peanut butter cookies
People often ask Alex and me if it is difficult living near a trendy NYC bakery, the kind with the mind-bogglingly long cupcake lines outside at what seems like all hours. It probably would be if I found their generic cupcakes, brownies and cheesecakes more tempting but come on, this is me and you just know I think I make these better in my tiny kitchen.
Of course, this completely excludes their peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, a recipe I have been promising you I’d conquer for so long, I can’t believe you all haven’t organized a mutiny yet in disgust–especially when you learn that the recipe had been at my fingertips the whole time, it just hadn’t occurred to me.
It circles back to so much of what I just don’t *get* about these trendy bakeries. Their recipes are so generic–1-2-3-4 cupcakes with back-of-the-box butter cream frosting; chocolate chip cookies not any better than Toll House; Hello Dolly bars that they neither invented nor make better than the least baking-inclined person you’ve ever met–I fail to see what’s queue-forming worthy about them. [Then again, I don’t believe in waiting on a line for anything in a city this big, and oh, I bake regularly at home, so of course I don’t get it. But I digress.]
Not only are the baked goods unoriginal, there is a veritable family tree of bakeries simply stealing their former employer’s recipes and shop look-feel.
Adam Sternbergh at New York Magazine sums it up well:
Together, [Jennifer] Appel and a high-school friend, Allysa Torey, begat Magnolia Bakery in 1996. When their partnership, and friendship, dissolved in 1999, Magnolia begat Buttercup. In 2003, Magnolia begat Billy’s, a bakery in Chelsea, opened by a former Magnolia manager, and Buttercup begat Sugar Sweet Sunshine, started by two former Buttercup employees. Now there are at least a half-dozen similar bakeries throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, with such jolly names as Baked, Happy Happy Happy, Polka Dot Cake Studio, and Cupcake Caboose (an all-cupcake catering company), each serving up cupcakes topped with dollops of sugary frosting swirled artfully like beehive hairdos.
Within this lies my “duh!” moment. If Billy’s–the bakery with the coveted peanut butter cookies–is a semi-replica of Magnolias, then odds are that the peanut butter cookies I adore so much came from there as well.
A quick skim of the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook confirmed these suspicions. A quick batch of these allowed me to–at last–fulfill my promise of this recipe to you, and fill our bellies with so much peanut butter, it may have been safer when we had to wait on line to get one.
But you won’t hear me complain that we’ll never have to again.
Smitten Kitchen Went to Aruba and All I Got Were These Lousy Cookies! Deb and Alex have flown the snowy, slushy and biting cold coop this week for warm, sandy island shores and countless tubes of SPF 50, so comment responses are going to be slow until they return. In our absence, we leave you with a Week of Cookies–this is recipe two of four.
The Menu for Hope Campaign continues through Dec. 24, which means that you still have a chance to win a box of home baked cookies (such as these!) from the Smitten Kitchen, or one of hundreds of other prizes donated by food bloggers around the world, delivered to your doorstep. You receive one raffle ticket for a prize of your choice for each $10 donation. I’ve explained everything in detail over here.
One year ago: Braised Beef Short Ribs, Potato Latkes
Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
The brilliance of these cookies is that they have include two different formats for peanuts–three if you use chunky peanut butter. They’re crisp on the outside, and almost cakey on the inside. Bake a batch and then hide the results in the furthest and most forgettable reaches of your kitchen. You’ll thank me later.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern (I used the back of a palette knife to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
These cookies look absolutely amazing!!! I can’t wait to try these with my kids they will love this combination!
Mmm, can’t wait to try these. Peanut butter cookies are my all time fave and I have yet to find a satisfying recipe!
You must be psychic, because I was just looking for a recipe for peanut butter cookies this week. I will give these a try!
Now where the heck am I gonna get peanut butter chips around here? Better bring me back some from Aruba!
Mmmm, these look incredibly yumtastic. It’s a shame that I have this amazing ability to turn a good recipe to utter crap, but I’m going to try it anyway.
And as a fellow New Yorker I can’t understand those crazy bakery lines either, despite the fact that I can’t bake to save my life.
wow! these look beautiful and delicious! cant wait to try them! we dont have peanut butter chips around here, any thoughts on what i could sub them with? maybe just using chunky peanut butter?
I never really buy peanut butter. Is there a certain brand you would recommend?
