Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

So it was time to try a new cookie recipe for a friends birthday.  A friend who likes peanut butter cookies.  I’ve made peanut butter cookies in the past, however the last time I made them they had more of a hard, crunchy texture.  I wanted to find a recipe for soft peanut butter cookies. Think similar to a peanut butter cookie you’d get at Panera Bread (yum!).

I searched a lot of cookie recipes online and then I found the recipe below which even details ‘soft’ in its title.  I double checked the reviews just to make sure everyone agreed they lived up to their title of ‘soft’.  

The dough for this recipe is very easy to whip up and in no time you’ll be ready to put them in the oven. For these cookies, however, I wanted to experiment with a different design on top of the cookies.  All the homemade peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tried have ALWAYS had the same criss-cross fork pattern on top.  It’s so traditional that I find it a little boring.

So I dug through my kitchen drawers to see what kind of utensils I had that would make interesting patterns.  I came up with a potato masher, straws, a milk shake mixer attachment (in the picture it’s the metal rod with the white round attachment), and alphabet cookie cutters. I thought the alphabet cookie cutters would be awesome as you could make a great gift for someone; cookies with their initial.

Utensils to experiment with...

As I began testing the utensils on the dough balls, right off the bat, the straws did not work.  The dough got stuck inside.  The alphabet cookie cutters not so much either.  The cookie cutters just cut through the dough.  After the cookies baked you could only faintly see the letters.  I wouldn’t use these again, however, the potato masher and milk shake mixer attachment worked great!  They made a modern design as you can see in the pictures below.   My personal favorite was the milk shake mixer attachment.  It produced a unique pattern that looked similar to a flower.  

Roll in sugar

The patterns

When the cookies were done Ryan and I waited a few minutes and tried them while they were warm.  They were very tasty and very soft indeed.  Even after they were fully cooled they maintained a nice, soft texture.  I will definitely make these cookies again, especially now that I know how to liven them up with new designs.  If you decide to try making these, look around your kitchen and see what kind of utensils you have to make unique patterns.

 
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Recipe #205890 by Lainey6605, food.com

Serves: 30 to 40 (makes approximately 40 cookies)

Prep Time: 10 mins.

Total Time: 45 mins.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Cream together: butter, peanut butter and sugars.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
4. Add baking soda, baking powder and vanilla.  Stir in flour slowly.
5. Roll into small balls.  Sprinkle white sugar onto a plate and roll dough ball through the sugar, coating entirely. 
6. Slightly flatten dough balls by using a fork to create a traditional criss-cross pattern or use other kitchen utensils such as a potato masher for a different pattern.
7. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 6-7 minutes.