Serves
Makes 50 cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup tightly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup plus ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup creamy or chunky peanut butter, at room temperature
- 1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Procedure
Whether you like your peanut butter cookies made with chunky peanut butter or smooth, these classic cookies are rich and crumbly, perfect with a glass of milk. The peanut is actually a legume that grows underground. It made its debut at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 and has remained a beloved American food since then.
Position an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat
the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment
paper.
Put the butter, the brown sugar, and the ½ cup granulated
sugar in a large bowl. Using a mixer, beat on low speed for 1
minute. Turn up the speed to medium and beat for another
minute. The mixture should be blended and smooth. Scrape
down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat
on low speed until well blended. Add the peanut butter and
beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Put the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and
whisk until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the batter
and beat on low speed just until the dough is smooth and no
patches of flour are visible. Scrape down the bowl one last time,
and make sure no clumps of flour are hiding in the bottom.
Use an ice-cream scoop to shape the dough
into cookies. You can also shape the dough
by measuring out 1 level tablespoon for each
cookie, and then rolling the dough between
your palms into a ball. Space the balls about
2 inches apart on the prepared baking
sheets.
Use a fork to press down firmly on top of
each ball once in each direction, to form a
crisscross pattern.
Place one baking sheet on each oven rack.
Bake for 5 minutes, then switch the pans
between the oven racks. Bake for another
6 to 7 minutes, until the cookies are golden
brown around the edges. Transfer the pans
to the cooling racks and let the cookies cool
completely. You may need to reuse the pans
to finish baking all the cookies. Let the pans
cool before you put more dough on them
for baking. Store the cookies in an airtight
container or a resealable plastic bag for 5
days.
