It's time to do the same kind of battle I do for chocolate chip cookies, but this time, with peanut butter cookies! I love peanut butter and I love cookies, but oftentimes peanut butter cookies don't have a strong enough peanut butter flavor for my needs, hence this battle. For this battle I am comparing typical peanut butter cookie recipes with flour and butter.
There are two peanut butter cookie recipes already on my blog, and any cookies that win these upcoming battles will "face-off" against them :D
Recipe 1 (The Super Peanut Butter Cookies (SPB) *Unfilled and without Reese's*):
Recipe 2 (Sally's Baking Addiction (SBA) Very Peanut Butter Cookies):
Recipe 1 (SPB)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (113 g)
3/4 cup creamy/smooth peanut butter (191 g)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (214 g)
1 large egg (~55 g)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (4.5 g)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (188 g)
1/2 tsp. baking soda (2.5 g)
1/2 tsp. baking powder (2.3 g)
1/4 tsp. salt (1.2 g)
Sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 1-2 baking trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer (or whisk) to blend the peanut butter and butter together until no lumps remain and it is very smooth.
Add dark brown sugar and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Add the egg and vanilla nd mix until smooth and completely combined.
Fold in the dry ingredients until completely combined. Do not overmix!
Roll into 1.5 Tbsp. size balls (about 3 cm diameter) and space 2-3 inches apart on the trays. This recipe makes about 20 cookies.
Lightly criss cross the dough balls with a fork and sprinkle with sugar (optional). Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges and cracking. Let cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
If making larger cookies cook for 13-14 minutes.
Recipe 2 (SBA)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (113 g)
1/2 cup white sugar (105 g)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar (77 g)
1 large egg (~55 g)
1 cup creamy/smooth peanut butter (255 g)
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract (3.5 g)
1 1/4 cup flour (188 g)
1/2 tsp. baking soda (2.5 g)
1/2 tsp. baking powder (1.5 g)
1/4 tsp. salt (1.2 g)
Sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Directions:
Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes with a stand mixer, longer for a hand mixer).
Mix in egg and blend for about 1 minute.
Add the peanut butter and vanilla and blend completely, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Fold in the dry ingredients just until combined (don't overmix.)
Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour so it's easier to roll.
Roll into 1.5 Tbsp. size balls (about 3 cm diameter) and space 2-3 inches apart on the trays. This recipe makes about 20 cookies.
Lightly criss cross the dough balls with a fork and sprinkle with sugar (optional). Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges and cracking. Let cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
If making larger cookies cook for 13-14 minutes.
The Review (pictures comparing the recipes are below):
Cookie Dough: The SBA dough is super fluffy and has a rich peanut butter flavor, so much so that you can taste the roasted flavor of the peanut butter. SBA is also fluffy do the mouthfeel is excellent and not very gritty. It has a great balance of peanut butter flavor and sweetness. I kind of never want it to end as I am eating it! Then, as for the SPB cookie dough, it definitely has a more caramel-like flavor, but the peanut butter flavor is not as strong as in the SBA cookie dough. SPB cookie dough is a little more thick and gritty than SBA so the mouthfeel is not quite as nice, but the flavor is definitely good! SBA has the advantage here though.
Fresh out of the Oven: Both cookies fall apart because they are still hot. Neither of them are dry and are both very gooey in the middle. The SBA has less of a caramel-like sweetness than the SPB recipe. SBA is more like a PB frosting sweetness, but the peanut butter flavor definitely blends well with the butter flavor, but the peanut butter flavor has definitely diminished after baking. The SPB recipe still has that caramel flavor from the brown sugar, with the peanut butter and brown sugar being very well balanced. SPB is not too sweet for me. SPB wins out over SBA in this category.
Room temperature (same day of baking): The SPB recipe is very slightly crisp around the edges but the inside is still soft and not dry. The overall flavor is much better, but the peanut butter flavor isn't significantly more obvious than in the SBA recipe. However, the brown sugar and caramel notes from SPB overall make it a better tasting cookie than SBA. Although SBA is still soft and tasty, i just wouldn't reach for it in place of SPB. SBA is softer and fluffier than SPB though, it kind of melts in the mouth more.SBA is almost more like a sugar cookie peanut butter cookie hybrid, whereas SPB is kind of like a tasty chocolate chip cookie without chocolate and with peanut butter included instead.
Next day: This is one of the real tests, because if you can't enjoy a cookie the next day there's not really a point! (However cookies frozen after baking can be very good). SPB and SBA are both still soft, but SPB still has that tasty caramel flavor and tastes slightly stale, while SBA tastes notable more stale. The SBA flavor is still good, but SPB just tastes better and less stale on the second day after baking. Overall, Recipe 1 (Super peanut butter cookies unfilled) wins! although they are more likely to fall apart, the flavor is simply superior!
Some pictures to compare the recipes (SPB/Recipe 1 on top; SBA/Recipe 2 on bottom):
The ingredients used for each. The major difference between the two recipes is the type of sugar and amount of peanut butter.
Before blending butter and peanut butter for SPB, and before creaming sugars with butter for SBA.
After blending the peanut butter and butter for SPB (top) and creaming the sugars and butter for SBA (bottom)
Before mixing in the sugar for SPB, and the egg for SBA.
After mixing.
Then you'll add the egg and vanilla for SPB, and the peanut butter and vanilla for SBA before mixing in.
After mixing in. Next we will add the dry ingredients and the doughs will be ready!
Before mixing in the dry ingredients for both recipes.
After mixing in the dry ingredients. THe SBA recipe (bottom) needs to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour but the SPB recipe (top) is ready to roll and bake!
Remember, SPB/Recipe 1 is on the top, SBA/Recipe 2 is on the bottom. It's easy to tell them apart because SBA is a lot lighter in color.
Once the SBA is chilled, you can roll it out. These are rolled into ~1.5 Tbsp. or 2.5 cm diameter balls, but you can make the cookies larger and bake 1-2 more minutes.
After criss-crossing with a fork and sprinkling with sugar. Ready to bake!
After baking! Let cool for a little bit before removing to a wire rack or table to cool.
After baking. As you can see the SPB are darker (which lends to the caramel color), and the SBA are lighter in color, which lends to them tasting lighter and more like a peanut butter cookie/sugar cookie hybrid.
Stacked and looking glorious!
And an inside look! The SPB (top) is darker and flatter, but still very soft with a great flavor. SBA (bottom) is fluffier and very soft as well.