Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

The three most popular types of cookies in America are chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter cookies. Chocolate chip cookies may be the king of cookies and oatmeal cookies are the catch-all cookies, but peanut butter cookies are the most comforting.

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes

Peanut butter cookies are part of the comfort food group. Many people think of peanut butter cookies as a wintertime treat, but I believe that they are the perfect treat any time you need a little lift in your life.

In general, I like to add a touch of nutmeg to my peanut butter cookies because it adds a bit of depth to the flavor of the cookie. If you like, you can add some cinnamon as well or instead of the nutmeg.

Peanut butter comes in many forms: smooth, chunky, natural, homemade, and factory-made industrial peanut purée. You can use any peanut butter you happen to have on hand but I suggest that you use chunky style peanut butter. This is because the chunky style will fill your cookies with little peanut bits and those bits add a contrasting texture to your cookies.

May the Forks Be with You

There are two types of peanut butter cookie recipe--the thumbprint cookie and the fork print cookie. Where most cookies can be formed in any way the baker likes, peanut butter cookies have a very distinct look. Some people believe that a peanut butter cookie recipe is only perfect if it has a thumbprint in the center of it while others feel quite strongly that the only true peanut butter cookie recipe has a fork print on the top. I am a fork print guy myself.

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of flour
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
• Pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter in your mixer using the paddle attachment until it is soft.
3. Add the brown and white sugars to the butter and cream until light and fluffy.
4. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.
5. Add peanut butter and egg to the butter/sugar mixture.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
7. Roll the dough into one-inch balls.
8. Arrange the dough balls on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with parchment paper.
9. Flatten using a fork, pressing the fork into the top of the dough in a criss-cross pattern.
10. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.
11. Let cool before serving.