Peanut Butter Cookies - Bake-Off XIII

[Kerry Beal]

Peanut butter cookies can polarize - some like them thin and crispy, some thick and chewy. Do you make them with smooth or crunchy style peanut butter? Is there a particular brand of peanut butter that makes the best cookies? How about adding extra chopped nuts?

So tell us all about your favorite peanut butter cookies - and don't forget to put your recipes in recipeGullet if you are willing to share?

[judiu]

Peanut butter? FEH!

[emmalish]

My favourite right now is Dorie Greenspan's Peanut Butter Crisscrosses with peanuts and chocolate chunks added. Crispy and buttery, melt in your mouth texture. I'm actually planning on making them tomorrow (was going to tonight, but got lazy).

[judiu]

My favourite right now is Dorie Greenspan's Peanut Butter Crisscrosses with peanuts and chocolate chunks added. Crispy and buttery, melt in your mouth texture. I'm actually planning on making them tomorrow (was going to tonight, but got lazy).

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Link, please?

[emmalish]

Link, please?

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It's from Baking: From My Home to Yours. We've got a thread going here.

[merstar]

These are insanely addictive. I've made them several times already - I use more peanut butter, about 1 cup creamy, lightly salted natural peanut butter, and drop them by very rounded Tbsp, slightly flattened. Baking time is about 12 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

http://www.recipezaar.com/48532

[Marmish]

I just made flourless peanut butter cookies the other day. They couldn't be easier, though I think they might be a little sweet. I used chunky peanut butter and made them really tiny and put a few chocolate chips in the center of some of them.

[alanamoana]

I just made a batch, I'll try to upload a photo tomorrow, loosely based on Carole Walter's "Peanut Jumbles".

I like peanut butter cookies sandy and with peanut pieces in them. I'm not sure if I like chocolate in them or not. I think I'm going to be experimenting a bit. Some of the better recipes I've tried in the past use shortening...

Tonight's batch used browned butter, whole roasted and salted peanuts and smooth peanut butter. While I think they were tasty, I did end up burning the first batch by not paying attention to the time in the oven. Even so, they were nice and crunchy while not too sweet.

I think the brown butter was overkill as I don't think it was noticeable after baking, I just happened to have some on hand and thought it would be a good addition. I also think the whole peanuts sort of took something from the cookies and that I prefer chopped.

Time to start playing

[Lisa2k]

I took Cook's Illustrated recipe for 'Big, Super-Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies', which contain crunchy peanut butter (although I used smooth and added a mix of light brown and dark brown sugar, instead of all dark brown, which the recipe lists) and roasted salted peanuts, ground into a fine powder. I then whip up a batch of the Bouchon Bakery's Nutter Butter peanut butter cookie filling, and sandwich the cookies with it. I don't have any photos since I haven't made them in a few weeks, and naturally, they're gone, but I will as soon as I make them again.

Edited to add - I prefer JIF for my peanut butter cookies and filling.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Lisa2k (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

I like Adam's chunky the best to bake with ..eat ..it is just the best peanut butter I think

(eta they are sell outs but the peanut butter is really still consistantly good in my opinion ...you used to be able to buy it still warm here in Tacoma)

Edited April 20, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Just made these the other day. CI's big supernutty peanut butter cookies. I didnt make them so big though. I used a meat pounder to make the marks.

My peanut butter loving spouse loved them. I started out by making half a batch, but then accidentally used the full amount of PB. I had to make the full batch but didnt have the full amount of softened butter out, so I reduced the butter by 6 Tbls and they were still good.

[CaliPoutine]

Speaking of PB cookies, dont know if you've all heard this. The winner of the Pillsbury bake-off was a stuffed peanut butter cookie using premade dough.

Its a very simple cookie filled with a pb filling( pb and confec. sugar) topped with a cinnamon sugar and chopped peanuts. There is a lot of controversy going on( from what I've read) regarding that recipe wining the million.

Our own Claire797 aka cookie madnesswrote a few blog entries on this. She also baked the cookie as written and with dough from scratch.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Thanks for that link Randi! here are the best peanut butter cookies I think ..they are perfectly traditional... very basic... that makes for the best cookie I think!

criss cross pb cookies click here

Edited April 20, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[kbjesq]

Just made these the other day.  CI's big supernutty peanut butter cookies.  I didnt make them so big though.  I used a meat pounder to make the marks. 

