Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

I had never eaten a peanut butter cookie until I met Anne’s family — specifically, her grandmother Virginia. Now, Virginia is kind of famous, and it’s not for her award-winning lemon meringue pie, or for her 400+ Scrabble score on most evenings. It’s not that she’s enrolled herself in French classes, or that she re-taught herself how to play the piano later in life. Virginia is a Super Ager. You can read an article about her here, or watch a video of her here.

But back to the cookies. Oh, the cookies. I’m not usually one for crunchy treats (I’m more of a melt-in your-mouth-gooey-cookie kind of gal), but Virginia’s cookies had me singing a different tune. I scrounged up this recipe in hopes of creating something like Virginia’s delicacies, and this recipe from Better Homes & Gardens could not be easier. It requires minimal kitchen equipment and average pantry ingredients.

Read on to learn how to make perfect (literally, perfect) peanut butter cookies!

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies (via Better Homes & Gardens)

Prep time: 20 minutes | Bake time: 7-9 minutes for each batch | Yields: 40 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I sifted mine)
Additional granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 °F. In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter with either a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined again. Beat in the flour, adding a little bit at a time, until an even consistency.

Hand-shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll them in a small bowl of additional granulated sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet (ungreased or nonstick). Using a fork, create criss-cross hatches on the cookies. Bake for 5 minutes, and then rotate the cookie sheets in the oven for an even bake. Bake for an addition 3-4 minutes until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy within 3 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months.

From Scissors & Sage

These cookies are an amazing combination of crunchy and a little bit chewy. I can already tell they will become a staple this summer — they pair perfectly with homemade vanilla ice cream! Make them and find out for yourself!