Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies - YUM!

Brad loves peanut butter cookies. LOVES them. I have been through at least a dozen peanut butter cookie recipes looking for the perfect soft peanut butter cookie. he doesn't like sandy, crumbly peanut cookies. I am happy to announce that I have found the perfect recipe. These are soft and chewy. And they freeze really well. And Brad thinks I am amazing for baking them. Perfection.

The ingredients are: 1 cup butter, softened, 1 cup of white granulated sugar, 1 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar, 2 eggs + 1 additional egg yolk, 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract, 1 whole jar of peanut butter! (18 ounces), 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt and additional granulated sugar for rolling.

Let's sift our dry ingredients: 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cream together the 2 sticks of butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
Although this picture does not look like it, this is 2 whole eggs plus 1 additional egg yolk. I don't ever crack my eggs directly into the dough because I have gotten some funky eggs. Have you ever gotten funky eggs? Blech.

Add the eggs, one yolk at a time and the vanilla extract. Mix well. Beat until fluffy.

And the peanut butter. Yes, one whole jar of peanut butter. Doesn't it sound sinful to say that a whole jar of peanut butter went into one batch of cookies? Beat the peanut butter into the mixture.
Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients. Slowly. Unless of course you want white flour encrusted eyebrows. In that case, go for it.

Alright, once the dough has been mixed together you will need to refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours. I let it chill overnight because I have amazing self control. Or maybe because my oven was preoccupied with another cooking project.

After the dough has chilled, you will need to roll the dough into walnut sized balls. At this point, you can throw them on a plate to freeze if you want to store them for later. Let them freeze individually and once they are frozen you can throw them in a Ziploc bag and let them freeze until you are ready for them. You will then need to pop them in the refrigerator to let them thaw before baking.

Roll the walnut sized balls of dough in the additional granulated sugar.

Then there is the iconic crosshatching with a fork maneuver. Don't smush them into the parchment paper, just brand them a little.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. You want the top of the cookie to look dry.

Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet only until you are able to move them. Don't let them sit or they will continue to bake and will get crunchier. The goal here is soft and chewy. This recipe makes about 5 dozen, so there might even be a few to share! Enjoy!!