It’s funny to me that I haven’t posted any baked goods yet because I love baking and my family and friends treat me as the go-to-girl for and baked goods needs they may have. Boyfriend’s favorites are peanut butter cookies, which I happen to love as well, so I decided to whip up a batch on this last Memorial Day Weekend. Almost all of the cookie recipes I use are from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. I grew up using this cookbook for all my baking, so it’s the first place I look for any basic baking recipe. This cookbook has really great cookie dough recipes that can be easy altered for chewy or crunchier cookies based on needs or tastes.
Probably because Ma’s edition of the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook is a few decades old, my copy of the Classic Peanut Butter Cookies recipe has one small difference from the version online: it calls for only baking soda instead of both baking soda and baking powder. Other than, that it’s the same old peanut butter cookie dough I love, made from butter, peanut butter (I use chunky peanut butter for the added texture), sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and flour.
Starting with beaten softened butter (which can be achieved by either leaving it out at room temperature until it’s soft or by popping it into the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds), then beating in sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter (I suggest adding them in that order so that you can using the same measuring cup without worrying about cross-contamination) until the dough is creamy and gritty. Add in the egg and vanilla to make a thinner and runnier dough before finishing up the dough by beating in the dry ingredients. I always add in the flour in portions so that I can control the consistency of my dough rather than being stuck with however it comes out with the amount that’s called for. Since I prefer my cookies chewier, I always aim for a less cakey dough, so I don’t always use all of the flour called for in the recipe.
Bake these cookies at 375° F for 7 minutes until the color is barely changed but the cookies have expanded and then let them sit on the warm baking sheet for another minute after pulling them out so that they set if you want to get chewy cookies that don’t fall apart.
These cookies are super easy to make and they’re super delicious. I came out with 35 this time around and I doubt they’ll even last through the weekend with Boyfriend and I both constantly grazing on them.
culinesstress 