Peanut Butter Cookies
Classic fork-pressed peanut butter cookies with lightly golden edges, tender middles and a rich roasted peanut flavour. Batch yield: 24 fork-pressed cookies. One serving: 1 cookie, approximately 30 g after baking and cooling. Allow approximately 2 hours 19 minutes overall: 30 minutes to soften the butter, 25 minutes of hands-on preparation, 30 minutes of chilling, two sequential 12-minute oven batches and 30 minutes to cool the final batch completely. Prep_minutes is the 115 minutes of non-oven elapsed time, including softening, chilling and final cooling—not just hands-on work. Preheating overlaps chilling, and the first batch's cooling overlaps the second bake, so neither is added again. The second tray remains refrigerated during the first bake; that extra chilling also overlaps oven time. No frosting time is needed. Timing assumes the butter softens in 30 minutes. Appliances: Oven; Electric hand mixer; Refrigerator. Equipment: Digital kitchen scales; Measuring spoons; Two 33 × 45 cm baking trays; Baking parchment; Two mixing bowls; Whisk; Spatula; Fork; Wire cooling rack. Allergens: Contains peanuts, milk, egg and wheat; the flour contains gluten. Peanut butter and vegetable shortening may contain soy ingredients, so check their labels. Nutrition is estimated per cookie from the full ingredient quantities; rounded macros provide approximately 133 kcal using 4 kcal/g for protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal/g for fat. Storage: Once completely cool, store airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days. In hot conditions, refrigerate airtight for up to 7 days and let individual cookies return to room temperature before eating. Freeze cooled cookies in a sealed freezer container, separated with baking parchment, for up to 3 months. Thaw while covered at room temperature for about 1 hour.
115 min
Prep
24 min
Cook
24
Serves
133
Calories
Macros · per serving
2g protein
16g carbs
7g fat
Ingredients
For 24 servings
- 57 g Unsalted butter
- 48 g Vegetable shortening
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- 100 g Light brown sugar
- 128 g Smooth peanut butter, regular supermarket style rather than natural or freshly ground
- 1 whole egg Large egg
- 7.5 ml Vanilla extract
- 190 g Plain all-purpose flour
- 5 g Baking soda
- 2 g Fine salt
Instructions
- 1
Cut the butter into small cubes and leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes, until a finger makes an indentation but the butter is not oily or melted. Allow longer in a cold kitchen.
- 2
Line two 33 × 45 cm baking trays with baking parchment. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- 3
In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar and light brown sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy and slightly lighter. Scrape down the bowl, add the peanut butter and beat until smooth.
- 4
Beat in the whole egg and vanilla extract until evenly incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour disappears, finishing with a spatula. The dough should be soft, cohesive and easy to portion.
- 5
Divide all the dough into 24 portions, approximately 33 g each. Roll gently into balls and arrange 12 on each lined tray, with centres at least 7.5 cm apart. Press each ball with a fork in two directions to make a crosshatch, flattening it to roughly 1 cm thick.
- 6
Refrigerate both trays for 30 minutes. During the final 15 minutes of chilling, preheat the oven to 180°C conventional / 350°F, or 160°C fan / 320°F, with a rack in the middle.
- 7
Bake the first tray on the middle rack for 12 minutes. The cookie edges should be set and lightly golden, with matte, slightly puffed centres that still feel soft. Avoid waiting for the centres to become firm in the oven.
- 8
Remove the first tray and bake the second tray for 12 minutes using the same rack position. Total sequential oven time is 24 minutes. Leave each batch on its tray for 10 minutes before carefully moving the cookies to a wire rack.
- 9
Cool each batch on the rack for a further 20 minutes, until completely cool. The first batch cools while the second bakes; allow the full 30 minutes of tray-and-rack cooling after the final batch leaves the oven. The cookies will firm up around their tender middles as they cool.
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