Cookies to end the week! And not just any cookies, but some of my favorites yet. As crazy as this is, I don’t have many peanut butter cookie recipes. Sure, I have A LOT of peanut butter recipes, but the cookie department is lacking greatly. It’s not on purpose, but more because I am so picky about peanut butter cookies. They have to be just right or I’m not excited about them. Enter these soft, chewy old-school-style peanut butter cookies. I mentioned last week how inspired I am by “old school” recipes. You know, the ones our moms and grandmas would make. Classics, vintage, retro…no use of anything like almond flour, and nothing fancy about them. Yes, those kinds of recipes. They’re always some of the best, and right now, they’re all I want to be creating.
So, the idea.
With the “old school” theme in mind, I really wanted to create that soft and chewy peanut butter cookie that you might have enjoyed on pizza day back in grade school. I’m not sure about you guys, but pizza day was very exciting as a kid throughout third, fourth, and fifth grade. Ours were just once a month, but they were the best. We’d have pizza and an assortment of cookies…chocolate chip, peanut butter, and those frosted sugar cookies. The peanut butter cookies were always so delicious, thin, soft, and chewy with the best peanutty flavor. These were cookies I really wanted to create…but with the addition of chocolate…because cookies need chocolate. After a few rounds of testing, I came out with the cookies we have here today. They. Are. Perfect! And just what I’d envisioned.
Here are the simple details.
Honestly, these cookies are almost too good to be true. They’re delicious AND they’re the easiest to make. First, the butter. You have got to use a good salted butter. I think the butter, along with the brown sugar and maple, are the elements that really make these cookies GOOD! So find a salted butter you love. You’ll cream the butter together with the brown sugar and peanut butter until light and fluffy. The mix of brown sugar and maple leaves you with a cookie that’s just perfectly sweet and soft, but not in any way cakey, which is KEY. I despise a cakey peanut butter cookie. Next, add the maple and a good splash of vanilla. Now add in the dry ingredients, plus a small pinch of salt. Roll the dough into balls, then roll them through a little cane sugar, in true old-school peanut butter cookie form. Then bake away! No chilling required! Simple. Simple. As with a lot of my cookie recipes, this one requires tapping that baking sheet on the counter midway through baking, then continue finish baking. When the cookies have completely finished baking, remove them from the oven, and tap the baking sheet once more. I say this with every cookie, but this step is KEY. It will ensure you have the least cakey peanut butter cookies. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out. Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, you can then take them through a dip of sweet melted chocolate. Or do as I do, and drizzle each warm cookie with chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt… Eat warm and enjoy every last, sweet, peanutty bite. Oh so wonderfully delicious. What I love about these cookies is that they’re easy to make, require no chilling, and take less than thirty minutes. And yes, they have all the old-school vibes I was going for. Soft and oh so chewy in the center with the perfect peanut flavor and hints of maple throughout. The warm chocolate just seals the deal and keeps everyone coming back for more. A little advice? Bake these tonight…because everyone has thirty minutes to bake up cookies. Then eat a few warm, and welcome in the weekend! Looking for other fun cookie recipes? Here are some favorites: Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies Snickerdoodle Peanut Butter Chocolate Chex Mix Bars Slice n’ Bake Bourbon Caramel Pretzel Cookies Lastly, if you make these Soft and Crinkly Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
