How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Learn how to make peanut butter cookies because nothing brings people together faster than the smell of something delectable baking in the oven. Homemade peanut butter cookies made from scratch are remarkably easy to make. Within an hour your kitchen will be filled with the perfume of baking peanut butter cookies.

To make peanut butter cookies, you will need:

• 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 Egg

1. Prepare ingredients. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and set aside to soften. Measure the flour, salt, baking powder, and sift together into a large bowl. Note: If a sifter is not available, measure the ingredients into a bowl and fluff with a fork. Measure the sugars and set aside in a small bowl. Note: To properly measure brown sugar, fill a measuring cup and gently pack the brown sugar down with your hand, and repeat until you have the desired amount. Grease a cookie sheet with non stick spray, a thin coat of oil, or shortening.
2. Mix the peanut butter cookie ingredients. Cream the butter and peanut butter together. Note: Creaming butter means to place softened butter in a bowl and beat it with a whisk or wooden spoon until it is soft, fluffy, and smooth. Add all sugar to the creamed butter mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until completely blended.
3. Roll the peanut butter cookies. Before rolling the cookie dough, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Use a tablespoon to pick up a ball of peanut butter cookie dough. Use clean hands to roll the dough into a ball approximately one inch in size. Place the peanut butter cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet two inches apart.
4. Flatten the peanut butter cookies. Use the fork tines to gently flatten each ball of cookie dough. Place the tines in the 12:00 o’clock position first and flatten the dough then turn the fork to the 9:00 o’clock position and flatten a second time. Note: If the fork begins sticking to the cookie dough, dip it in a little flour before flattening again.
5. Bake peanut butter cookies. Place a cookie sheet of peanut butter cookies in a preheated oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees F until the cookies are golden brown. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place on the counter top. Wait until the cookie sheet cools enough to touch it before using a spatula to transfer each cookie to a cooling rack.

Tips and Warnings:

• To make a truly self-indulgent peanut butter cookie, use crunchy peanut butter and add chocolate chips to the cookie dough.

• If you use a Microwave to soften butter make certain not to melt it. It should take about 20 to 25 seconds to soften a cold stick of butter in the microwave.