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Peanut Butter Cookies

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  • Prep 25 min
  • Total 2 hr 35 min
  • Servings 30
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The hash mark may be one of the most prevalent symbols in modern life, but it’s been the “mark” of peanut butter cookies for more than eighty years, and for good reason. Pressing a hash mark into each cookie ensures this dense dough will flatten out and bake evenly. While using this kitchen-tested recipe ensures your peanut butter cookies will turn out perfectly. It’s been in Betty’s back pocket for quite some time, and you can bet this recipe isn’t going anywhere soon. Home cooks from all over have claimed this to be the best peanut butter cookie they’ve ever made—and we certainly agree! Soft and chewy with the perfect salty-sweet balance, these tender cookies will disappear at every potluck, party or cookie exchange. For an added bit of sparkle, roll your cookies in coarse sparkling sugar just before baking.
By Betty Crocker Kitchens
Updated Jul 14, 2023
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Make With
Gold Medal Flour

Steps

  • 1

    Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl.

    If you’re wondering why we use both butter and shortening, it’s because each plays an important role in the cookie. Butter adds a rich, wonderful flavor, of course. Shortening has less flavor, but a higher melting point, so it gives peanut butter cookies more structure, ensuring they spread less and have a great texture.

  • 2

    Stir in remaining ingredients.

    The best way to accurately measure flour is to give it a quick stir and then spoon it into the measuring cup. You’ll want to fill it to heaping and then sweep the excess off the top with the flat edge of a butter knife.

    Be careful not to overmix here — you want the dough to stay light and fluffy, and overmixing can result in a tough cookie.

  • 3

    Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

    Refrigerating the dough will give it more structure so the cookies spread less and hold their fork marks through baking. Cooling the dough also ensures that all of the ingredients are the same temperature: they’ll bake more evenly and the flavors will meld beautifully.

  • 4
    Heat oven to 375°F.
  • 5

    Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

    You can also line cookie sheets with parchment paper, which will make cleanup super easy after your baking project.

  • 6
    Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.
  • 7
    Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
  • 8

    Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

    Once cookies are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 5 days.

Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

  • tip 1
    Have a household full of kids? Mix up and chill the dough for up to to 24 hours ahead, cover it and refrigerate so you are ready to bake effortlessly bake on demoand. If too firm to scoop, let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
  • tip 2
    The fork crisscross is the classic way to make the distinctive look of peanut butter cookies, but you can use the bottom of a decorative juice glass like an old-fashioned cookie press.
  • tip 3
    You can use either chunky or creamy peanut butter, but look for one that doesn’t need to be stirred before measuring.
  • tip 4
    For a special treat, sandwich two of these all-time favorites together with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Roll the edge in chopped candy bar or nuts.
  • tip 5
    For extra sparkle, roll cookie balls in coarse sparkling sugar before baking.

Nutrition

110 Calories, 6 g Total Fat, 2 g Protein, 12 g Total Carbohydrate

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
110
Calories from Fat
55
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
5 mg
Sodium
100 mg
Potassium
50 mg
Total Carbohydrate
12 g
Dietary Fiber
0g
Protein
2 g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
2%
2%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
2%
2%
Exchanges:
1 Starch; 1 Fat;
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

  • The fork-tined hash mark gives homemade peanut butter cookies their distinctive look. How did this baking tradition come to be? The first instructions for making the mark on the top of peanut butter cookies was in a recipe from a 1936 Pillsbury cookbook. There was no reason given for the marking, but some bakers and food experts suggest that it serves a very practical purpose by helping the cookies bake more evenly. That’s important because the addition of peanut butter makes the dough denser and more difficult to bake thoroughly. By putting the fork-tine marks in cookie dough balls, they’re being flattened for more even baking. The result is a cookie that’s soft and chewy, with contrasting crispy edges where the marks have been formed. Get more handy tips for peanut butter cookie recipes in the How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies guide and find creative variations on the basic in Betty's best peanut butter cookies collection.
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