Peanut butter cookies

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 175°C and line two flat baking sheets with parchment paper. These cookies are full of peanut oil, so they stick easily to the tray without a liner. The oven is ready when an oven thermometer shows the right temperature or the indicator light goes off.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Put 115 g softened unsalted butter and 250 g peanut butter in a bowl, add 150 g brown sugar and 100 g granulated sugar and beat with a mixer for about three minutes. The two butters need to blend completely so the cookies do not turn greasy. The mixture is ready when it is smooth, lighter in color and slightly fluffy.

   Suggested time: about 3 minutes.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Add 50 g eggs and 5 g vanilla extract to the bowl and beat on low speed for about thirty seconds. The egg acts as a binder, keeping the cookies from crumbling after baking. Stop when no streaks of egg remain and the mixture is smooth and creamy.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Mix 190 g all-purpose flour with 4 g baking soda and 2 g salt, then add it to the bowl and stir with a spatula until the dough just comes together. Peanut butter already makes the dough quite thick, so a short mix is all you need. The dough is ready when it is as soft as modeling clay and does not stick to your hands.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Wrap the dough well and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Cold dough is easier to roll into balls, and the cookies keep their thickness in the heat. The dough is ready when the surface feels cold and no longer looks oily.

   Suggested time: about 20 minutes.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Pour 30 g granulated sugar into a small bowl, roll the dough into balls about the size of a walnut, roll them in the sugar and arrange them on the trays about 5 cm apart. The outer layer of sugar makes a sparkly, crisp shell that contrasts with the soft inside. The balls are right when they are evenly round and fully coated in a thin layer of sugar.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Dip the tines of a fork in sugar so it does not stick, press down once on each ball, then turn the fork at a right angle and press again to make a crisscross pattern. Pressing the cookies flat lets the dense center bake at the same time as the edges. They are right when they are about 1 cm thick with clear crisscross lines.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Bake on the middle rack at 175°C for about 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies look underdone when they come out but will firm up as they cool. They are done when the edges are lightly golden and small cracks appear around the fork marks.

   Bake at 175°C for about 10 to 12 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Leave the cookies on the tray for about ten minutes before moving them to a rack with a spatula. Peanut butter cookies are very soft while hot, and moving them too soon will break them. They are right when they are firm enough to pick up without bending or breaking.

   Suggested time: about 10 minutes.

   Mark step 9 as done