Through elementary and middle school, I snacked my way through summer days. Strawberries, celery, Otter Pops, watermelon, firecrackers, pretzels, honeydew, ice cream sandwiches, and…
Peanut butter crackers. Â
Every lunchtime, I wandered into the pantry to pull out the peanut butter jar and a box of Ritz (or Wheat Thins). I skipped the silverware drawer, grabbed the top title off of my stack of library books, and settled down into great-grandma’s rocking chair.
I shoved each cracker deep into the jar, scoping out nearly a tablespoon for every bite. (Yes, I nearly glued my mouth shut a few times!) But all of those tablespoons of peanut butter—probably 10-15 every day—plus the extra bits I licked off of my fingertips and knuckles started adding up. By the time school started in September, I weighed 5 pounds more than in the spring!
Tired of the yearly peanut butter pudge, I gave it up cold turkey in high school until… Oh, about 8 months ago. (Such a long time!) I’m just as obsessed as before, but I’ve learned a little self-control since then.
Until I baked these triple threat peanut butter cookies.
With 3 kinds of peanut butter, they’re 27x as irresistible! (It’s exponential.) I could eat more of these cookies than peanut butter crackers… I dare you to try stopping after only one!
These cookies are packed with peanut butter flavor! Be sure to pull them out of the oven by 12 minutes to ensure they stay really soft.
- Lightly spoon the flours into the measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add to a medium bowl, along with the powdered peanut butter, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and egg whites. Stir in the peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 1/3 cup of peanut butter chips. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets. Shape the cookie dough so that it’s as tall as it is wide. (This is important!!) Press 2-3 of the remaining peanut butter chips into the top of each dough ball. Reshape the dough if necessary (make sure they’re as tall as they are wide!), and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Note: The cornstarch and taller-than-normal balls of dough help ensure that the cookies stay soft. See here for the explanation!
Three times the PB OHHH MAN!! I loveee PB it’s hands down the one food I would never ever want to live without. I was the only kid in my elementary class that LOVED getting the PB sandwich at lunch if my account ran out of money while everyone else ate pizza or burgers hahaha.
I would’ve been the kid drooling next to you when you got your PB sandwiches… I normally got a bagel and cream cheese instead! And I refused to put jelly, bananas, or honey on my PB sandwiches as a kid. I just wanted plain PB and nothing else!
Mmm, these look good!! You know I’m all over anything PB!
So glad you got back to your PB loving ways & learned self control – it’s too good to not enjoy! 🙂
Thanks Karey! I can’t believe how long I went without peanut butter. The only problem is that my guy absolutely HATES the stuff, so I’m forced to finish jars all by myself. Oh well? 😉
Girl, me and you BOTH! I had to stop buying it in my college days due to my own peanut butter problem… except I skipped the cracker and would eat it with a straight SPOON! I’m drooling over these, but I went to buy PB2 yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it? My store doesn’t carry the stuff!! Guess I’ll have to wander over to the much larger whole foods across town…
Oh right, I sort of intentionally-on-purpose forgot to write about the spoon method… I’d grab a “daddy-sized” spoon and scoop out as much as I could! No wonder I was a chubby little kid. 😉 That’s a bummer about your Whole Foods. Hope you find some at the other store!