Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

12 Days of Cookies: Day 1

I wanted to start this small project off with peanut butter cookies as they happen to be my Dad’s favorite. He’s been battling bladder cancer for almost two years now and his appetite has changed drastically since he started chemotherapy. There are a few things that make him perk up and one of them is peanut butter cookies.

One of the big parts of getting peanut butter cookies to set up well is to make sure all the wet ingredients are well incorporated. You want them to be a smooth consistency and look like a lighter version of peanut butter. You will also want to scrape down the edges of the bowl before you start adding in your dry ingredients to make sure everything mixes well.

I don’t like my cookies to fall apart when I bite into them and peanut butter cookies often do that. The trick to avoiding the crumbling is to be very careful with how much flour you add. You will want to use sifted flour for this recipe; adding too much flour can make these very crumbly.

Have you ever wondered why iconic peanut butter cookies have the cross hatching on the top? It’s to help flatten them down to ensure an even bake. If you don’t like the cross hatch pattern on the top you can use a water glass to squish them down evenly.

These cookies only take about 10-12 minutes to bake. You can tell when they’re done when they start to turn a lightly golden brown color. If you leave them in the oven for much longer they will be over baked and crumble apart.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter – softened
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract (or the caviar from one vanilla bean)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Mix together butter, sugar and peanut butter until smooth.
3. Mix eggs in one at a time and then add vanilla extract (or caviar).
4. In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.
5. scrape mixture down off the sides of the bowl and then slowly mix in the dry ingredients.
6. Roll dough into heaping tablespoon sized balls and place on cookie sheet about three inches apart.
7. With a fork lightly press down the dough making perpendicular marks.
8. Transfer cookie sheet to oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Allow cookies to rest for five minutes on cookie sheet after baking before transferring to cooling racks.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze to enjoy later.

This recipe yields approximately four dozen cookies depending upon size.