Can you use all natural peanut butter? Or is the Jiffy/Peter Pan stuff better?
i lived 2 blocks from magnolia in law school, and i agree that their cookies were delicious. their cupcakes were too, of course, but i mostly only went there when i had out of town friends visiting, or when it was raining/snowing/2 pm on a tuesday/anything that meant there wouldn’t be a line. :-)
you won’t catch me standing in line at a bakery - I bake every-other-day, so there’s PLENTY of sweet treats to going around, right in the comfort of my own kitchen :0)
These are gorgeous photos — I always try to take photos of my cookies but they never quite turn out that well! I don’t usually use chocolate chips in my pb cookies but, um, now I think I have to. Yum.
these look fabulous but i actually need to comment about the rugelach pinwheels. i made them last night, struggled a wee-bit with rolling out the dough, but well worth it. they solicited a this from the boy: “you’re a great baker! these taste like fresh bakery cookies!”. they were supposed to be good-neighbor cookies, but we ate most of them…..score! thanks for another beauty!
You are hysterical! Good peanut butter cookies are hard to find. Cannot wait.
I have to make these for my husband…PB cookies are his favorite! And I am thinking my mom will love the espresso cookies from the other day…Yum!
Oh my, I cannot wait to try these. My husband loves peanut butter cookies and when you thow in peanut butter chips, they may fast become my favorite.
David, not sure where you are but check the same aisle with chocolate chips. Look for REESE’S Peanut Butter Chips.
Too bad I have to wait until Saturday to bake these.
I work two blocks from Billy’s and my coworkers and I have been wondering about the recipe for their butterscotch gingerbread cookies. I’ve tried a recipe or two I had around, but I don’t quite have it. Do you have any suggestions?
OH these cookies do sound heavenly. I’ve got to stop baking! I’m gaining too much weight! My family, well my husband won’t touch the stuff, my son never gains a pound, and my daughter is like me…gaining gaining gaining. But it is so fun to bake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking I wanted to make every recipe, in order, from the Dorie Greenspan BAKING book. But that’s just copying the Julia/Julie story. I’d only be doing it for myself anyway.
Hi
Love your site and check it out every day.
I have one question regarding cranberry sauce served with a turkey - is is traditionally served hot or cold?
My mother has been cooking turkey on Christmas Eve for almost 20 years but we never tried the cranberries with it, and as I just saw the most gorgeous fresh cranberries in my local supermarket I want to try to spice up our christmas tradition with a little twist.
Thanx Aðalheiður from Iceland
you need to try this
and i’m not joking
an odd recipe but soo delicious
rich moist dark chocolate cake
my english class was a little dubious about the secret ingredient
but they loved it
seriously
just try it
http://www.scharffenberger.com/re0209.asp
Yum yum. I haven’t had peanut butter biscuits for so long. My mum used to have a great recipe and she always finished them off with fork marks on the top. I think I’ll have to give this one a go and get my fork ready for stamping!
I’m a fan of your blog from Barcelona, Spain. I’d love to have the time to cook so many delicious things. Please keep on writing such cheering posts!
These look heavenly! I can almost bite into them.
I’m tempted to try it with sunflower butter. Hmmm…
Oh YUM! My husband is going to love you for this recipe.
Just made these tonight - they’re damn good.
thank you for posting this! i cant wait to try out the recipe!
it’s funny- i’ve been on several cupcake taste testings and still haven’t found one that I like. The cupcakes at billy’s were super stale :(
I think that making food in bulk (like they do at all the bakeries) gets you further and further from the wholesome goodness you can find in a simple apartment kitchen. Thanks Deb!
Oh, yes I have the same question as to the type of peanut butter used. I usually buy the sugar-free natural stuff, but will that affect the overall sweetness too much (ie- not enough)? I’m okay with buying the creamier, sweeter kinds if that’s going to be the kicker for these cook-sters. Just wondering if it matters!
My peanut butter standby (you would be positively shocked to taste how yummy these are): 1 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 egg. Mix together thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 5-6 minutes (they will not feel done) and let cool.
Remove the flour and all you’re left with is peanut butter!!
Thanks for posting these wonderful recipes while away… hope you guys are having a fabulous time!!
These look wonderful, Deb. As usual!
If Billy’s makes them like Magnolia did (used to work there), they don’t use chunky PB, they use smooth and add chopped peanuts to the cookie dough. I agree these are addictively delicious.
when god created evil, i’m sure he had these cookies in mind. they seem absolutely evil…and i mean that in the most delicious sense possible!
