for peanut cookies that had crushed or chopped peanuts in them but it wasn’t until the early 1930s that peanut butter was listed as an ingredient in the cookies.
TRY IT OUT!
This is one of the simplest and most delicious peanut butter cookie recipes that you will find out there. The next time you are uninspired in the kitchen, make sure to bust out this recipe and try it out. This will cultivate the creative baker in you and will let you try something new. Everyone gets better at baking by practicing it more often. I encourage you to try out this delicious recipe and share the cookies with your friends and family.
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