These are my Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies – so easy you probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your pantry. If you don’t have them, you must go out, buy them and make these cookies! Now! By the way- easy is an understatement – all you need is a large bowl and a spoon. That’s it – no mixer, no sifting, no fancy utensils.
Now let’s talk about options here. I have made these cookies five ways so far: Plain, loaded with Dark Chocolate Chunks, loaded with Crushed Pretzels, loaded with both Chocolate and Pretzels, and with Strawberry Thumbprints. It’s hard to pick a favorite but after many batches of cookies, my tasters (read: my family, friends and cookie-loving-toddler) prefer these three cookies I am presenting to you.
Make lots and share them with someone you love!
NOTES:
- When making the pretzels, toss your pretzels into a sealed Ziploc bag, then crush to avoid a mess.
- My mom always harped on me to use extra-large eggs when baking (most of the time she is right). After testing multiple batches, I found that the extra-large egg really does matter (vs. large).
- If you only have creamy peanut butter, use it, but I do recommend the chunky as the bits of chopped peanuts add texture and another dimension in taste as they bake.
- Make sure you get a natural peanut butter – the only ingredients should be “Peanuts and Salt” or the texture will be different. Even Whole Foods adds sugar to some of the peanut butter (not sure why!) so be sure to read the labels.
ADD-IN AMOUNTS TO KEEP COOKIES AT 2 POINTS PLUS:
- To make the Peanut Butter Cookies with Jelly Thumbprints, use 1/4 heaping teaspoon Strawberry Preserves per cookie.
- To make the Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks, add 7 tablespoons dark chocolate mini chunks to the batter.
- To make the Peanut Butter Cookies with Crushed Pretzels, add 2 to 3 ounces crushed mini pretzel twists to the batter.
- To make the Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Pretzels, add 6 tablespoons dark chocolate mini chunks and 1 ounce crushed mini pretzel twists to the batter.
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Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 extra-large egg room temperature
- 1 cup organic chunky peanut butter room temperature preferred
- 1/2 cup organic sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Parchment Paper or Silpat for Baking
- *Organic Strawberry Preserves
- *Mini Pretzels crushed
- *Mini Dark Chocolate Chunks I like 365 Brand
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Preheat oven to 350F.
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Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
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Combine egg, peanut butter, sugars, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Stir until well combined.
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Measure about a tablespoon of dough at a time and roll into little balls. Use your thumb to create an indentation about halfway through the dough. Be sure not press too far or your jelly will leak out of the bottom when baking.
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Spoon approximately 1/4 teaspoon Strawberry Preserves into indentation. Bake according to directions. Let cool on baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
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Fold chocolate chunks or crushed pretzels (or both) into dough.
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Use a tablespoon to measure out dough and roll into balls. The chips/pretzels make this kind of messy.
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Use a fork to press each dough ball down.
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Bake according to directions. Let cool on baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
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I found that 14 minutes was perfect in my oven. If you are using two cookie sheets at once, be sure to rotate them halfway through the cooking. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or cookie tin (my preferred method is a cookie tin - you can get them at the dollar store!)
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These were great! Mine didn’t turn out as “rustic” looking as yours, but still really good. Just made them plain the first time, but will be adding some of the other stuff for later versions. It’s so easy too, and that’s dangerous. 🙂
Those are dangerous – I like to do everything but bake them and freeze on the cookie sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and you have ready to bake, homemade cookie dough to satisfy a craving. Great for portion control!
These cookies are the perfect way to satisfy my cravings for something sweet mid-afternoon. I’ve made all three versions and the pretzel and chocolate chip combination are the clear winner (although they’re all very good). The first time I made the cookies I used the smooth peanut butter I already had in the pantry – for today’s batch I purposely used crunchy peanut butter, as recommended, and the cookies are even better. Delicious!
Thanks Lianne – I really love those crunchy peanut bits from the chunky PB in these as well!
Oh man I love pb cookies! I love the idea of adding pretzels to them…salty and sweet combos are my favorite 🙂
I agree – I love to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on almost anything sweet!