Let’s face it: desserts are the best things that could’ve been made. The wait of being immersed in “something sweet” after having a meal could easily be anyone’s highlight of the day. If you have a sweet tooth, you would agree that amidst all the fancy desserts, nothing can beat the comfort of a box of freshly baked cookies.
While there are thousands of cookie variations, one of the most beloved types is peanut butter cookies. As if the box of peanut butter wasn’t enough to make you smile, just imagine how greatly the cookies can uplift your mood. Even though baking these cookies might seem simple, there are a few tips to ensure that you get just the perfect peanut butter cookies every time.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
The ingredient that can make of break the overall flavor of peanut butter cookies is definitely – peanut butter. Depending on the quality and freshness of the peanut butter, the taste of the crunchy cookies will be defined. So, while you’re picking the jar of peanut butter, make sure that you choose the best brand with consistent fat content. If you have the time, you can also make the peanut butter at home for the best results.
While following any recipe for peanut butter cookies, you must have observed that you require both white and brown sugar. But knowing their ratio makes all the difference. Since the white sugar helps to enhance the crispiness of cookies and brown sugar adds moisture to make the peanut butter cookies chewy, they need to be added in the right proportions. As a standard recipe, if you are using ½ cup of white sugar, you must add ¾ cup of brown sugar. This ratio will give you soft and melt-in-mouth peanut butter cookies.
After you have all the ingredients in the right ratios and at the correct temperatures, the next step is to mix them all together. However, a crucial step that is often overlooked is creaming butter and sugar. Since this step enhances the texture of the cookies, making the dough rise while being baked, you must not skip spending time on the creaming process. Firstly, you should use softened butter and then, you should blend in sugar on medium speed while pulsing.
Once all the ingredients are mixed, you can knead a dough. But make sure that you don’t overmix as it can lead to making harder peanut butter cookies. After achieving just the perfect dough, it is recommended that you refrigerate it for about half an hour allowing all the flavors to meld. Rightly said, patience is one of the key virtues to have while baking and the more you wait, the better will be the results of your baked peanut butter cookies.
Lastly, before you set the baking tray in the oven, preheat it to 175°C. Then, you can keep the cookie dough in the oven and watch the cookies rising from the little window. Once you see the cookies getting golden brown from the edges, check their doneness as overbaked cookies can lead to dry and crumbly peanut butter cookies. As a standard rule, if you like soft and chewy cookies, you can bake for 8-10 minutes and if you want slightly crispy cookies you can let them bake for 15 minutes. Just let them cool before you dig in.