Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter until it is smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl.

Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. Beat well until fluffy, scraping the sides. There should be no chunks of butter.

Add 1 cup peanut butter plus an additional 2 tablespoons. I like Jif best. You can use crunchy peanut butter if you like! Beat well until combined.

Add 1 egg and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat until combined.

Add 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, but don't stir it in yet. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt on top of the flour. Stir it in with your teaspoon to combine the dry ingredients together a bit.

Turn the mixer on to combine the dry ingredients into the dough. Don't overdo it! Once the dough barely starts to come together (with some flour still visible), stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing until you no longer see flour streaks, then turn off the mixer. Over mixing cookie dough results in tough cookies.

Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 15 minutes to an hour.* (Or up to 2 days!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Add about 1/2 cup granulated sugar to a bowl.

Shape the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch balls. I used this cookie scoop. Don't smooth out the ball of dough by rolling it in your hands! Leave it textured from the scoop.

Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Place on a baking sheet. I added 15 cookies to an 11×17 inch pan. The cookies don’t spread much at all, so you can place them closer together than regular cookies.

Dip a fork in the bowl of sugar and press into the top of a cookie. Turn the fork perpendicular and press one more time. Your cookies will puff a little bit in the oven, but not a ton. Whatever thickness you press them down to is about how thick your cookie will be. I like my cookies to be about 1/2 inch thick. Dip in sugar whenever the fork starts to stick to the dough.

Bake the cookies at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

The cookies are done baking when the edges are set. They should not be shiny in the middle. If you like REALLY soft cookies, under bake them slightly so there is no browning at all. I like a very slight browning just on the very edges.

Sprinkle with additional granulated sugar right after you pull them out of the oven.

Let the cookies set on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you know what's good for you, eat at least one of these warm, with a tall glass of milk!

This recipe makes about 26 cookies. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

The dough freezes very well. Since these cookies need to be flattened before baking, I like to shape the dough, roll it in sugar, and press with a fork, then transfer to a ziplock to freeze. That way you can just put them on the baking sheet frozen and bake immediately. No need to thaw, just add 1-3 minutes to the bake time.