I tend to favor crispy cookies rather than those that are soft and billowy. Knowing these were on the soft side of the cookie spectrum, I left this recipe on the back burner along with other recipes I haven’t’ gotten around to trying yet. On a lark, I took a chance on these peanut butter cookies. It doesn’t matter in the slightest that they are not crispy. These cookies are just pure peanut butter goodness with just a hint of salt. Divine.
Deb over at Smitten Kitchen posted the recipe last October. I truly regret not making these sooner. All my friends love them and they are a breeze to make.
I used beautiful flaky Maldon sea salt but any coarse salt such as fleur de sel works well.
Salted Peanut Butter Cookies
Author: Kiyo Miller adapted from Smitten Kitchen Blog
Serves: 26 cookies
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (335 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 16.3 ounce jar Skippy creamy peanut butter
- Flaky sea salt such as Maldon or coarse grained sea salt, to finish
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together light brown sugar and eggs until smooth. With a firm spatula, stir in vanilla extract, then the peanut butter. Stir well making sure the peanut butter is completely incorporated. Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes, stirring once.
- Scoop dough (I used a #40 scoop) onto prepared pan. Deb says for achieving the tallest final shape it is best to set the pan in your freezer for 15 minutes before baking. My pan won't fit in my freezer so I set the pan in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle dough balls very lightly with sea salt just before baking. Bake for 14 or 15 minutes. The cookies will be golden at the edges. Let cookies cool on pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before devouring.