Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, sweet and salty, these peanut butter cookies are perfection. The dough comes together in one bowl — no stand mixer required — and the baked cookies could not be more delicious!
Jessie Sheehan’s Snackable Bakes is filled with “100 easy peasy recipes for exceptionally scrumptious sweets and treats,” including these soft and chewy peanut butter cookies, which won The Pancake Princess’s peanut butter cookie bakeoff , triumphing over recipes from Bon Appetit , The New York Times , Bravetart , and Ovenly, to name a few.
As with many soft and chewy cookies, these are made with brown sugar alone, which in addition to chew, adds lovely caramel-y notes to the cookie. But what separates these peanut butter cookies from others is the coating, which includes both sugar and flaky sea salt, creating that incredibly irresistible salty-sweet dynamic.
The result? A sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, nicely peanutty and salty cookie with a surface crinkling to perfection. Did I mention it’s a one-bowl job? What are you waiting for? The peanut butter cookie of your dreams is just a few whisk strokes away.
How to Make Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients:
Melt the butter and let it cool briefly; then whisk in brown sugar and vanilla.
Add two eggs, whisking after each addition.
Whisk in the peanut butter.
Then add baking soda, baking powder, and salt, whisking after each addition.
Finally, switch to using a spatula, and fold in the flour.
At this point, because the dough is very sticky, I like to chill it for about an hour before portioning it. You can also chill it overnight before portioning it.
I like to use my scale to portion the batter into 50-gram portions. Cold-ish batter makes this easier.
Before baking, roll the portioned balls into granulated sugar. Depending on the size of your dough balls, you’ll be able to fit 6 to 8 per sheet pan.
Bake at 375ºF for 14 to 16 minutes.
Out of the oven, flatten the cookies gently with a spatula.
Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan before storing.
Description
Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, sweet and salty, these peanut butter cookies are perfection. The dough comes together in one bowl — no stand mixer required — and the baked cookies could not be more delicious!
From Jessie Sheehan’s latest book, Snackable Bakes . I made a few small changes:
- In place of using a combination of butter and shortening, I use all butter. If you would like to use the combination of shortening and butter, use 1/4 cup (48 g) shortening and 3/4 cup (169 g) butter. Jessie includes shortening in her recipe because it shortens “the time between assembly and baking, as it keeps the cookies from spreading as they bake.” Without it, she notes, the dough needs a rest in the fridge, which is what I’ve done here.
- I’ve also made the cookies smaller. Jessie uses a 1/4 cup measure to portion the batter, which will give you 16 jumbo cookies. I portion the batter into 50-gram balls using my scale, and as a result I get more cookies: 23 to 24.
Variation from Snackable Bakes:
- Fold in 1 cup (170 g) of milk chocolate chips into the batter along with the flour.
Sugar Quantity
Often people ask if the quantity of sugar can be reduced. The answer is often yes, and if you know you prefer a less sweet cookie, I think you could make these successfully by cutting back 1/4 cup of the sugar or possibly even a little bit more. Keep in mind, the sugar lends not only a sweetness but also a softness and chewiness, too, so you don’t want to cut it back to the point where the texture becomes compromised.
1 cup ( 225 g ) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, see notes above
1.5 cups ( 300 g ) packed light brown sugar, or slightly less, see notes above
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1 cup ( 255 g ) smooth peanut butter, such as JIF or Skippy (i.e. not all-natural)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1.25 teaspoons ( 5 gram ) kosher salt
2.5 cups ( 325 g ) all-purpose flour
2 to 4 tablespoons ( 25 to 50 g) granulated sugar for rolling
flaky sea salt for sprinkling, optional
- Place the butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in the peanut butter. Add the baking soda, and whisk to combine. Add the baking powder, and whisk to combine. Add the salt, and whisk to combine. Finally, fold in the flour.
- At this point, the batter will be very wet and sticky. You can chill it for one hour before portioning it into smaller balls and then returning to the fridge to rest overnight. Or you can chill the batter overnight or until you are ready to portion it. If you choose to chill the batter for a longer period of time, you may need to let the batter rest at room temperature briefly to allow it to soften before portioning it. When you are ready to portion, use a 2-tablespoon scoop or a scale to portion the batter into 50-gram balls. You should get 23 to 24 portions. Ball up each portion.
- Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll each ball in the sugar. At this point, you can chill the dough balls until you are ready to bake or you can proceed with the recipe.
