Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Confession time: I eat peanut butter almost every day. I’ve loved the stuff since before I can remember.

In fact, I used to bring peanut butter sandwiches to school every day. No jam. No jelly. Just peanut butter. My mom thought I was crazy, but my PB love knows no bounds!

Ready? Watch the video: how to make peanut butter cookies!

It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I began to experiment in baking with peanut butter. That really took things to a whole new level of nutty deliciousness.

That’s why I’m obsessed with these Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies. They contain peanut goodness in two forms: Simple Truth Organic Creamy Peanut Butter + Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, both found at your local Kroger family store (mine is Fry’s in Arizona).

What’s so great about baking cookies for summer entertaining is that they’re simple to make, transport easily, and can be made ahead of time.

That’s why it was such a no brainer to include this recipe in our Summer Barbecue Video Series.

You can cover and refrigerate the dough for up to 72 hours before baking. The cookies will actually bake up thicker the longer the dough has been chilled.

You can also freeze the cookie dough. Simply portion out balls of dough and place on a lined baking tray. Pop the tray in the freezer and freeze until the dough is solid. Remove the balls of dough to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

You can actually bake directly from the freezer; just add a few minutes onto the baking time. Your cookies will likely bake up thicker, but I love thick cookies!

This recipe is such a crowd pleaser. Alex & Sonja’s son Larson LOVED these cookies. He couldn’t get enough of them!

More Summer BBQ Recipes:

Here are the other summer barbeque recipes from our series!

• Vanilla Sheet Cake with Grilled Strawberries
• Cheesy Skillet Cornbread
• Loaded Grilled Nachos
• Incredible No Mayo Potato Salad
• Ultimate Grilled Veggie Burgers

The full series recipe video playlist is HERE!

5 from 1 vote

How to make

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 30 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Classic Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies are slightly soft in the center but loaded with roasted peanuts. They’re a must for anyone’s cookie repertoire and are perfectly easy and transportable for summer entertaining.

Ingredients

• 1 1 ⁄2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (207 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1 ⁄2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
• 1 ⁄2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 ⁄2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
• 3/4 (201 grams) Simple Truth Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (70 grams) roughly chopped Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts

For rolling:

• 1 ⁄3 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium- high speed until smooth and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until combined. Stir in the peanuts.
4. Using a medium, spring-loaded cookie scoop, form the dough into 1 1⁄2 tablespoon rounds and roll in the granulated sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Press the back of a fork into each ball of dough twice to create a crisscross pattern while slightly flattening the dough.
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe by Tessa Arias