Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

Peanut butter is one of my all time favorite foods. I still eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches way more often than is acceptable for an adult and I often just eat peanut butter by the spoonful. So in an effort to eat peanut butter in a more “adult-like” manner, I wanted to create a fancy peanut butter cookie. Now listen, I still plan to eat PB&J sandwiches weekly and eat spoonfuls of peanut butter daily – but now I can also class it up with these peanut butter shortbread cookies! When you bake these cookies, your friends will be impressed by your restraint with the peanut butter, because you obviously wanted to add the whole jar but you didn’t! There’s more than a cup of peanut butter (chunky and smooth because variety is better) in these cookies and then if you want to, you can roll them in some more peanuts before baking so you definitely get the peanut butter flavor. But it’s subtle enough that you still feel like you are eating a shortbread cookie.

The great thing about these cookies is that they are super easy to make. They can also be prepped a day in advance and then sliced and baked when you’re ready to eat them! Cookies on demand! What is better than that? To prepare the dough, you will mix your butter, sugars, and peanut butter and eventually eggs and vanilla in a stand mixer. You will want to make sure that that your wet ingredients are fully combined until you add your dry ingredients. When the dough comes together it will look crumbly, but it will come together easily when you form it into a log for slicing.

You will use plastic wrap to roll the dough into a log. Just pile the dough onto the edge of a sheet of plastic wrap and roll the plastic wrap around the dough tightly like a Tootsie Roll! Keep rolling back and forth until the dough forms a log. Once the dough is rolled into a log, chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. If you want to roll the logs in crushed peanuts, remove the logs after chilling for one hour. Then spread the peanuts out on the plastic wrap and roll the dough in the peanuts until they cover the log.

Once the dough is chilled, you are ready to slice and bake! If you chose to roll the dough in peanuts, some of them will fall off as you slice. That is okay!! Enough will stay on and you can always stick some more on at the end! Try to keep the slices even so the cookies bake at the same time.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

These cookies come together quickly, can be prepped in advance, and taste great!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter room temperature, cubed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter I use Peanut Butter Co. Crunch Time
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter Same brand but Smooth Operator
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup of honey roasted peanuts roughly chopped (optional)

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and both peanut butters. Beat on medium-high speed until fully combined.
• Lower the speed to medium-low and beat in the egg and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The dough will look crumbly.
• Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on a hard surface. Pile the dough on the edge of the plastic wrap until you have a log-like shape that is about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Make sure to leave about 2 inches of plastic wrap on the each side of the log.
• Slowly roll the dough in the plastic wrap like a Tootsie Roll or a sausage. Continue rolling back and forth until the dough forms a perfect log. Continue making these logs until the dough is finished - you should make about 3.
• Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. If you want to add peanuts to the outside of the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge after 1 hour and roll the logs in the crushed peanuts. Wrap up in plastic wrap again and return to the fridge.
• When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Prepare a baking sheet by covering with parchment paper.
• While the oven preheats, remove the logs from the fridge and slice each log into cookies, about 1/4 inch thick.
• Place the slices cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven until the edges become lightly golden brown, about 8 minutes.
• Allow the cookies to cool and enjoy!