- Heat the oven to 375ºF. Place 8 of the sugar-coated cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops are slightly puffed and crinkly and the cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges. (I find 15 minutes to be perfect.)
- Remove the pan from the oven. Use a spatula to flatten each ball gently. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan before eating or storing — I do prefer the texture and taste of these cookies when they have cooled completely.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, sweet and salty, these peanut butter cookies are perfection. The dough comes together in one bowl — no stand mixer required — and the baked cookies could not be more delicious!
Jessie Sheehan’s Snackable Bakes is filled with “100 easy peasy recipes for exceptionally scrumptious sweets and treats,” including these soft and chewy peanut butter cookies, which won The Pancake Princess’s peanut butter cookie bakeoff , triumphing over recipes from Bon Appetit , The New York Times , Bravetart , and Ovenly, to name a few.
As with many soft and chewy cookies, these are made with brown sugar alone, which in addition to chew, adds lovely caramel-y notes to the cookie. But what separates these peanut butter cookies from others is the coating, which includes both sugar and flaky sea salt, creating that incredibly irresistible salty-sweet dynamic.
The result? A sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, nicely peanutty and salty cookie with a surface crinkling to perfection. Did I mention it’s a one-bowl job? What are you waiting for? The peanut butter cookie of your dreams is just a few whisk strokes away.
How to Make Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients:
Melt the butter and let it cool briefly; then whisk in brown sugar and vanilla.
Add two eggs, whisking after each addition.
Whisk in the peanut butter.
Then add baking soda, baking powder, and salt, whisking after each addition.
Finally, switch to using a spatula, and fold in the flour.
At this point, because the dough is very sticky, I like to chill it for about an hour before portioning it. You can also chill it overnight before portioning it.
I like to use my scale to portion the batter into 50-gram portions. Cold-ish batter makes this easier.
Before baking, roll the portioned balls into granulated sugar. Depending on the size of your dough balls, you’ll be able to fit 6 to 8 per sheet pan.
Bake at 375ºF for 14 to 16 minutes.
Out of the oven, flatten the cookies gently with a spatula.
Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan before storing.
Description
Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, sweet and salty, these peanut butter cookies are perfection. The dough comes together in one bowl — no stand mixer required — and the baked cookies could not be more delicious!
From Jessie Sheehan’s latest book, Snackable Bakes . I made a few small changes:
- In place of using a combination of butter and shortening, I use all butter. If you would like to use the combination of shortening and butter, use 1/4 cup (48 g) shortening and 3/4 cup (169 g) butter. Jessie includes shortening in her recipe because it shortens “the time between assembly and baking, as it keeps the cookies from spreading as they bake.” Without it, she notes, the dough needs a rest in the fridge, which is what I’ve done here.
- I’ve also made the cookies smaller. Jessie uses a 1/4 cup measure to portion the batter, which will give you 16 jumbo cookies. I portion the batter into 50-gram balls using my scale, and as a result I get more cookies: 23 to 24.
Variation from Snackable Bakes:
- Fold in 1 cup (170 g) of milk chocolate chips into the batter along with the flour.
Sugar Quantity
Often people ask if the quantity of sugar can be reduced. The answer is often yes, and if you know you prefer a less sweet cookie, I think you could make these successfully by cutting back 1/4 cup of the sugar or possibly even a little bit more. Keep in mind, the sugar lends not only a sweetness but also a softness and chewiness, too, so you don’t want to cut it back to the point where the texture becomes compromised.
1 cup ( 225 g ) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, see notes above
1.5 cups ( 300 g ) packed light brown sugar, or slightly less, see notes above
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1 cup ( 255 g ) smooth peanut butter, such as JIF or Skippy (i.e. not all-natural)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1.25 teaspoons ( 5 gram ) kosher salt
2.5 cups ( 325 g ) all-purpose flour
2 to 4 tablespoons ( 25 to 50 g) granulated sugar for rolling
flaky sea salt for sprinkling, optional
- Place the butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in the peanut butter. Add the baking soda, and whisk to combine. Add the baking powder, and whisk to combine. Add the salt, and whisk to combine. Finally, fold in the flour.
