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Make easy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

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If you love peanut butter, you are going to love this easy peanut butter cookies recipe. The cookies are sweet, crumbly and wonderfully peanutty. They go beautifully into lunch boxes, will always be very welcome at picnics, and make an absolutely brilliant little snack.

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Bet you can’t just stop at one!

Quick and easy Peanut Butter Cookies on a baking tray with linen cloth

This easy peanut butter fork cookie recipe is really simple to make and is even easier if you have a hand-held mixer. (It’s a fork cookie because of the patterning made by using a fork. Yes, really.) It makes really light work of mixing everything together. They don’t take much longer if you mix them by hand either. Even better, they only take 10-12 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

  • What’s the best peanut butter to use? – choose your favourite peanut butter or alternatively make your own.
    • Homemade peanut butter only takes a few minutes and if you make it yourself you can control just how crunchy or creamy it is.
    • This easy Peanut Butter Cookie recipe works brilliantly with either creamy smooth peanut butter or a crunchy version.
  • sugar – the two different types of sugar are present to create a depth of flavour and texture in the cookie.
    • rolling the cookie dough ball in caster sugar – This just gives the exterior of the cookie a little extra crunch. If you don’t like that idea then just leave it out.
    • If you do not have muscovado sugar this recipe will work perfectly well if you substitute it with light brown sugar with only the tiniest difference if flavour.

Making this easy Peanut Butter cookies Recipe

Follow the instructions in the recipe below to make your cookie dough. The recipe works whether you use a mixer, hand mixer or a wooden spoon. I always something satisfying in the wooden spoon method but that’s probably just me.

  • make the dough – take about 1 1/2 tablespoon of dough, roll it in your hands just as if you were a pre-school. Sprinkle a little caster sugar onto the worktop and press the dough down onto it. This helps to create a really lovely outer crunchiness to the cookies.
  • chill the dough – allow the dough to chill in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour. Overnight is best for 30 minutes works. This lets all the ingredients relax a little and the cookies won’t spread out so much whilst baking.
  • the criss-cross pattern – use a fork to make a pretty criss-cross pattern on the top. This won’t work as well if you’ve used crunchy peanut butter as the nuts interrupt the pattern. The pattern won’t be so pronounced once they’ve cooked so be brave and press down fairly firmly.
    • If you don’t like this patterning then skip this step.
  • Space out the dough – the cookies spread a little even after chilling so give them a little room to breathe.
  • Allow the cookies to cool – give them at least ten minutes to cool before moving the cookies onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. They are fragile whilst they’re still warm straight out of the oven.

Storing the Cookies

These cookies will last for up to 4 days if stored in a suitable airtight container.

  • Freezing – The dough freezes well and will last for 3 months.
  • Freezing uncooked cookies – Freeze the dough as ‘dough balls’ on a tray and once firm add to a suitable container and freeze until required.
  • Thaw the cookie dough – Allow the dough balls 1/2 an hour to thaw on the counter top. Press the dough into a little caster sugar as above, make the criss-cross pattern using a fork. (The dough should be soft enough to do this now.) and then bake according to the instructions given below.
Cookies on a board

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If you like these cookies …. you may like

A few of our favourite cookie recipes for you to try.

  • Soft and Chewy Oat and Raisin Cookies
  • Lemon Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Chips
  • Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  • Shortbread Cookies
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Easy Ginger Cookies
  • Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies

What is your favourite kind of cookie?

(psst…. mine is peanut butter cookies )

Peanut butter cookies displayed on a board
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5 from 2 votes

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies recipe

These Peanut Butter Cookies are simple to make, use only one bowl and taste amazing. They're full of peanutty flavours, sweet and crumbly. Why not find room for one in your lunch box… treat yourself.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Resting Time30 minutes mins
Total Time55 minutes mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: British
Diet: Vegetarian
Keyword: peanut butter
Servings: 12

Equipment

  • mixing bowl, spatuals, measuring spoons, fork, baking tray

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup muscovado sugar – light
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour all-purpose
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caster sugar for rolling

  • 2 tablespoon caster sugar optional for rolling the balls in before baking. Gives a litle extra crunch.
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Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 325F/170 C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
  • Cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter together in a mixing bowl. Use either a wooden spoon or a hand-held electric whisk.
  • Add the egg and the vanilla extract and cream together until everything is well combined.
  • Add the flour, the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and a pinch of salt and mix until you have a soft dough. Place in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour before moving to the next stage.
  • Next, using a tablespoon, scoop out 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon amounts of dough. Press the ball of dough lightly into a little caster sugar.
  • Space the dough balls out on a pre-prepared baking tray. Using a fork depress the dough lightly first in one direction and then the other to form a pretty criss-cross pattern.
  • Bake in the oven for ten minutes or until lightly golden brown at the edges.
  • Allow the cookies to cool before you try to move them as they are quite delicate at this point and may break.

Notes

Nutritional information is computer generated and is intended as a guideline only.
Storing – These cookies will last up to 4 days in an airtight container.
  • Freezing – The dough freezes well and will last for 3 months.
  • Freezing uncooked cookies – Freeze the dough as ‘dough balls’ on a tray and once firm add to a suitable container and freeze until required.
  • Thaw the cookie dough – Allow the dough balls 1/2 an hour to thaw on the counter top. Press the dough into a little caster sugar as above, make the criss-cross pattern using a fork. (The dough should be soft enough to do this now.) and then bake according to the instructions given above.
Did you make this? Mention @thesimplerkitchen or tag #thesimplerkitchen!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

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Filed Under: Baking, Desserts and Snacks, Popular Posts

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    July 5, 2023 at 5:16 pm

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Hello and welcome! I love to cook wholesome and delicious recipes that can be simply made. This is where I share them. Read More…

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