Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

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Not all peanut butter cookies are created equal. I have so many memories from when I was a child of making peanut butter cookies with my mother and brother. We would do the crisscross pattern (or is it criss-cross pattern?)with a fork on the cookies as we put them on the cookie sheet. If I seem to remember correctly, ours always came out soft. So, to this day, a soft batch of perfect peanut butter cookies is my favorite kind.

Amish Classic Peanut Butter Cookies — Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

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🙋 FAQ
🥜 Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients
📋 Instructions
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Now, you can find harder, crunchier peanut butter cookies that pass muster with me if they have enough peanut butter flavor in them. But some just really miss the mark. I’ve had some peanut butter cookies from Amish bakeries which have been disappointments.

Crunchy and only the slightest hint of peanut butter. Those are always the most disappointing ones. On the other hand, one of the best peanut butter cookies I’ve had is this Amish recipe that I’m posting today. Man, these are good peanut butter cookies.

One of the distinguishing marks of a great Amish bakery is the following question: how good are their peanut butter cookies? Peanut butter cookies are a staple of Amish bakeries, but not all peanut butter cookies are created alike. To me, the best Amish peanut butter cookies are not found in bakeries at all, they are made from scratch in someone’s kitchen using a generational recipe that has been passed down. They are just so many variations, add a little salt… Use lard… Use crunchy peanut butter… Grate in some toffee bits… You could go on and on and on. And, at the end of the day, you can have amazing crunchy peanut butter cookies and amazing soft ones, but they have to have a nice peanut butter flavor to really make the cut as far as I’m concerned.

Rolling the cookie dough balls in white granulated sugar is the way to go. Some people like rolling them in brown sugar, but I think white works better for this recipe.

This is a recipe that comes to us from an Amish woman in Utica, Minnesota and was featured in our book Amish Cooks Across America. Utica is in southeast Minnesota where there is a growing Amish community. This recipe is a classic, classic peanut butter cookie recipe with just the right amount of peanutty taste and soft texture. I'm not a huge fan of the crunchier peanut butter cookies. The above peanut butter cookies don't have that nice fork criss-cross pattern than I grew up seeing, these are just a more crunchier free-for-all cookie.

Peanut Butter in Amish Kitchens

Peanut butter is a mainstay in Amish kitchens. Often, Amish homemakers will buy peanut butter in bulk from their local Amish store. There, peanuts are ground fresh into peanut butter which is then packed into jars, or even sealable bats, and sold. You don’t find Jif and Skippy in Amish pantries as often as you do homemade peanut butter. The homemade kind is a little more liquidy, usually has a little bit less sugar, but it’s still a favorite. You can taste the peanuts more in the homemade versions because the peanut taste isn’t smothered out by sugar.

One of the main uses of peanut butter in Amish homes is for cookies. An Amish home maker can whip up a batch of homemade peanut butter cookies very easily and cheaply. The peanut butter cookies can be doctored up with a little bit of chocolate, a little bit of honey, you can even spread some jelly between two cookies and make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwich cookie treat.

Creamy vs. Crunchy?

I personally love using crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter in this cookie. I just think crunchy gives the cookie more texture and flavor, but if you are a creamy peanut butter devotee, then, by all means, use it. You won't go wrong. SIGH, now I am just wondering about ditching the peanut butter altogether and using Nutella. Nah, let's not go there. That's a whole different recipe and you'd rack up the calories with Nutella. Who wants to count calories if you are going to indulge in a peanut butter cookie?

Peanut Allergies?

Peanut allergies, perhaps because of the genetic insularity of the Amish, seem relatively rare in Amish communities. So peanuts and peanut butter remain quite popular. You don’t see things like almond butter or sunbutter very often

Sometimes, an Amish cook who’s in a hurry and still wants the taste of peanut butter cookies in their house but just doesn’t have the time (we’ve all been there), can easily make these peanut butter cookies into peanut butter bars. Just smooth the cookie batter into 9 x 13” pans, bake it at 350 until you’re done, take out and then put in the bars. There’s a lot faster than cookies. And you really get the same taste.

Peanut butter, by the way, is considered a staple in most Amish kitchens. It's a good source of quick protein and can be versatilely added into cookies, breads, pastries, and more. So most Amish kitchens have at least one jar of peanut butter on hand.

🙋 FAQ

Do the Amish still bake with lard?

Lard is still commonly used in Amish kitchens. Pie crusts come out flaky and flavorful using lard in a way that just can't be replicated with other shortenings. Still, some Amish have bowed to healthier options when it is time to bake, so butter, shortening, and even products like coconut oil are finding their way into Amish kitchens these days. But lard is still valued by old-timers.

One note, the peanut butter cookie recipe featured here contains lard. Makes all the difference, If you want a SUPER peanut butter cookie, use lard. If you don't have access to lard then, yes, shortening like Crisco will do the job.

Should I chill my dough?

A tried and true tip from most Amish bakers I've met over the years is to always chill your dough if you have a chance. A cold dough enhances flavor, allows everything to meld and combine and congeal. Overnight is optimum but that isn't in the cards, even sticking cookie dough in the fridge for an hour or two is better than nothing. If you can't do that even, well, they'll still turn out. But I always chill cookie dough if at all possible. The flavor is worth the wait.

What About Adding Chocolate Chips?

You can never go wrong adding chocolate chips to peanut butter. Can you? If there is a pitfall I am overlooking here, please let me know! Adding chocolate chips would seem to merge two favorites, like what you'd get when you merge chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter cookies.

On the dry ingredients for this Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies recipe, you all can use all-purpose flour. That is what the recipe calls for, however, I like using whole wheat flour for this. Gives it a slight edge, I think.

You can use any kind of baking sheets for this recipe. I mean, I prefer the no-mess version of just getting some baking sheets, lining it with parchment paper, and dropping the cookies onto that. Or you can try disposable aluminum foil baking sheets if you really want no-mess, just bake them and toss the sheets. SIGH, sometimes I do like to go that route just to save on the mess.

Most Amish cooks would just stir the dough vigorously with a wooden spoon. Obviously, most don't have electric, but since you probably do, yes, you can use stand mixer on medium-speed with a medium bowl with your paddle attachment and go to town!

On this recipe it doesn't really matter whether you use light brown sugar or dark, I mean, if all things were equally I'd probably do dark, but that is just me. I like the slightly richer flavor of dark.

Okay, try this super recipe. These store well in an airtight container for up to a week. And, yes, you can freeze these pretty well too. They may be a little crumblier on thaw-out, but still will taste just as good.