- At this point, the batter will be very wet and sticky. You can chill it for one hour before portioning it into smaller balls and then returning to the fridge to rest overnight. Or you can chill the batter overnight or until you are ready to portion it. If you choose to chill the batter for a longer period of time, you may need to let the batter rest at room temperature briefly to allow it to soften before portioning it. When you are ready to portion, use a 2-tablespoon scoop or a scale to portion the batter into 50-gram balls. You should get 23 to 24 portions. Ball up each portion.
- Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll each ball in the sugar. At this point, you can chill the dough balls until you are ready to bake or you can proceed with the recipe.
- Heat the oven to 375ºF. Place 8 of the sugar-coated cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops are slightly puffed and crinkly and the cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges. (I find 15 minutes to be perfect.)
- Remove the pan from the oven. Use a spatula to flatten each ball gently. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan before eating or storing — I do prefer the texture and taste of these cookies when they have cooled completely.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, sweet and salty, these peanut butter cookies are perfection. The dough comes together in one bowl — no stand mixer required — and the baked cookies could not be more delicious!
From Jessie Sheehan’s latest book, Snackable Bakes . I made a few small changes:
- In place of using a combination of butter and shortening, I use all butter. If you would like to use the combination of shortening and butter, use 1/4 cup (48 g) shortening and 3/4 cup (169 g) butter. Jessie includes shortening in her recipe because it shortens “the time between assembly and baking, as it keeps the cookies from spreading as they bake.” Without it, she notes, the dough needs a rest in the fridge, which is what I’ve done here.
- I’ve also made the cookies smaller. Jessie uses a 1/4 cup measure to portion the batter, which will give you 16 jumbo cookies. I portion the batter into 50-gram balls using my scale, and as a result I get more cookies: 23 to 24.
Variation from Snackable Bakes:
- Fold in 1 cup (170 g) of milk chocolate chips into the batter along with the flour.
Sugar Quantity
Often people ask if the quantity of sugar can be reduced. The answer is often yes, and if you know you prefer a less sweet cookie, I think you could make these successfully by cutting back 1/4 cup of the sugar or possibly even a little bit more. Keep in mind, the sugar lends not only a sweetness but also a softness and chewiness, too, so you don’t want to cut it back to the point where the texture becomes compromised.
1 cup ( 225 g ) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, see notes above
1.5 cups ( 300 g ) packed light brown sugar, or slightly less, see notes above
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1 cup ( 255 g ) smooth peanut butter, such as JIF or Skippy (i.e. not all-natural)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1.25 teaspoons ( 5 gram ) kosher salt
2.5 cups ( 325 g ) all-purpose flour
2 to 4 tablespoons ( 25 to 50 g) granulated sugar for rolling
flaky sea salt for sprinkling, optional
- Place the butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in the peanut butter. Add the baking soda, and whisk to combine. Add the baking powder, and whisk to combine. Add the salt, and whisk to combine. Finally, fold in the flour.
- At this point, the batter will be very wet and sticky. You can chill it for one hour before portioning it into smaller balls and then returning to the fridge to rest overnight. Or you can chill the batter overnight or until you are ready to portion it. If you choose to chill the batter for a longer period of time, you may need to let the batter rest at room temperature briefly to allow it to soften before portioning it. When you are ready to portion, use a 2-tablespoon scoop or a scale to portion the batter into 50-gram balls. You should get 23 to 24 portions. Ball up each portion.
- Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll each ball in the sugar. At this point, you can chill the dough balls until you are ready to bake or you can proceed with the recipe.
- Heat the oven to 375ºF. Place 8 of the sugar-coated cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops are slightly puffed and crinkly and the cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges. (I find 15 minutes to be perfect.)
- Remove the pan from the oven. Use a spatula to flatten each ball gently. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan before eating or storing — I do prefer the texture and taste of these cookies when they have cooled completely.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2022/05/01/soft-and-chewy-contest-winning-peanut-butter-cookies/
For local people, a ticket to one of the many classes offered at The Workshop Experience next weekend in Hillsdale would also make a wonderful gift.
PS: My perennial favorites can be found in the shop .
PPS: Last year’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide
Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Bread Toast Crumbs
Of course, I’m always honored when you gift my book to anyone you think might enjoy learning how to bake simple bread. I also sell these peasant bread kits , which include all the peasant bread baking essentials: two 1-qt Pyrex bowls, a blue Dot and Army cloth bowl cover, a GIR spatula, a digital scale, and a signed copy of Bread Toast Crumbs . (Note: A “toaster” notecard will replace the one featured below, as I am currently out of the Julia Child notecards.)