For those wondering about the peanut butter, you should absolutely use store-bought, unnatural stuff a la Jif or Skippy. The hydrogenation is important for the cookies’ texture. (signed “been there, made that mistake”)
I just made them, and they are delicious! I think their small size (I tend to want to make huge cookies) is important to their texture. Next time I might try mini chocolate chips, because the big Ghiradelli chips that I used didn’t distribute very evenly, and some cookies were left with no chocolate at all.
Thanks for the recipe!
Holy cow! I just made these cookies and they are fantastic. I used Skippy “Natural” creamy peanut butter and omitted the peanut butter chips (I’m just not a fan of pb chips). Sooo good!
stupid question, but about how many cookies does this recipe make???
I made these last night when I got home from work and they look beautiful and taste good. I think I may have made a mistake though, I used bakers sugar (extra fine) instead of regular white sugar and the cookies are almost too sweet. Should I have not made the replacement?
Deb, these are sinful! I just baked them a couple nights ago and boy were they good. A good third of the dough ended up being consumed prior to baking as it was that delicious - hubby couldn’t quit eating the dough! Thanks for the recipe, it was exactly the kind of peanut butter cookie I’ve been looking for.
I made these yesterday (with chunky peanut butter) and they are awesome!! It made a lot for me, about 40 cookies.
These look ri-DONK-ulously good. Can’t wait to try!
Your holiday baking is NOT faring well for my resistance to temptation this year! Maybe you should stop taking drool-worthy photos! :)
I made these to rave reviews. Thanks for the recipe, I’m sure these will make it into my regular rotation — especially if my friends have anything to say about it. :)
Ok - I just made them and this is the perfect batter base (before adding chips) for a delicious peanutbutter cookie!! I added just 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips as I just wanted a hint of chocolate. I also added 1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts rather than pb chips and it gave that extra peanutiness! Mmm mmm good! Next time I think I will leave out the extra sprinkle of sugar as it was just a tad too sugary for my liking. Thanks again!
All I have to say is YUM!!! These cookies were a hit!
Has anyone tried making these in a 9×13 as a bar cookie? I don’t know if I have any more scooping in me! If you have any experience in this arena, let me know…
The recipe is so delicous! I made them last night for my work place. I could use some advice though - mine spread out to make an extremely thin cookie (but still tasty) - any ideas on how I should fix that for the next time?
Happy holidays!
Amazing cookies. Because of Janna’s post above, I made mine with half mini-chips and half regular chips and it was perfect. The best part — they were stupid easy to make! I was a bit worried about making the dough because I blew up my hand mixer earlier in the week making sugar cookie dough so I had to do it by hand — not even a little bit of a problem! Thanks for the recipe!
I have the same question as Corinne. I made a batch of these cookies this afternoon, and mine spread out as well. I’m wondering how you got your cookies to retain their thickness?
i tried the peanut butter cookies today and the were wonderful! But somehow i could not get the peanut butter chips!
Look forward to more recipes from you!
charlotte s — Definitely think you could use chunky peanut butter. You could easily replace the peanut butter chips with a) more chocolate chips, b) some other type of chip you might like or c) if you’re daring, some chopped peanut butter candy. If it is frozen, it might be easier to chop–I’m thinking peanut butter cups or something like that. Good luck!
Adam R, Laura W, Margot — On my own, I use all sorts of natural/organic/hippy stuff. However, for baking, I think that Jiffy/Skippy/Peter Pan, etc. (god, are these brands still around? I feel terrifically old) are the safest, because they’re the most consistent in flavor/texture.
Ann — Butterscotch gingerbread? I haven’t been in ages–guess why? Yup, because I have cracked the peanut butter cookie code and no longer need them–but I must check that out. I’ll see what I can come up with.
tracy — I completely agree, and find Billy’s cupcakes to be especially and consistently stale. I cannot for the life of me understand why they don’t do better QT on them. Even Magnolia got the moist cake issue down! I digress–things are infinitely better in small batches from your own apartment, always. You never have to compromise flavor or quality for consistency and budget reasons.
janna — Agreed. I used the Ghiradelli chips and since I like cookies very small, they were very dominating. However, when I have a few extra minutes, I prefer hand-chopped chocolate to chips any day–fewer stabilizers, better flavor and exactly the size you need every time!
Andrea — Sadly, I never counted. Of course, I make cookies really tiny so my count might not be helpful for others. I’ll try to check next time!
