Peanut Butter Cookies
We wanted a peanut butter cookie that was crisp around the edges and chewy in the center, with a buttery, sweet, and deeply peanutty flavor. We added peanut butter to our dough until we reached 1 cup; any more and the cookies were dense and heavy. To increase nuttiness without adding more peanut butter, we used extra-crunchy peanut butter and then mixed in a cup of salted dry-roasted peanuts, which we processed to fine crumbs. The extra peanuts and salt gave the cookie a strong roasted-nut flavor without sacrificing its wonderful texture. Finally, we thought of one last way we could further accentuate the cookie's nuttiness: sugar. We had been using granulated sugar, but a combination of granulated and brown sugars proved best. The white sugar yielded crisp-edged cookies, while the brown sugar's deep molasses notes underscored the peanut flavor.
Servings: 24 Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 ½ ounces all-purpose flour 2 ½ cups
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 7 ounces packed light brown sugar 1 cup
- 7 ounces granulated sugar 1 cup
- 8.5 ounces extra-crunchy peanut butter 1 cup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350°F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare the dry-ingredients:
- Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
- Pulse peanuts in a food processor to fine crumbs, about 14 pulses.
Prepare the dough:
- Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add peanut butter and beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Mix in ground peanuts until incorporated.
- Give dough final stir by hand to ensure that no flour pockets remain.
Form the cookies:
- Working with 3 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. (#20 portion scoop = 3.2 tablespoons, #24 portion scoop = 2.67 tablespoons)
- Using a fork, make crosshatch design on cookies. (Raw cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month; bake frozen cookies in a 300-degree oven for 17 to 22 minutes.)
Bake the cookies:
- Bake cookies until edges are golden and centers have puffed but are beginning to deflate, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool on sheets for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm or transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.