Peanut Butter Lover's Cookies

Soft, chewy, peanut butter cookies that are almost overloaded with peanut buttery goodness.  Almost.  Peanut butter, peanuts, peanut butter chips, and chopped peanut butter cups all mix in to this batter with amazing results.  These cookies are more than good.  They're heavenly, and a completely different way to enjoy peanut butter than the monster bars I made last month..  Sweet without being sugary and all the peanut butter goodies you could want, these cookies represent perfection in birthday baking for my nephew Aidan who hit double digits yesterday.  He could survive on peanut butter alone and as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew he'd love it.  Dave did, too, so that was a good indication I was on the right track.  Perfectly soft cookies and bit peanut butter flavor are just about all you need to turn 10, right?

So good, these cookies will end up in Christmas throughout my family and the recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction (a kindred spirit).  I doubled the recipe so that I could include these in Christmas baking (yup, it's begun!), so definitely cut this in half for a more reasonable quantity.  I also adjusted the method slightly, beating the peanut butter with the butter to start the dough.  Chopped peanut butter cups impart a bit of chocolate to the recipe which cuts the peanut butter with a nice contrast.  But purists may want to swap those out for Reese's pieces to get extra peanut butter flavor and a bit of crunch from that candy shell.  Sally recommends salted butter, which I used, but if you use unsalted, add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to your batter before adding the flour.  However you decide to make these cookies, you'll be in love with the soft, chewy texture and amazing peanut butter goodness.  Grab a glass of milk and go to town!

Peanut Butter Lover's Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup peanuts
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup mini peanut butter cups, chopped

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, beat peanut butter and butter until creamed.  Add sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy.

Stir in eggs, one at a time.  Then stir in vanilla and baking soda.

On low speed, gradually add flour and stir until just combined, taking care not to over mix.

In a small bowl, combine peanuts, peanut butter chips and chopped peanut butter cups.  Add to cookie dough and stir until distributed throughout.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Remove dough from refrigerator and drop by Tablespoonfuls (I used a small cookie scoop) onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets.

Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.  The edges should be set, but the centers might look slightly underdone.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.

Remove from oven and cool on pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 7 1/2 dozen cookies.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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