Also, I have a few recipes in my drafts, awaiting to be posted, so be on the look out for them. They should be coming soon.
I actually eyeballed all of these ingredients, as I tend to do because I do not have measuring utensils. These are the quantities I put in, but I cannot be sure.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour (maybe 2 and a half)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 and a half cups of sugar*
- half of a jar of peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- vanilla extract (optional, but I like vanilla)
- large bowl
- medium bowl (optional)
- cookie sheet
- wooden spoon
- mixer (optional)
- parchment paper
- plastic wrap (optional)
In the medium bowl, sift the flour*. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the ingredients.
In the large bowl, mix the butter until it becomes fluffy using a mixer*. Add sugar and keep mixing until fully incorporated.
Add peanut butter. (If you are doing this by hand, this is where everything should come together.)
Add eggs, one by one, until each egg is fully incorporated. Add some vanilla extract if you like.
Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, and mix. Mix just until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough should remain a little sticky.*
Make 1 inch balls and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, about and inch or so apart. Press down with a fork to get the nice criss-cross design*.
If you want chewy cookies, chill in the fridge for about a half hour or so, to make the dough firm. If you prefer them crispy, then you can bake them right away.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. (350 if you want them crispy.) Bake for about 15 minutes. The edges should be slightly colored, and the centers still a little moist. Cool for a few minutes.
This will make a ton of cookies. You can keep them in the fridge covered in plastic wrap for a few days, or freeze the dough and it will last a while. Just make sure to thaw it before using it.
Notes:- If you have brown sugar, feel free to use it. In that case, use 1 cup regular sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.
- Flour today doesn't really need to be sifted under regular conditions. If you are making this with homemade flour, or maybe somewhere in Eastern Europe (or if the flour has clumps in it), then you definitely need to sift it (unless you are making flaky pastries).
- I do the mixing by hand with a wooden spoon. In this case, add the sugar with the butter, it will help to break it up. Also, make sure you are using softened butter to make it easier on your hand.
- Once you have added about half the flour, feel free to mix it with your hands. If will become tough to do with wooden spoon, and even tougher with a hand-held mixer. If you have a standing mixer, keep using it.
- You can press down the dough with your hand if you don't care about the design and just want to get the peanut buttery goodness in your mouth as soon as possible.
- These cookies dry out easily, so keep them in an air tight container.
