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| A good sturdy basic peanut butter cookie. |
My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
I love peanut butter cookies and every once in awhile I get a craving for some. I can say two things for sure - that I do not like the 3 ingredient, flourless peanut butter cookie recipes, though I've included that one for those of you who do. We used to make those back in my low carb days, using Splenda. Second, I have to have the right balance between the sweetness and the nuttiness, and not too much of the one or the other. I really like this recipe because it seems to have a nice mix of the two.Now... you are supposed to press the traditional crosshatching into the top of each cookie with the floured tines of a fork as you flatten it, and this is a very soft dough that requires chill time, several hours or even overnight is better - just to be able to roll them into balls. I have been known to use a cookie scoop when I'm in the midst of a craving for them and just leave them in rounded balls, and they turn out pretty good that way.
To avoid having flat crisp cookies that spread too much, these cookies do benefit when given that time to chill though, and even better when after you roll them into balls, you give them another chill before adding the crosshatch markings and baking them. They also do better when cooked directly on an ungreased basic cookie sheet - no silpat, no parchment, no air bake pans - retaining their chew and spreading much less, and be sure to use a fresh, cool baking sheet for each new batch. A warm sheet will cause the cookie to spread too early.
Here's how to make them.
My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (like Jif)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups of all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Cream the butter, shortening and peanut butter together until fluffy. Add both of the sugars, salt and each egg, adding one in at a time until incorporated.
- Measure the flour into a large bowl, then whisk in the baking soda. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to the sugar mixture and blend in.
- Cover the bowl and put in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or overnight.
- Pinch off about one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Place onto cookie sheet and repeat with remaining dough, placing the cookie sheet into the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place cookies on sheet about an inch apart and flatten using the tines of a dinner fork dipped into flour to press a crosscut design into each cookie.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned, as all ovens vary in how they bake. Let cookies cool slightly on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes:
For a more grainy cookie, omit the butter and increase the vegetable shortening to 1 full cup. To avoid a thin cookie that has too much spread, allow time for the dough to chill several hours, or even overnight, before baking. I prefer to bake these directly on an ungreased basic cookie sheet using a fresh, cool baking sheet for each batch. Makes about 4 to 5 dozen cookies, depending on size you make them. Do not substitute a natural peanut butter. Add in an (11 ounce) bag of chocolate, cinnamon, butterscotch, white, peanut butter swirl or your favorite baking chips.
Sandwich Cooking Filling: Cream together 3 tablespoons softened butter with 1 cup powdered sugar. Stir in 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter until well blended, adding milk until consistency is spreadable, but not too thin (about 2 tablespoons roughly). Spread on underside of baked cookie and top with another cookie.
Three Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies: We used to make these in my low carb days using Splenda for the sugar. I much prefer a real cookie with flour, but many of you love this simple cookie, so I'm including it here. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together 1 cup of sugar with 1 egg. Blend in 1 cup of peanut butter. Pinch off small pieces of dough and form a ball, placing on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use the tines of a dinner fork to flatten and create a crosshatch mark on each cookie. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden in color along the edges.
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| 3 Piece Cookie Scoop Set, 1, 1-1/2 & 3 Tablespoon Sizes |
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