Elaine — Because extra fine sugar is so, uh, extra fine (don’t know why that made me giggle–it’s late!) it is possible that you’d end up with more sugar in the same volume thus extra sweetness. But these are a definitely sweet cookie. I didn’t think cloyingly so, but certainly no minimal shortbread. If you want to cut down on the sweetness next time, you can simply sprinkle a little sugar over them at the end instead, and not roll the whole cookie in it–should make a noticeable difference.
Corinne, Joycelyn — Not sure what went wrong, but it definitely sounds like something did. These cookies spread for me, but barely, which is why they need to be pressed a little on top. I am wondering if you were a little short on flour… If nothing else, chilling the batter for a little time before scooping might keep it from spreading as much–if nothing else, gives you a cleaner scoop. However, I made batches with room temperature dough and frozen dough and neither spread for me.
I would stand in a line rounding the corners to eat in your kitchen :)
I cannot express in words how much I love you for this recipe. Haha. I’m serious! I’m hopelessly addicted to peanut butter, really beyond all reason, and I can’t wait to make these cookies. I just moved to NYC, and am bummed that there is no such thing as a sleepy, local bakery to be found (at least, I haven’t found one yet). I like to bake for myself anyhow, but I’ve never been able to settle on a really satisfying PBcookie recipe before. Thank you! This one looks so terrific. I bet you will see the results (I’ll give you full credit for tipping me off to the recipe, of course) on my site in a few days.
I’m a little confused about the sprinkling part. Do I use 1 tablespoon of sugar for each ‘teaspoon’ of dough? Or do I use the 3/4 cup + 1 teaspon sugar for dipping the whole cookie dough in it? Gonna try this tomorrow since it looks fairly simple to do. Would appreciate your help. Thanks.
Wow! Those are the best-looking cookies I’ve ever seen!
These are the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made. I cannot thank you enough. My husband to be said they were as good if not better than his grandmothers! If you have had his grandma’s cookies, you would know what a compliment that was!
I desperately desire these cookies. My allergy to peanuts be darned! Do you think adding Benadryl to the recipe will alter it in a negative way? I am my own worst enemy. :(
I have just found this blog… OMG my life has been soooo empty! This has got to be the best blog in the world!! I have a question though… What on earth are PB chips??? have never heard of them here in New Zealand. I love what I have seen of your recipes so far (only four) I have no interest in dinner or lunch, just dessert and other sweet things… no wonder I cannot loose weight.
I just made these for my boyfriend’s New Years Eve party and they are so good! I have to not to eat all of them before bringing them over now….
Thanks for another great recipe!
Just beautiful!I am always in search of a great peanut butter cookie! I am going to give these a whirl as soon as I throw out the rest of the holiday cookies haunting my house! (and my tush!)
Have you ever tried Dorie’s peanut butter cookies…I like them a lot…minus the nutmeg!
I made these last night to take to a gathering this weekend, and they are awesome–truly beautiful, delicious cookies! I counted, and I got forty-five cookies using my small cookie scoop. It came out almost perfectly!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe (again)! I’m making the Chocolate Stout Cake today…I’ll post about how that one turns out later.
I made these cookies yesterday afternoon while my sons slept. These are the best PB cookies anyone in my family have ever had and I was told numerous times to keep the recipe forever. I made a double batch and ended up with roughly 4 dozen cookies when using half a regular ice cream scoop. I also omitted the PB chips and used chopped chocolate instead of chips.
Here’s my blog post about them.
Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
-Katie
These cookies are amazing. I baked a batch for a boys weekend and they have gobbled them all! Thanks for sharing.
thank you- I hate pb cookie recipes where there is an equal amount of butter (or even shortening- ick) it totaly dilutes the pb flavor, and isn’t that the point?
peanut butter cookies should taste like peanut butter. i made these without either chips and they came out just fine- yummy base. I’m thinking it would be yummy with white choc chips and raisins, like a PB&J sandwich cookie- hafta try soon.
Honestly, this recipe has been open on my browser since I saw it, over a MONTH ago! They look amazing, & I promise myself that at some point I’ll actually make them!
Wow. These cookies are deadly!!
Next time I might omit the sprinkling sugar..though I suspect it may be an important part of the nice outer texture…and will definitely add in some chopped peanuts. Even using crunchy peanut butter I think a few larger chunks of peanuts would be great.
