Baking · American
Peanut Butter Cookies
Soft-centred, brown-sugar peanut butter cookies with the classic fork crisscross.
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Hands-off
- 40 min
- Oven preheat
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 h
- Makes
- 36 cookies
- Serves
- 12
The oven heats while you mix (overlaps the 15 min prep). Bake one sheet at a time, 8-12 min each; two sheets take 16-24 min. Allow about 20 min for the last sheet to cool. Three sheets add another 8-12 min. Total = 20 min active + 40 min hands-off (two sheets baked in turn, then cooling).
Oven 190 °C · 170 °C fan (375 °F)
Pan standard baking sheet, lined with parchment or greased (US: standard baking sheet, lined with parchment or greased)
- easy
- vegetarian
- cookies
- bake-sale
- classic
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? The recipe uses 1 egg, so halving isn't clean. To make more, mix a second batch rather than doubling in a small mixer, and keep baking one sheet at a time; bake time per sheet stays 8-12 minutes. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: electric mixer · large bowl · small bowl · baking sheets · parchment paper (or grease the sheet) · tablespoon or small scoop · fork · wire cooling rack · oven mitts
Contains: peanuts · milk · egg · wheat
Method
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, 375°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment or grease it.
Beat the peanut butter mix
In a large bowl, beat 203 g (3/4 cup) peanut butter, 113 g (1/2 cup) soft butter, 266 g (1 1/4 cups) packed brown sugar, 45 ml (3 tbsp) milk and 1 tsp vanilla at medium speed until well blended.
Add the egg
Add the 1 egg and beat just until it disappears into the mixture.
Add the dry ingredients
Stir 210 g (1 3/4 cups) flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda and 3/4 tsp salt together in a small bowl. Add them to the peanut butter mixture at low speed and mix only until no dry flour shows.
Shape with a fork
Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough 5 cm (2 in) apart on the sheet. Press each one lightly with the tines of a fork, then again the other way, to make a crisscross and flatten it a little.
Bake one sheet at a time
Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 12 minutes. Start checking at 8 minutes.
Ready when: The cookies look set, spring back slightly when you press one gently, and are just beginning to turn golden at the edges. They firm up as they cool, so don't wait for them to go hard.
Otto tried this firstOtto squeezes two sheets into the oven at once to save time. Bake one sheet at a time so every cookie gets the same heat.Cool
Leave the cookies on the hot sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Swaps
- Instead of butter (113 g / 1/2 cup): vegetable shortening, same volume (1/2 cup, about 92 g)
- Instead of creamy peanut butter: a peanut butter and chocolate spread, same amount A chocolate variation.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Storage
- Once completely cool, keep them in a tightly covered container.
If something goes wrong
- The fork sticks to the dough Why: Soft, sticky dough.
Dip the fork in sugar before each press. - Dough too soft to handle Why: Warm kitchen or very soft butter.
Refrigerate the dough until it is easy to handle. - Cookies hard and dry Why: Overbaked.
Take them out as soon as they are set and only just turning golden.
Good to know
- Parchment saves greasing and lets the cookies slide off easily (a greased sheet works too).
- Start checking at 8 minutes: ovens vary, and the range runs from 8 to 12.
Safety
- Contains peanuts, a major allergen that can cause severe reactions. Tell guests, and wash bowls, tools and hands well before handling other food.
- Don't eat or taste the raw dough. It contains raw flour and raw egg, which can carry harmful bacteria. Wash your hands after handling it.
- The oven and baking sheets get very hot. Use oven mitts, and kids should let an adult move sheets in and out of the oven.