We always had peanut butter cookies for after school snack. Well, almost always. And we always loved them. There’s something about that sweet-salty combination that is just so more-ish.
This base recipe makes about 12 cookies. The recipe is scalable, so you are welcome to make more if you’d like. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe for basic peanut butter cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, , room temperature
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For Rolling
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, , for rolling
Instructions
- Make this cookie using The Creaming Method.
- Cream together the sugars, butter and salt until creamy. It does not have to be light and fluffy, but the mixture should be soft and uniform.
- Beat in the egg, scraping bowl as necessary.
- Whisk together the flour, soda and baking powder.
- Mix the flour mixture in on low speed. Finish mixing by hand to avoid overworking the dough.
- If you can wait, refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and up to 24. This allows the dough to ripen, and your cookies will taste better. They'll still taste great if you can't wait, though, so don't worry about it if you're impatient.
- Scoop into equal portions and roll each portion into a smooth ball.
- Roll the balls of dough in the granulated sugar and place on cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten the balls slightly with the heel of your hand, and then press the tines of a fork into the cookies, once one way and once the other to achieve the traditional cross-hatch pattern.
- Bake at 350F, 2 sheets at a time, for about 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time.
- Let cookies cool on racks for about 5 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool completely.
Notes
Feel free to use chunky or smooth peanut butter. Consider mixing in up to 2 cups of candy coated chocolates, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or chopped up pieces of candy bars. Yum. You could even substitute some oatmeal for some of the flour--say maybe 1/4 cup or so. Then, you could add some raisins. Before you say, "Oh, gross, Jen!" just hear me out. I figure folks like ants on a log, and that iconic lunchbox snack pairs raisins with peanut butter, so why not? The point is, just don't box yourself in--try something new; you may love it!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 141Saturated Fat 3gCholesterol 16mgSodium 145mgCarbohydrates 18gSugar 13gProtein 2g
Melanie says
Can Crisco be used instead of butter? Im starting to bake tho Im dairy intolerant.
Jennifer Field says
Yes it can. If I were you, I’d at least go with butter-flavored Crisco (if they still make it…?) Shortening works fine but doesn’t add any additional flavor.
Chris says
Wouldn’t using up to 2 cups chocolate chips vs. the 1/2 cup peanut butter drown out the peanut butter flavor for a much more cholatey one?
Jennifer Field says
Not really. Since the chips are discrete pieces of chocolatey goodness, you still get plenty of peanut flavor in the dough itself, Chris. Of course, it’s your call if you want to dial back the amount of chips, though!