½cup(113g) unsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
½cup(100g) granulated sugar
¼cup(50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
¾cup(180g) creamy peanut butter1
1large eggroom temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
½cup(72g) honey roasted peanuts2coarsely chopped
PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING
¾cup(188g) creamy peanut butter1
4Tablespoons(57g) unsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
1 and ½cups(180g) powdered sugar
½teaspoonvanilla extract
2 to 4Tablespoons(40-60mL) milk, cream, or water3
Instructions
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the peanut butter and beat again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until completely combined.
Turn the speed down to low and slowly add the flour mixture until dough forms. Add the honey roasted peanuts and mix on low again until evenly dispersed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), roll chilled dough into balls with your hands and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the sides begin to form slight cracks. Cookies will look under-baked. For crunchier cookies, bake for 12 minutes. If the cookies are too puffy for you, press down on them gently when they come out of the oven. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING
In a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and peanut butter on medium speed until smooth (about 3 minutes).
Decrease mixer speed to low. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk/cream/water. Increase mixer speed to to high and beat until completely combined (approximately 2-3 minutes). Frosting may turn clumpy, but keep beating it and be sure to add more liquid if necessary to keep it moving. If frosting is too thick, add more liquid to desired consistency.
Turn off the mixer and use a spatula to stir the buttercream by hand to remove air bubbles and make it smooth and creamy. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes.
When your buttercream is smooth, use a small offset spatula to spread frosting onto each cookie. Add more chopped honey roasted peanuts to the top before the frosting sets, if desired. Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature up to 5 days. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Notes
Peanut butter: do not use natural peanut butter for these cookies.
Honey roasted peanuts: I much prefer brand name honey roasted peanuts because they have a more sugary coating. You can use traditional dry roasted honey roasted peanuts, just know they won't have that "candied" taste or crunch (but still be absolutely delicious-- we tried them both ways).
Liquid for frosting: this is totally based on what you have on hand. I have used all of these ingredients and don’t prefer one over the other, as the creaminess comes mostly from the peanut butter.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.