Part-chewy, part-crunchy, and 100% peanut buttery, you won't be able to stop at just one of these Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies! For best results use natural peanut butter and whole wheat flour; they give the cookies the best nutty flavor and texture.
⅔cupnatural creamy peanut butterbrought to room temperature
1 ½cupgranulated white sugarDIVIDED
½teaspoonliquid vanilla extract
3large eggs
1teaspoonmilk
1 ¾cupor 210g whole wheat flour
½teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonsalt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and 1 ¼ cups of the granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is a pale tan color, or for about 1-1.5 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the vanilla, eggs, and milk and cream the mixture again for 30-45 seconds, or until the egg is fully incorporated into the creamed mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
In a small or medium-size mixing bowl, lightly whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, until the powder and salt are incorporated into the flour.
Add half of the flour to the creamed butter mixture in the mixing bowl and run on low speed for 20-30 seconds, or until no streaks of dry flour remain in the batter.
Add the second half of the flour to the batter and run on low speed for 20-30 more seconds, or until it's fully incorporated as well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and run the mixer on medium speed for 15-30 seconds, or until a thick batter forms.
Roll the peanut butter dough out into 2 tablespoon balls and place them 2-3 inches apart on the parchment paper.
Pour the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Spray the bottom of a drinking class with non-stick spray and dip it in the granulated sugar. Lightly press down on a peanut butter ball until it's about ¼" thick. Repeat this step with the rest of the cookies, dipping the bottom of the glass in the sugar between each cookie.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they're lightly golden around the edges of the cookies, the bottoms are starting to brown, and the cookies are baked through.
Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Then, gently move the cookies from the pan to the cooling rack and let them cool until they're room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you bake two sheets of cookies at once, rotate the sheets from top to bottom halfway through the baking time. - To keep the cookies from sticking to your hands, give your hands a quick shot of non-stick cooking spray before rolling. - These cookies will stay fresh covered in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. - This recipe is also high-altitude friendly! Just follow the directions as listed.