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Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipes for peanut butter cookies abound, but this one packs a particularly powerful punch. The dough is studded with whole salted peanuts for extra crunch. Sandwich a few with jelly for an afternoon snack. Or embellish them instead by piping melted semisweet chocolate into the lines of the cross-hatch pattern.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flattening cookies
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup salted peanuts

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour and baking soda into a bowl.

    Step 2

    Put butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until well combined. Mix in vanilla and then peanut butter. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in peanuts.

    Step 3

    Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Dip the bottom of a glass in flour, tapping off excess, and use it to flatten balls slightly. Firmly press fork tines into each dough ball to make a cross-hatch pattern.

    Step 4

    Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until centers are firm and edges are lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Martha Stewart's Cookies
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