Have you ever wanted to make a recipe so perfect that you made it six times in one week? No? Well, I tend to be a wee bit on the obsessive side…
I wanted (needed) to create the best homemade Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, ever. Peanut butter cookies have let me down in the past. After cooling, they would get dry and most recipes lacked serious peanut flavor. It made me sad. All that work for a homemade cookie and the results left me disappointed. I NEEDED more from my cookies. The goal: soft, chewy, peanutty cookies that contained real ingredients that I’d feel good about feeding to my family. The problem, though, was that I had to wade into uncomfortable and scary territory: CHEMISTRY.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe…
My sweet husband would say there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to Chemistry. In fact, he claims this is what makes the world go ‘round. I tremble at the word. It brings on sweats, flashbacks to high school Chemistry class where I was in a constant state of anxiety, and an unhealthy fear of Erlenmeyer flasks. You’d think that would have kept me from marrying a Chemist, right?
I will save you all the science behind these Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. (It’s all about sugar, and eggs, and butter, and leaveners and, though I was totally interested, I’m not sure you want to take the time to read about it. Go, get your favorite cookie sheet, and make these cookies!) Just know they have deep peanut flavor and nice chew. They also stayed perfectly soft and chewy for several days in a tightly sealed plastic container.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies contain real ingredients, too. None of those hard-to-say and preservative-packed ingredients on packaged cookies. (And, I have to admit, a chewy peanut butter cookie with my coffee at 6 a.m. was pretty sweet! No sense wasting all my hard work!) Look at how far I can bend these cookies without breakage! It’s epic! 🙂
Surprisingly enough, I never once heard anyone in our house say, “Mom, please stop making peanut butter cookies!” Since I went though over 3 lbs. of peanut butter last week alone, that’s a good thing. 🙂
In the event you happen to have “extra” cookies (like you won’t eat the whole recipe within two days), know this recipe freezes nicely. Simply place cooled cookies in Tupperware or freezer bags and place in your freezer for school lunches or a quick snack.
The Best Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Notes
Chunky peanut butter is preferred in this recipe due to the pieces of peanuts added to the batter.
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. (12 T.) softened, unsalted butter
- 1 c. chunky peanut butter
- 1 1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 t. baking soda
- 3 T. milk
- 1 T. vanilla
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat butter until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl and beat in peanut butter, again mixing well until mixture looks fluffy. Add brown sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add baking soda, mixing well and scraping down sides of the bowl.
- Add milk, vanilla, and egg yolks, beating until just combined.
- Stir in flour, mixing until well incorporated.
- Using a 1 1/2 T. scoop, place 9 cookies on a lined baking sheet.
- Add water to a small bowl. Dip fork into water and make cross hatches on the tops of each cookie. Redip fork into water after each cookie to keep dough from sticking to the fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Do not over bake.
- Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes on sheet before removing to cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
If you like chewy desserts, you might also like my recipe for quick brownies, found here. Serving real food, outside of the box, is important to me! If I’m going to eat dessert, it has to be incredible. Overcoming my fear of chemistry helped to create Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies that are definitely delicious and full of real ingredients. I hope your family will enjoy! 🙂 Have a blessed week!