Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LXII

Peanut Butter Cookie Perfection

I consider this not only “learned” but “perfected”. I can’t imagine them getting any better. Third time is the charm.

The first batch was the original recipe, which was tasty, but a bit dry. The second batch had less flour, which made them less dry (more moist sounds vaguely icky) but still a bit gritty. This batch, with powdered sugar, is excellent.

The original recipe:
cup brown sugar
cup white sugar
cup butter or lard
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
pinch of salt
2 tsp baking soda (dissolve in a little warm water)
3 cups flour

Form in balls and mark with fork.

The perfected recipe:
460g powdered sugar (1lb is 454 grams, which is fine)
226g butter (1 cup/two sticks)
2 eggs
1 Tbl molasses
1 cup peanut butter
500g flour
2 tsp baking soda (dissolve in a little warm water)

Form in balls and mark with fork. Bake at 350. 8 minutes if you want them moist, but collapsed a bit. 10 minutes if you want them standard “peanut butter cookie” texture and thick.

A note on units: I weighed a cup of granulated sugar then doubled that to get the powdered sugar amount. The AI of the Intertubes, which never lies, told me that 1 Tablespoon of molasses in a cup of white sugar is the same as a cup of light brown sugar. As long as I was converting to metric weight, butter and flour got dragged along. I leave tablespoons and teaspoons because I need something to get the amount out of the package, so I just use the right sized spoon, rather than weighing. Similarly, I get this peanut butter in pint canning jars, so 1 cup (a half pint) is more convenient than weight; you’re lucky it doesn’t say “half jar”.

I’m taking some to Deb (I assume it’s Deb who runs the Deb’s Delight stall, but I don’t know that) at the Farmer’s Market, tomorrow.