Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies
Back when my kids were school-age, I knew I needed to have something to appease their appetites when they came home and tumbled in the door. These crunchy, gooey treats always seemed to do the trick, and I had enough mom-sense to make sure there was always a gallon of milk ready for dunking purposes.
The best peanut butter cookie recipe?
My kids seemed to think so; the ultimate comfort cookie, they would always make sure to stow a few away in their lunch boxes. The combination of both extra crunchy peanut butter and ground peanuts ensures that these chewy cookies really pack a peanut butter flavor punch.
What makes these peanut butter cookies so good?
For one thing: see those fork hash marks? They're not just for decoration. They help the cookies bake more evenly. Because peanut butter makes dense dough, it makes it harder to bake through. The criss-cross pattern helps create a soft center while maintaining crispy edges; AKA peanut cookie perfection. (For more peanut butter cookie facts, see down below!)
Extra: Peanut Butter Facts!
- The earliest peanut butter cookie recipes date to the early 1910s
- The Aztecs created a basic peanut butter recipe in the 14th century
- Three people are generally credited with helping to create the modern form of peanut butter we enjoy today: Marcellus Gilmore Edison; Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (he of cornflake fame); and Dr. Ambrose Straub. But not, believe or not, George Washington Carver. He did come up with some 300+ other uses for peanuts though!
Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups roasted salted peanuts, ground in a food processor to resemble breadcrumbs, or 1 cup of the packed ground peanuts.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter with the two sugars until fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Gently fold in the dry ingredients. Add the ground peanuts and stir gently until just incorporated.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or 1½ tablespoons of dough, form dough into large balls. Place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Press each ball of dough with a fork dipped in cold water to create a crosshatch pattern.
- Bake until cookies are puffy and slightly browned along the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies will not look fully baked. Let cookies cool on the sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Once cooled, place cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.