Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
I’d be lying to you all if I said things were going great over here. And now that I’ve typed that out it just sounds ridiculous. Because truly things are more than great, we have our health, we have food, heck we are even growing our own veggies! Things are more than great in the grand scheme of things. But if you were to be enjoying a peaceful walk down our street, and then happily pass by our home, you’d more likely than not hear some type of 5 year old melt down, a tired mom pleading for her child to clean up her toys, or a teething baby whining to be picked up and held. The last week or so has been pretty emotional. For everyone. I’m not sure if the stars aren’t aligned or something is up with the moon? I’m not into that kind of thing, so who knows. Though I do know after having time off from virtual school, Mila is less than thrilled to get back into it. And the baby is trying to grow teeth which makes her very cranky. I think I’m needed in a few different places at once right now, holding baby, doing school with Mila, work. Then the end of the day comes and Dan and I tag team dinner, bath, bedtime. By the end of the day I couldn’t even tell you really what even happened. I guess I’m just tired is all.
We all are feeling the same in some way or another. I am sure of it. Leave your story below, it is OK. You can let it out here. I will say I feel a lot better after just chatting with you and typing out how things are right now.
When you check out at the store or see an acquaintance in passing it is always the same. They say “Hi! How are you?” and you say “So nice to see you! I’m great thank you, how are you?” Is it me who is always desperately wanting to launch into how I really am. Sometimes I want to scream that I’m not doing that great. I’m actually pretty flustered right now because my five year old loves talking back and the only person my baby wants is me so we are tethered together. Anyways, you get it. I feel better now.
Two things that ALWAYS turn things around for the better are A. getting outside for a walk or run and B. making cookies. This week we have peanut butter cookie dough stacked in the freezer and you might want to do the same if you need a pick me up! Find the recipe below friends and stay positive. Talk to someone and let it out. Even if it sounds so small. We got this! And when all else fails, we got cookies!
Hot Tip! Use THIS 2 ounce scoop for cookies and always scoop your cookies onto a cutting board lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This way, once your cookies are scooped they will have something sturdy to transfer to the refrigerator on.
Once your cookie dough balls are fully chilled and firm, transfer them to a baking sheet with ease. And don’t forget to sprinkle each one with sea salt.
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Step 1: In a stand mixer or large bowl with a whisk, cream together your butter and sugars. You’ll want to make sure the butter is completely softened at room temperature so the sugars dissolve into it and the three become one fluffy consistency. This step typically takes about 2 to 3 minutes at medium speed on the stand mixer or a seriously strong whisking arm.
Step 2: Add in the eggs (you also want these at room temperature too to ensure a smooth cookie dough) one at a time making sure each one gets mixed in before adding the next. Also add in your vanilla. Mix until everything comes together.
Step 3: Add in the smooth peanut butter and mix until a wet better forms.
Step 4: In a separate bowl sift together your dry ingredients. Then slowly spoon them into your peanut butter mixture while the mixer is on low. If you are mixing by hand switch your whisk to a wooden spoon and gently fold in the flour a little bit at a time. Be sure to add the flour in slowly and once the last bit of flour is in and gets fully mixed in immediately turn off the mixer or stop stirring. You want to be careful not to over mix your cookies once you add the flour, otherwise it can make for a pretty tough cookie.
Step 5: Once your cookie dough comes together it is time to scoop it into dough balls. Here is a good tip, first use a two oz scoop to get the perfect sized peanut butter cookie. You can also use a 1 tablespoon measure and have each cookie dough ball be 2 tablespoons. Another tip, scoop your cookie dough onto a sheet of parchment paper or silicone baking mat that rests ON TOP of a cutting board. This way once all your cookies are scooped they will be on something sturdy enough to transfer into the refrigerator to chill.
Step 6: Once all your cookie dough is scooped into cookie dough balls, transfer them into the refrigerator and let them fully chill for about an hour. You can even store them wrapped in parchment paper in the freezer for up to a month and bake a handful at time. I always have cookie dough in the freezer ready to be baked ;) The tip here is that you want to scoop all your cookie dough into balls BEFORE you chill the dough. Why? Because if you chill your dough before you scoop then it will be impossible to scoop chilled, hard cookie dough.
Step 7: Once your dough is fully chilled you can break off the cookie dough balls and place them evenly on to a baking sheet with ease! Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top of each cookie dough ball. That is the not so secret, flavor secret. The salt sprinkle brings out all the yummy flavors of the peanut butter cookie.
Step 8: Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or just until the outside of the cookie turns golden brown! You can let them cool on the baking sheet itself or transfer them to a cooling rack. Enjoy when they are slightly cooled, still warm and soft on the inside!