Top Tips For Making Pro-Level Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter cookies have been a delightful treat enjoyed by young and old since George Washington Carver of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama published a few different recipes in "How to Grow the Peanut: And 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human Consumption" in 1917. Over the years, though, people have found ways to amp up the nutty flavor. Daily Meal talked to Markita Lewis, M.S., R.D., Marketing and Communications Manager for the National Peanut Board, and learned that adding peanut butter powder can turn classic peanut butter cookies into the ultimate treat.
"My favorite trick to making peanut butter cookies is using three types of peanut butter: smooth peanut butter, powdered peanut butter and chopped roasted peanuts," Lewis told Daily Meal. "These cookies have the ultimate peanut butter flavor while being smooth, creamy, and soft at the same time." Peanut butter powder is different from peanut flour in that it usually has added salt, sweetener, or both. As a result, powdered peanut butter is ideal for adding to Daily Meal's 20-minute peanut butter cookie recipe. It only takes about 1 cup to infuse even more nuttiness into the cookies. Just keep in mind that you might need an extra egg if the dough looks and feels too dry.
On the other hand, peanut butter powder is a great substitute in two-ingredient peanut butter cookies if you don't have creamy peanut butter on hand or if you want cookies with additional protein. Simply reconstitute the powder to make enough peanut butter for your recipe. Plus, you can replace ¼ of the flour in any cookie recipe — such as in banana nut oatmeal cookies — with powdered peanut butter to add extra nutty flavor.
The most common mistake to avoid when baking peanut butter cookies
Along with recommending that you use three peanut forms to make pro-level peanut butter cookies, Markita Lewis gave Daily Meal some baking tips to make sure that the cookies come out of the oven perfectly. She noted, "The most common mistake I see is people greasing the cookie sheet. Thanks to the natural, healthy oils already present in peanut butter, an ungreased cookie sheet is best." You don't even need parchment paper if you don't want to use it, but lining your baking sheet does make for easier cleanup when your cookies are done.
Lewis' final tip is to avoid over-baking the cookies — whether you're making double-delight peanut butter cookies or your own recipe. "Peanut butter cookies don't need to bake long, so be sure to keep an eye on them when they're in the oven! I recommend baking them for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees [Fahrenheit] for the perfect texture." Peanut butter cookies don't fully set until they're completely cooled, but you'll know they're done when the dough doesn't feel mushy to the touch and the edges are light brown.