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These extreme peanut butter cookies are true celebration of peanut butter’s rich, creamy, and nutty flavors. They’re a dream come true for anyone who adores peanut butter (ie. everyone in my house!). The combination of smooth peanut butter with crunchy peanut butter chips creates a delightful texture contrast that peanut butter fans will absolutely love.
The chemistry of peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter, being high in fat, contributes to the cookies’ moist and tender texture. The brown sugar adds moisture and a slight chewiness, while the granulated sugar ensures the cookies spread just the right amount. The leavening agent, baking soda, reacts with the acids in the brown sugar to create a light, airy texture. This balance of ingredients is crucial for achieving the perfect peanut butter cookie.
Can I use natural peanut butter in cookies?
Yes, but be aware that natural peanut butter contains more oil, which will effect the texture of the cookies.
How do I keep my peanut butter cookies soft?
Store them in an airtight container with a slice of bread; the cookies will absorb the bread’s moisture. This trick is a life saver.
Why do peanut butter cookies have fork marks?
Traditionally, fork marks are used to flatten the cookies for even baking, and they’ve become a signature look for peanut butter cookies. Making these fork marks is personal preference. I don’t do fork marks on my extreme peanut butter cookies.
Can I make these cookies gluten-free?
Absolutely! Substitue the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten free flour blend. My favorite to use is Bob’s Red Mill.
What is in extreme peanut butter cookies?
Unsalted Butter
It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.
Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.
When baking with butter, the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm, your treat will melt too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold, it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.
Peanut Butter
Adds another fat into your dough or batter that melts easily, allowing your treat to spread a little more. It will also add a creamy texture & rich flavor to your treat.
Brown Sugar
Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.
Granulated Sugar
Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.
Vanilla Extract
When using pure vanilla extract, as opposed to imitation flavoring, it will add the deep rich flavor that everybody wants in a treat.
Eggs
Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.
All-purpose Flour
Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.
Baking Soda
Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.
Fine Sea Salt
Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand. All of my favorite salts are from Redmond and I have a discount code for you to get 15% off.
Peanut butter Chips
Small, flavored morsels that look similar to chocolate chips but are made with a mix of peanut butter, oil, and milk.
How to store peanut butter cookies
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. For prolonged freshness, you can also store them in the fridge.
Can you freeze peanut butter cookies?
These cookies freeze well. Place them in a freezer-safe container, separating layers with parchment paper. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can the dough be made in advance?
You can prepare the cookie dough in advance and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before baking. And this can also enhance the flavors as the ingredients meld together with the extra resting time.
Recommended Equipment
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Extreme Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 bag peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Convection setting is great for cookies!
- Add butter, peanut butter & sugars to a standing mixer. Mix until combined and then whip for 2-3 minutes until lighter in color & texture
- Add vanilla and eggs, stir until combined
- In a separate bowl mix together flour, soda & salt
- Turn standing mixer on low and slowly pour in the dry ingredients
- Mix dough just until it comes together
- Fold in peanut butter chips
- Scoop cookies out onto a light metal cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper
- Bake for 9 minutes
- Let cool on pan for 10 minutes before removing
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
I’d love to see it! Follow @_mrs.madi_ on Instagram and tag your photos with #mrsmadi.
Alexa Holland
We’ve made these a couple times now and they are amaaaazing. So soft and great peanut butter flavor. They taste like a nutter butter, but even better.
Madison Reid
I am so honored! Thank you!
Carli Field
These are so good! They really do have the perfect texture. I love these cookies!
Madison Reid
Thank you so much!