Peanut butter cookies are a standard American favorite. Nearly every baker has a go-to recipe in their baking arsenal. I married into a family who considers peanut butter cookies to be a Christmas cookie, and it’s not Christmas if I don’t make them! This has always seemed a little weird to me, since peanuts are not especially seasonal, but because they expect it, I do it, and everyone is happy.
I’m going to show you a way to jazz up ANY peanut butter cookie recipe. Make it a little more than it is. A little lagniappe, as they might say in NOLA. It’s over the top. It’s special. It’s extra. Whip this out at bake sales for a WOW item that will fly off the table.
What recipe should you use?
Start with any peanut butter cookie recipe. You probably have your own, but I’ll share mine with you. My recipe calls for half butter and half shortening. Here’s the deal with these fats: Butter is full of flavor but can be a bit heavy, and will melt more as it bakes, creating a flatter, more dense cookie. Shortening bakes like a dream and holds its shape, creating a thick, tender cookie. But, it’s a little short on flavor (ha! see what I did there? short? shortening?). And butter-flavored shortening is, in a word, not. It’s more like chemical-flavored shortening. I advise avoiding it at all costs.
There are some peanut butter cookie recipes that call for all butter, and some that call for all shortening. I split the difference, so we get the best of both worlds: thick tender cookies with deeper flavor than shortening alone. You can use all butter, or all shortening, in this recipe! If you use all butter, be prepared for more spreading. You may consider refrigerating the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking to help slow down the spread.
#hashtag #peanutbuttercookies
Also, for these cookies, I don’t put the iconic hash marks on top with a fork. That’s because we’re just going to cover it up anyway. If I weren’t going the extra mile to jazz these up, I would make the criss-cross hashtag marks with a fork before baking. This time I’m just going to flatten them slightly with a glass.
So after these bad boys, which are delicious on their own, have baked and cooled, here’s how we’re going to spice things up. You’re going to melt a package of peanut butter baking chips by the most famous peanut butter candy maker in the world. You know the ones in the orange bag. Spread that melted goo on your cookie with a spatula, just like frosting.
Then, before the melted chips have a chance to melt, sprinkle the top with crushed chunks of peanut brittle candy. Buy it, make your own, doesn’t matter. Oh lawd! This just went from being a cookie to being a full-blown dessert! Every good dessert has 3 textures, and here they are: Soft, tender peanut butter cookie, sweet creamy frosting, and crunchy peanut brittle on top. Imagine with some vanilla ice cream.
Jazzed Up Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 bag peanut butter baking chips
- 12 oz peanut brittle homemade or purchased, doesn't matter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream together butter, shortening, and peanut butter for 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup of flour, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla.
- Stir together slowly, then beat til thoroughly combined.
- Beat in remaining flour.
- Optional: Chill for 30 minutes. This makes the dough a bit easier to handle, and your cookies will spread less in the oven. However, the step can be skipped. It's not a difficult dough to handle warm.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on cookie sheet, and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
- Bake at 375 for 7 to 9 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.
- Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Topping
- In a double boiler, or using the "soften/melt" setting of your microwave, melt peanut butter baking chips in glass bowl.
- While the chips are melting, break up the peanut brittle into small pieces (nickel-dime sized or smaller).
- Using a small spatula, spread a dab of melted peanut butter chips onto cookie, then quickly sprinkle with peanut brittle pieces.
Costing It Out
As far as cost, it’s no joke that these get pricey with the addition of the peanut brittle and peanut butter chips. I costed it out in my CakeBoss Software and came up with $13.72 — but over $8.50 of that is the add-ons. I did say these were special occasion cookies. Want to see a way to reduce your cost? Keep reading?
I imputed the cost of the peanut brittle from the lowest price I could buy it for on Amazon.com. But you can save money and make your own in minutes. Think it’s too complicated? Don’t own a candy thermometer and don’t want one either? I have the perfect solution for you — it’s King Arthur Flour’s microwave nut brittle recipe. It really works — no candy thermometer needed. It’s foolproof, and what’s more, only takes 10 minutes. And it makes a little over a pound of delicious homemade brittle for a fraction of the cost. Just $4.50! It’s perfect for adding to your own home business menu, gifts at Christmas, or just munching on at home.
