Peanut Butter was on sale a few months ago and I bought alot. I mean, a crazy amount of peanut butter–7 jars for 2 people.  And while the peanut butter wasn’t going to go bad, staring at all that peanut butter on a daily basis was starting to give me the baking itch.

Two weeks ago, I made peanut butter pie for a coworker’s birthday. I made tons of it.  This week, I stared down the rest of that opened jar of smooth peanut butter and just knew–I had to make peanut butter cookies.  I had a WONDERFUL go to recipe–but I couldn’t find it!  It drove me nuts…after about an hour of searching, I gave up and decided to go online to find another recipe.  It didn’t take long before I found David Lebovitz’s recipe and decided it was the one.  For one, he’s David Lebovitz.  And two, the recipe promised a slightly crisp and chewy peanut butter cookie. How could I resist?

Verdict?  I want my old recipe back!  Let me provide a little more feedback–the cookie itself was definitely soft on the inside.  It was moist–but on that note, it was also very dense and fragile.  This is a very peanut buttery cookie.  So if you’re looking for something dense, and almost “flourless” tasting, this is the recipe for you!  While it didn’t blow me away, I sure did enjoy it with a glass of milk.

My search will continue to find that oh-so-perfect recipe I had just a year ago.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes approximately 30 cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating the cookies
1/2 cup packed granulated light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural-style)
1 large egg, at room temperature

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and peanut butter on medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the dough comes together. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands until smooth.

Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. (The rest gives the ingredients time to meld so the cookies bake up especially soft and chewy.)

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Pour some granulated sugar into a small bowl.

Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into 1-inch balls Roll the balls in the granulated sugar and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. When you’ve filled the baking sheets, flatten and make a crosshatch pattern on each cookie by pressing down on the ball with the back of the tines of a fork.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies begin to brown around the edges but the centers still look somewhat uncooked, 9-10 minutes. (Remove them from the oven before they look done so they’ll stay chewy once cooled.)

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Room for Dessert