If cookies have a Hall of Fame, peanut butter cookies hold a place of honor, along with chocolate* (optional on this recipe) chips and oatmeal raisins. The cross-hatch pattern on top is the defining touch for a cookie made with peanut butter. The peanut butter cookie recipe most similar to modern peanut butter cookies, and introduced the now popular cross-hatch pattern, first appeared in 1936 in Toll House Tried and True Recipes by Ruth Wakefield.
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
½ cup softened butter
½ cup white sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
(1) egg
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
(1 ¼) cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven at about 190 degrees C (375 degrees F).
Cream the peanut, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl until it mixes well. Beat one at a time, milk, and vanilla in the egg. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; mix in the cream mixture. Shape a tbsp of dough into balls. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Push fork tines once on each puck.
In the preheated oven, bake it for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly brown.
Tips:
To help prevent the fork from sticking while making a cross-hatch pattern on the cookies dip the tines between the cookies in a bit of granulated sugar.
Bake at a lower temperature a little longer, if you like chewy cookies.
Use a brand name Skippy, Jif, or Peter Pan peanut butter. I usually buy a natural type of peanut butter, but the natural brands (the ones that separate) produce a cookie with a grittier texture and spread too much. That said, if you have a natural peanut butter brand that works for you, then use it.
Line a sheet pan with foil to freeze before baking, and then add the cookie dough balls. To make cross-hatch marks, press with a fork, and then freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight jar and freeze for up to three months.
Nutrition Facts:
Per Serving: 105.9 calories; 12 mg cholesterol; 80.8 mg sodium; 2.5 g protein; 10.6 g carbohydrates.