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Those look great, Randi, and what a clever thought to use a meat pounder for making the impression on the top!

[alanamoana]

Just made these the other day.  CI's big supernutty peanut butter cookies.  I didnt make them so big though.  I used a meat pounder to make the marks. 

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Those look great, Randi, and what a clever thought to use a meat pounder for making the impression on the top!

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reading Alice Medrich's book on cookies, she says to use anything in the kitchen you can get your hands on to make interesting impressions in your pb cookies. Now looking at it, I think Kerry Beal (correct me if I'm wrong) used drawer pulls for chocolate decor...you could probably use something like that for personalized pb cookies as well.

[Chris Hennes]

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following the Cook's Illustrated thread that I love their recipe for peanut butter cookies. I like the inclusion of both peanut butter and fresh peanuts: it really ups the nuttiness (I'm a big fan of nuttiness!). One thing to watch out for is that they are very hygroscopic: I once left a batch out on the counter overnight, and it rained so was very humid. When I picked one of the cookies up the next morning it practically disintegrated in my hand it had absorbed so much moisture. It still tasted good, though!

[alanamoana]

see my post above regarding comments on the recipe i followed

Edited April 21, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[Lisa2k]

Just made these the other day.  CI's big supernutty peanut butter cookies.  I didnt make them so big though.  I used a meat pounder to make the marks. 

My peanut butter loving spouse loved them. I started out by making half a batch, but then accidentally used the full amount of PB.  I had to make the full batch but didnt have the full amount of softened butter out, so I reduced the butter by 6 Tbls and they were still good.

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They look awesome, Cali! I want grab a handul from your photo! ~~

That said..I never make the criss cross pattern with the fork when I make them as sandwich nutter butters, as I think the peanut butter filling looks prettier when the cookies are smooth on top.

[DesertCulinary]

My favourite right now is Dorie Greenspan's Peanut Butter Crisscrosses with peanuts and chocolate chunks added. Crispy and buttery, melt in your mouth texture. I'm actually planning on making them tomorrow (was going to tonight, but got lazy).

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I agree - these are quite tasty!

We made the chocolate version awhile ago and used the fun potato masher method to flatten them!

[gfron1]

What a great start on this Bake-Off! I don't really care to make them, but I sure love to eat them - so thanks for the eye candy. Does anyone know why we press them with forks (or potato mashers)? Is it fashion or function?

[Chufi]

Ok. here's my question: I'm in Europe, and for years have been baffled by the natural/ not natural peanutbutter issue. I´ve always baked recipes caling for pb with the regular pb that I always have in the house, simply ignoring the fact that it might or might not be the right kind. But now I want to know!

What does it mean? The label on my Dutch pb lists as ingredients: peanuts 93 %, vegetable oil, salt.

[jumanggy]

Hi Klary, natural peanut butter does not contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The easiest way to tell the difference (easier than taste or texture) is that freshly opened natural peanut butter has a layer of oil settling on top which you must stir in before using. I think Fine Cooking has asserted that non-natural (processed) peanut butter is better for cookies, since natural peanut butter has a weaker taste when baked. I don't know what Cook's Illustrated has to say about the matter.

(Gorgeous cookies, by the way, y'all

[Lisa2k]

Hi Klary, natural peanut butter does not contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The easiest way to tell the difference (easier than taste or texture) is that freshly opened natural peanut butter has a layer of oil settling on top which you must stir in before using. I think Fine Cooking has asserted that non-natural (processed) peanut butter is better for cookies, since natural peanut butter has a weaker taste when baked. I don't know what Cook's Illustrated has to say about the matter.

(Gorgeous cookies, by the way, y'all

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Also, non-natural peanut butter contains sugar, hence why many prefer it over natural. It really does make a difference, especially in baking. Just out of curioisity, do peanuts contain natural sugars? If they do, let's just say good 'ole JIF, Skippy and Peter Pan, have a lot more sugar added to them.

[Chufi]

My Dutch peanutbutter has the added oil (not the oil floating on top, but the oil to keep it homogenized), but not the sugar Lisa2k mentions.

Even more confused now!

[merstar]

I always use natural peanut butter for cookies with no problems. I can't stand the sickly sweet and overly salty taste of the partially hydrogenated stuff, such as Jif, Skippy, etc. Luckily, I found an excellent, very peanutty tasting natural peanut butter after going through many that were fairly bland.

Edited April 21, 2008 by merstar (log)