Recently, I was looking for a peanut butter cookie recipe that used crunchy peanut butter. I came across a great recipe on a site called Baking Bites where not only my requisite crunchy peanut butter was used, but she also threw in some fudgy brownie pieces to create a delicious and ethereal crunchy and fudgy cookie experience…well, isn’t that what a cookie is supposed to be?
I tried the recipe several times and tweaked it along the way. The original recipe used softened butter but I found that using cold butter worked best. She also creamed the butter until light and creamy, but I found a better result in mixing the ingredients until just combined. Also, she baked her cookies directly after making the batter at 375°F which is fine if you need to do that…but you will get a better result if you either refrigerate or freeze the dough for a couple of hours and bake it at 350°F. This is the perfect cookie dough to make ahead and store in your freezer so you can bake off the dough and fill your cookie cravings when needed.
I chose to create a peanut butter and marble cookie that is easy to throw together just in case you may not have brownie pieces on hand. I don’t’ like using cup measurements when baking, since a more precise measuring is required… so I scaled out the measurements so that you will have a more consistent result each and every time. After a little tweaking, the final cookie came out absolutely fantastic! Make sure to include this in your baking schedule for the Holidays…everyone will LOVE it.
Marbled Peanut Butter Cookies (makes about 1 dozen large cookies)
1/2 cup salted butter, cold (4oz)
1/2 cup brown sugar (4 oz)
1/2 cup white sugar (4 oz)
1 large egg (1.8 oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract (.1 oz)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (5 oz)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour (6 oz)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 oz unsweetened or bittersweet
Peanuts to top cookies **optional
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the cold butter and both sugars and mix until just combined. Next add the crunchy peanut butter and mix again, and then add the egg and vanilla until just combined. In a separate bowl, measure out all of the dry ingredients (no need to sift) and slowly add the dry ingredients into the batter until well combined. Melt chocolate in your microwave and add 2 heaping tablespoons of the peanut butter batter into the chocolate and stir until well combined. Add this to the rest of the cookie batter and swirl. If you choose not to marble the cookie, just do not use the chocolate. Scoop out batter, top with peanuts and either refrigerate or freeze. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F and place chilled/frozen dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake until the edges are golden brown about 10-12 minutes. Cookies may look raw in the center, but pull them at this time and allow them to cool on your counter. They will be perfectly set when cool.
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