Peanut Butter Cookies
These favorite Peanut Butter Cookies are thick, soft, and chewy with a rich, sweet peanut butter flavor. Want to take them up a notch? Dip them in melted chocolate!
Servings: 24 large cookies
Cost: $5.72
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted; 1 cup
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark, lightly packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling (optional)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter see note 1
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional!
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour see note 2
Optional Chocolate Dip
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking bar or milk or dark chocolate
Instructions
- Line a large sheet pan with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) and set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter until it’s melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature (hot butter will melt sugars and cause greasy cookies). Once at room temperature, use a spatula to scrape every bit of butter into a large bowl and add brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with a large whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add peanut butter, almond extract (if using), and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add 1 egg. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated, then add the second egg. Again, mix until ingredients are just incorporated. Add baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated. Add flour and mix again until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, up to 1 hour—see note 3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into large balls that are each 3 packed tablespoons (60 grams) in size (see note 4) and if desired, roll dough balls in some extra granulated sugar. Place dough balls on a lined sheet pan—6 cookies at a time—leaving ample room (2-inches) between cookies.
- Bake for 8–14 minutes. Ever so slightly under-baking the cookies will keep them soft and chewy. (They also bake a bit more on the sheet pan when removed from the oven.) Be careful to not overbake!
- Remove the cookies (if any edges are going wayward, working quickly, press the edges inwards with a metal spatula) and allow them to cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Cool completely before dipping in chocolate (optional step).
- Optionally dip in chocolate: Coarsely chop the chocolate bar into evenly sized pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl (see note 5). Microwave in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring between each burst for 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate, scrape the bottom of the cookie on the bowl, then transfer the cookie to a sheet of parchment paper. Allow chocolate to set at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Note 1: I love and highly recommend Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter in these cookies (not sponsored). I don’t recommend a natural peanut butter that needs stirring.
Note 2: Measuring flour varies from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. If you have a food scale, use that instead of measuring cups. 385 grams is perfect for this recipe!
Note 3: The dough is best chilled for 30 minutes to an hour; after that, it begins to dry out and become crumbly, so it is hard to roll into balls. If you need to chill longer, just roll out the cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-covered plate. Cover tightly and chill for up to 24 hours.
Note 4: Cookies work best at this size. While you may want smaller cookies, know that the texture is not the same. The sweet spot for this recipe is exactly 3 tablespoons (60 grams) of dough.
Note 5: Use high-quality chocolate melting wafers/baking bars for best results. Melt in the microwave slowly, stirring a lot between bursts. If you’d like more tips on melting chocolate in the microwave, check out this peppermint bark post. If chocolate is too thick and not dipping well, thin with 1 up to 2 teaspoons coconut or vegetable oil.
Storage: Store these Peanut Butter Cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for 3–4 days. Baked cookies freeze okay, but it’s better to freeze the dough, which can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.3g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 13.7g | Cholesterol: 35.8mg | Sodium: 55.4mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 17.6g