Peanut butter cookies are as basic as they arrive, however this model leans into deeper, toastier flavors by beginning with browned butter. Browning butter transforms it from a easy baking staple into an ingredient with nutty, heat, and caramel-like layers. That complexity enhances the peanut butter within the dough, giving these cookies dimension with out veering away from the nostalgic taste folks count on. 

After cooking the butter till the milk solids toast, changing into golden and aromatic, let the brown butter cool till barely agency. The brown butter then behaves very similar to softened butter, mixing simply with sugar and peanut butter.

These cookies have been designed to be comfortable and chewy, like packaged cookies however higher. A mixture of brown and granulated sugar ensures unfold, tenderness, and simply the correct quantity of caramel sweetness. Peanut butter chips contribute a pop of salty-sweet richness all through, with further chips pressed on prime for a bakery-style end. The cookies bake rapidly and are deliberately pulled from the oven earlier than the sides brown, guaranteeing they keep comfortable after cooling.

The result’s cookies that really feel acquainted but elevated, very best for bake gross sales, gifting, holidays, or just serving heat with a glass of milk. In addition they freeze fantastically, so that they’re an awesome make-ahead deal with. 

This isn’t the time for pure peanut butter

Pure peanut butter is an easy mix of floor peanuts, usually with simply salt added, that accommodates no stabilizers, inflicting the oils to separate naturally. As a result of its components lacks the stabilizers present in standard peanut butter, the fats can separate and alter the dough’s construction, making cookies unfold an excessive amount of and bake up oily or crumbly. Basic shelf-stable peanut butter gives constant texture, balanced sweetness, and dependable moisture, producing cookies that maintain their form, keep tender, and ship that signature chewy chunk.

Why aren’t all of the peanut butter chips stirred in?

We examined including extra peanut butter chips earlier than baking versus urgent them in after and located that each work. Stirring them in is simpler however provides the baked chips a barely speckled texture. Urgent chips onto the highest of the cookie dough is extra work however leaves the chips with a pleasant easy exterior. 

Notes from the Meals & Wine Check Kitchen 

• Bake the cookies solely till the sides are set. Any browning signifies firmness fairly than the meant comfortable, chewy texture.
• A #40 scoop yields constant parts and makes it simpler to roll easy, uniform dough balls.
• Peanut butter chips pressed onto the tops after portioning preserve a shiny, easy end as soon as baked.

This recipe was developed by Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman; the textual content was written by Breana Killeen.