Peanut Butter Cookies
These Peanut Butter Cookies have the most amazing melt-in-your-mouth texture, with crisp edges and a creamy, rich center.
Ingredients
- 7.5 ounces by weight all purpose flour (1.5 cups measured)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar*
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter**
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In another medium bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar, for about 60 seconds, until fluffy and light.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla extract for about 30 seconds, until combined.
- Mix in the peanut butter for an additional 30 seconds, until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, then mix just until the flour is incorporated. Take care not to overmix.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out scoops of dough directly onto a baking sheet. You should get about 24 scoops of dough total (split them between two baking sheets).
- Bake for 13 minutes, until the edges are golden, but the middle is still soft. Let them cool for a couple minutes before eating. They are especially fantastic enjoyed warm out of the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
*I've used both light and dark brown sugar and each works well. Use whichever you have.
**While some commenters have reported happy results using a natural peanut butter, I far prefer using the creamy variety for the best texture. When I tested natural, the cookies were more crumbly and dry, with an inferior texture. Brands like Skippy, Jif, etc. make versions you'll want that are very creamy and spreadable. I personally use the organic Whole Foods Brand (the ingredients are peanuts, palm oil, and salt).
Freezing:
- Completely Baked Cookies: Complete the recipe start to finish, then let the cookies cool completely. Place the cookies in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. To enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature, for about 30 minutes.
- Unbaked Dough: You can also freeze these unbaked. I recommend scooping the dough onto a baking sheet, then freezing completely. Then you can remove the frozen dough balls from the tray and place in a bag to save space. For this recipe, I recommend thawing the dough back to room temperature before baking, which should take about an hour. I once tested baking straight from frozen, but I found that they don’t bake quite as evenly.
Storage: Make sure to store these in an airtight container, or they will dry out. These cookies will last about two days at room temperature before losing too much flavor and freshness. Technically they will keep longer than this, but I think the taste is too inferior, and at that point you’d be better off freezing them. See the freezing instructions above.
Make-ahead instructions: After making the dough, scoop it while it's still at room temperature, then keep those dough scoops in the fridge on a sheet pan. Otherwise, you'll need to bring the dough to room temperature in order to scoop again. Make ahead up to 2 days in advance.
Do not overbake these. Keep in mind that when you take the cookies out of the oven, they should seem excessively soft. There will be a little bit of carryover cooking, and the cookies will firm up as they cool, so you want to err on the side of underbaking. Also, if you don’t have an independent oven thermometer (affiliate), they are an inexpensive purchase and very useful for verifying temperature accuracy. Many ovens are not accurate to the temperature they claim. If the cookies turn out dry, simply put, they were overbaked. They should be moist and gooey on the inside.
Double-batch: You can absolutely double or triple this recipe with no problem.
Nutrition
Calories: 166.09kcal, Carbohydrates: 17.6g, Protein: 3.89g, Fat: 9.51g, Saturated Fat: 3.63g, Cholesterol: 16.99mg, Sodium: 172.33mg, Potassium: 96.29mg, Fiber: 0.88g, Sugar: 9.65g, Vitamin A: 128.08IU, Calcium: 15.53mg, Iron: 0.68mg