Sweet Treats
Set of Ted Lasso “Biscuit” Boxes
For the Ted Lasso fan in your life, what could be more exciting than to receive a little pink box filled with homemade shortbread ?
Here’s what’s in the package:
- 10 boxes, each measuring 4.25 x 2.75 x 1.75 inches
- a classic shortbread recipe
You could gift the set of boxes or you could make the shortbread and gift them in one of the boxes.
Red Truck Bakery’s Honeysuckle and Sweet Tea Cake
The owner of Red Truck Bakery, whose cookbook I wrote about several years ago, kindly sent me one of their new Honeysuckle and Sweet Tea Cakes, and it was so yummy! This is how it’s described on their website:
“We’ve spent three years trying to get this just right, and the reaction has been great. It’s a delicate 6-inch Bundt cake (a little smaller than our usual Bundt cakes), and perfect for tea or a snack in the afternoon, although folks we’ve sent it to, enjoyed it at breakfast and for dessert. We use real natural honeysuckle extract to give it a subtle taste, along with hints of orange and lemon zest, black tea, honey, and fresh and crystallized ginger.”
I love the small size:
It’s very moist, too:
A New Cookbook
For the cook in your life, you can’t go wrong gifting a new cookbook. Here are a few I’ve picked up recently. I haven’t had a chance to cook from any of them extensively, but I have lots of recipes flagged in each of them.
Colu Cooks Easy Fancy Food by Colu Henry. Find Colu’s pillowy ricotta gnocchi recipe here .
Snackable Bakes by Jessie Sheehan. Find Jessie’s Contest-Winning Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe here .
Snacks for Dinner by Lukas Volger. How cute is this cover? I love Lukas’s recipes. Find his mushroom-polenta bake recipe here .
I Dream of Dinner by Ali Slagle. There is an All-Corner-Pieces Baked Pasta recipe in this book I am dying to make as well as a recipe for meatballs bound with ricotta (as opposed to bread crumbs) and Eggs with Smoky Scallion Oil. Yum.
The Modern Proper by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer. Eyeing their recipe for Baked Penne Chicken Puttanesca and Crispy Ginger Ramen Noodles.
The Cake Book by Rebecca Firth. This book came out last December, and like Rebecca’s first book, The Cookie Book , this one is filled with fun and whimsical recipes. You could pair it with a box of sprinkles .
Salad Freak by Jess Damuk. Who doesn’t love a good salad? This book is loaded with inspiration to keep your salad game strong all summer (and beyond 🎉) long.
Other Things
A Way to Garden
Salt
A few months ago, my cousin, who runs a really fun shop called Pistol and Lucy , sent me a beautiful selection of sea salts from South Seas Salts . I’ve been sprinkling the chili salt on oven fries, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with the other flavors. For the salt lover in your life, a bag of Jacobson Salt Co Sea Salt or a bucket of Maldon would be a dreamy gift.
Hand cream or other product from Olio E Osso . (Learned about this company from Colu!)
One of you told me about this mandoline . I made a video of the process using it to chop potatoes two ways: one into batons for oven fries and one into thin slices for chips. I will add it here as soon as I can. It’s much safe than the mandoline I love and use all the time, and it works really well.
Hayden Flour Mills Polenta or White Sonora Wheat Flour . You could gift the polenta with a recipe for oven-baked polenta and the flour with a recipe for Sonoran Flour Tortillas . Love these boxes.
A beautiful bag, which you could stuff with books, salts, sweet treats, and more. Elsie Green sells a similar Moroccan tote.
In addition to the items above, a gift certificate to a local shop or restaurant, such as The Vischer Ferry General Store or Arthur’s Market or The Broken Inn (a wonderful new addition to the neighborhood 🎉) would make a great gift. Here are some local and online shops I love:
Local Shops
Vischer Ferry General Store
Arthur’s Market
Studio 4 Hot Yoga
Hatchet Hardware Store
Forts Ferry Farm
Fort Orange General Store
Bluebird
Schenectady Trading Co
Niskayuna Co-op
Great Flats Brewery
Hillsdale General Store
The Broken Inn
And here are some online shops I return to again and again:
Online Shops
Bloomscape
Burlap and Barrel
Tea Drops
Bombas
Food52
Vuori
Framebridge
Beauty Counter
Elsie Green
GoldBelly
Dot and Army
The Orange Shop
