Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- half a teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup commercial extra-crunchy peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
- 1/2 cup toffee bits
Prep the Oven and Peanuts
Adjust your oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the roasted peanuts in a food processor and pulse ~10-15 times. You’re looking for a coarse, gravelly texture with some larger pieces remaining, not a fine powder. Set this aside.
Make the Cookie Dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with both the light brown and granulated sugars on medium-high speed for ~2-3 minutes. The mixture should become visibly lighter in color and look fluffy; this process incorporates air, which is essential for the cookie’s texture.
Add the peanut butter and mix on medium speed until it’s fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla, mixing well after each addition.
Turn the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing only until the last streaks of flour disappear. Do not overmix. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the ground peanuts and the toffee bits.
Shape and Bake the Cookies
Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon-sized balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Dip the tines of a fork in a small bowl of water or granulated sugar to prevent sticking, and press down on each dough ball to create the classic cross-hatch pattern.
Bake for ~11-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets and swapping their positions on the racks halfway through. The cookies are done when they are puffed and the edges are light golden brown. The centers will look soft and slightly underdone; this is what you want for a chewy texture.
Cool and Store
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. They need this time to set up, and they will fall apart if you try to move them immediately.
After 5 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- half a teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup commercial extra-crunchy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup roasted salted peanuts
- 1/2 cup toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and position the racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions.
- Line two baking sheets with the parchment paper.
- Pulse the roasted peanuts in the food processor 10-15 times until coarsely ground with some larger pieces.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and the kosher salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat the butter with both sugars in the stand mixer on medium-high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the peanut butter on medium speed until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the flour mixture on low speed until just combined.
- Fold in the ground peanuts and the toffee bits with a spatula.
- Scoop 2-tablespoon balls of dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Create a crosshatch pattern on each cookie using a fork dipped in water or sugar.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are light golden and centers look slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
