It may sound cocky – or a little too strong – but I swear to you these are the best peanut butter cookies ever. They’re soft in the middle, crunchy on the outside, and oh so sweet. The original recipe came from my beloved Magnolia Bakery cookbook and I haven’t looked back since. The first time I made them, I shared them with a few of B’s friends and his friend Steve even commented, “These are the best peanut butter cookies ever.” And Steve himself is a good cook/baker!

Anyway, don’t just trust me — or Steve — you should make these yourself.* The below recipe is with slight modifications, but I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this because I used salted butter)
• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1 cup your favorite peanut butter (I’ve made these with creamy JIF peanut butter and with chunky natural Smuckers. In the case of the crunchy, I just cut down on the amount of peanuts I add in the end)
• 3/4 c granulated sugar + 3-4 TB sugar for rolling the dough
• 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 TBS milk (I used the only milk I had on hand- unsweetened almond coconut milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c peanut butter chips
• 3/4 c chopped peanuts (If using chunky peanut butter, you can use less nuts here, probably 1/4 c)

Here’s what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter together until creamy.
4. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla extract and mix well until fluffy.
5. Add flour mixture in about 1/2 c at a time and beat thoroughly.
6. Stir in peanut butter chips and peanuts.
7. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into a bowl of 3-4 TBS granulated sugar.
8. Place cookie balls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, at least two inches apart. Using a fork, push down on dough balls and lightly indent the balls with a criss-cross pattern. Do not flatten cookies too much – you don’t want smooshed cookies!
9. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies may seem soft and underdone but DO NOT OVERBAKE. They will bake a little more out of the oven and be PERFECT.
10. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mouth watering yet? All you need is a glass of milk and you can enjoy these yourself. *Or better yet- I will MAIL YOU these cookies! That’s right – as I mentioned earlier this week, I’m participating in a blogger bake sale, to benefit Jordan’s Family Foundation. Since it’s for a good cause – what’s stopping you?

Who wouldn’t buy these for a good cause?

Some modifications:

• Use 1 c. semi-sweetened chocolate chunks instead of the peanut butter chips for a more chocolatey flavor
• Not a huge chocoholic? Use 1/2 c. peanut butter chips, 1/2 c. semi-sweetened chocolate chips for a peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
• Flatten cookies out with your hand and omit the fork crossing step. Then press halved peanuts (outer side facing up) to the top of the cookie. That’s what I did on the second photo above.