Description
These soft and chewy peanut butter cookies offer a perfect balance of rich peanut butter flavor and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Featuring a combination of smooth peanut butter, brown sugar, and a hint of sea salt, this recipe yields 24 delicious cookies that are easy to make and irresistibly tasty.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- 1 cup (256 g) smooth peanut butter
- 16 tablespoons (226 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 1/3 cup (293 g) dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 1/4 cups (304 g) all-purpose flour
For Rolling the Cookie Dough Balls
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
To Finish
- Sea salt flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking and for easy cleanup.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the smooth peanut butter, room temperature unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
- Add Eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt for about 1 minute. Then add the all-purpose flour and mix for about 20 seconds just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Prepare Sugar for Rolling: Pour the 1/2 cup granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. Using a cookie scoop, portion 2 tablespoons of dough and drop it into the sugar bowl. The cookie dough will be soft, so gently roll or coat the dough ball in sugar, then place on the prepared baking sheet with about 1½ inches (4 cm) spacing between each dough ball.
- Bake: Place one baking sheet at a time in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. The cookies will be very soft when done.
- Cool and Finish: After removing the baking sheet from the oven, gently tap it on the counter once to deflate the cookies slightly. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt flakes while still warm. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use smooth peanut butter for best texture and flavor balance.
- For accurate measurements of flour, spoon into the measuring cup and level off rather than scooping directly, to avoid dense cookies.
- If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can roll the dough into balls by hand but leaving some texture on the dough ball is preferred for better cookie appearance.
- Sea salt flakes are optional but recommended to enhance the cookie’s flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 155
- Sugar: 13g
- Sodium: 130mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
