Best Peanut Butter Cookies – Soft and Chewy Peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter cookies are so easy to make, soft, chewy, and delicious!! This recipe has all the peanut flavor that you’re craving and just the right amount of sweetness.
This classic peanut butter cookie is just a traditional old-fashioned recipe with simple ingredients. Peanut butter is a smooth, creamy mixture made from roasted peanuts. Most of the store-bought peanut butter may include salt, a sweetener, and sometimes a stabilizer (to keep the oil from separating).
The ones branded “Old-Fashioned” or “Natural” do not contain a stabilizer, which means the peanut butter will separate and you will have to stir it before using.
What Ingredients You’ll Need For This Recipe
- All-purpose flour: Sift the flour. One of the most common errors in this recipe is using too much flour. A kitchen scale is the best and most convenient way to measure flour. If you don’t have one, use a spoon to fluff your flour, then sprinkle it into the measuring cup and level it out with a knife.
- Baking powder: Baking soda and baking powder are important leaveners for making cakes and cookies rise.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter:
- Peanut butter: This recipe calls for smooth peanut butter, but chunky peanut butter would work just as well. If you’re using natural peanut butter, make sure to thoroughly combine it before using it.
- Light brown sugar: packed means you press it down a bit since the sugar has space in between. This peanut butter cookie recipe can be made with either light or dark brown sugar. The darker the brown, the more caramel-like the flavor.
- White sugar
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds a nice flavor to baked goods, but is not necessary to make this recipe works.
You can omit vanilla extract if you prefer. you can substitute every 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with 2 teaspoons of double-acting baking powder
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies
Classic Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (250 gram)
- 1/2 cup 1-stick unsalted butter (softened), 113 gram
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 gram)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (100 gram)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract, 5 mL
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (180 gram)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Prepare the baking sheet with parchment paper. You can either grease your baking sheets, spray them with cooking spray or use a silicone baking mat.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a stand mixer or using hand mixer cream butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add peanut butter and 1/4 tsp salt, and mix until all combined. Add 1 large egg at room temperature, and the vanilla. Beat all together until well combined.
- Add dry flour mixture and beat on low speed. Scrape the sides then increase the speed and beat until all combined very well.
- Roll dough into one-inch balls and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Space them apart by about 10 cm.
- Flat each ball with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown but the middle is still soft.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on a baking sheet, they need to set before being transferred to a wire rack. They can be kept at room temperature for 3 to 5 days in an airtight container, or they can be frozen.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
How to check when cookies are done
You’ll know the cookies are almost done when the edges are beginning to turn color. After they’ve been removed from the oven, they’ll continue to bake due to the remaining internal heat and firm up.
WHAT PEANUT BUTTER SHOULD YOU USE FOR THESE COOKIES?
- You can use any brand of store-bought peanut butter for this recipe. I recommend using peanut butter that is solid at room temperature (Skippy Natural, Jijf etc.).
- If you’re using natural peanut butter that doesn’t contain any stabilizers make sure to mix the peanut butter thoroughly before measuring. Natural oil might accumulate near the top of the jar, causing excess liquid. This will result in very runny cookies.
- There’s no need to use sweetened peanut butter, you can use smooth, salty peanut butter for the best results.
Do you need to chill the cookie dough before making
No, the cookie dough does not need to be chilled, however, if you do want to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it, the cookies will bake up just fine.
Why do you need to press down with a fork?
Peanut butter cookies are denser than other cookies, so they won’t spread out much in the oven and won’t bake evenly unless you level them out and firmly press them down.
how to store peanut butter cookies
Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Stand Mixer
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Useful Equipment
- Silicon Baking Mat: No grease, cooking sprays, or parchment paper are required to release food from nonstick silicone. It is 480°F oven safe and easy to clean with soap and warm water
- Spatula