Thanks for the recipe…off to explore more of your site now…
HOLY MACKEREL! These cookies ROCK!!!
Thanks, Deb! My husband thanks you, yet again, for posting another fabulous recipe.
I don’t even like peanut butter cookies, but these are exceptional…it’s the sugar and chocolate…mmmmmmm.
Finally made these! They’re great! Everyone wanted to know how they got the amazing texture on the outside. :) Oh I did use crunchy peanut butter too…yum!
I made these today, lactose free even ;)
I used Fleischmann’s unsalted margarine (soy based) and omitted the milk, substituting extra vanilla. I skipped the chips entirely (to keep them milk free) and these are amazing, thank you for sharing! When I took the first batch out of the oven, they were beautiful! I even did the the traditional fork criss-cross, and they didn’t fall apart like some recipes, even though I really lay on the outer coating of sugar (my favorite part). Thanks again!
Also the OH appreciates cookies he can eat that the answer to “Is there milk in this?” is “Nope!” I appreciate something basic enough that I can adapt to make us both happy.^^
Aren’t you astounded by the sheer volume of us that don’t have a fall-to peanut butter cookie recipe? Hooray for the internet!
I was SO disappointed by Magnolia. Especially after working at Sprinkles Cupcakes. The long line was expected, but something is hygenically wrong with the “serve yourself” atmosphere, along with the ridiculous prices. Sprinkles has very strict rules on customer service and packaging cupcakes. Magnolia was just a complete letdown on many levels.
I baked these cookies for Valentines to the delight of my roommates, classmates, and my guy. They were such a big hit! I used natural PB (the texture was still great) and mini dark chocolate chunks. I also advise making them small and not omitting the sugar sprinkling- they look like little gems!
Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ll definitely be baking more of your concoctions!
Oh my these look incredible. I make the Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies which only use 3-ingredients, but these look ridiculous. A little more involved, sure, but where do you use the chocolate chips? Clearly they are inside, are they just put into the center of each cookie? That looks like an incredible way to bake them, I’m excited for my next batch! Thanks!
- The Peanut Butter Boy
I’m also confused as to how much sugar goes in the batter, and how much is for sprinkling.
Hi Cat — The last tablespoon is for sprinkling (though you might need a second tablespoon extra). We’ll clean up the gibberish in this recipe later.
I have made this recipe twice. Once, because I am always on the lookout for a good PB cookie, and the second time because OMG!!!! I could not stop thinking about these cookies after the first batch was gone.
I used hippy dippy peanut butter and it worked fine. I did find my cookies were especially crumbly, and also very fluffy - the criss-cross disappeared completely and they puffed up considerably. Maybe I’ll try decreasing the leavening? I actually found that this recipe seems especially suited to giant cookies - the kind you find in a bakery. They maintain the great crispy/soft texture that is hard to get in giant cookies.
I made this recipe last night and it was picture perfect! I used only choc chips (I added between 3/4 and 1 cup of the chips) and it worked great. My husband was dreaming of using this dough in a potential cookie dough ice cream. I know this will be made again and again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi Deb,
I just recently discovered your blog, and I absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing your charming wit, mouth-watering photos, and delicious recipes! I’ve made these cookies twice already, and also the recipe you shared for the Tomato and Sausage Rissoto. Both were so good! My stomach appreciates you! Thanks again!
Very yummy, with or without the chocolate chips! I used Smucker’s Natural peanut butter, and that added a very pleasant texture to the cookies. It’s “creamy” on the label, though in my book it is not truly creamy.
I’ve seriously been searching for a peanut butter cookie like the ones I use to buy when I was a little kid from a lady at my church. These come particularly close! Maybe a stronger peanut butter taste but the Reese’s Pieces I added should take care of that!!!!!!!
Wow. DEFINITELY good cookies.
I am half way through baking these and they are AWESOME.
Thanks!
L.
I came across this site google’n for peanut butter cookies. Im happy that i landed here, the site is very cool. I live for food, and I’m pleased to come across someone with the same passion, willing to put in the time and effort to share some great info(and wonderful photos). I tried this recipe and it was fantastic. Just what i was looking for. I used all natural crunchy peanut butter, and reese’s chips. Turned out great. Thanks!
on this rainy, wet, new england day you made our day! we’re craving choc chip peanut butter cookies, so in doing a search we landed here! these look exactly like what were looking for! love your blog ~ we’ll be back for more! xo