Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe (2024)

By Martha Rose Shulman

Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
About 45 minutes
Rating
4(230)
Notes
Read community notes

Inspired by two recipes in Maida Heatter’s “Book of Great Cookies,” these crisp treats are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted.

Featured in: Substantial Pastries for Busy Teenagers

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Ingredients

Yield:24 to 28 cookies

  • 5ounces (1¼ cups) whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼teaspoon salt
  • 4ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • Heaped ½ cup smooth organic peanut butter, with no salt or sugar added, plus 2 tablespoons for filling the cookies
  • 5ounces (¾ cup) raw brown sugar
  • 1egg

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (26 servings)

109 calories; 7 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 54 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

  2. Step

    2

    Cream the butter and ½ cup of peanut butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the raw sugar and beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed.

  3. Step

    3

    Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on your work surface and spoon the dough onto the paper in a strip 12 to 14 inches long and about 2 inches thick. Fold the paper over the dough and shape the strip of dough into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate several hours or, preferably, overnight.

  4. Step

    4

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with racks positioned in the middle and lower portions. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove the log of dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. Rewrap one half and return to the refrigerator. Cut the remaining half into thin rounds, no thicker than ¼ inch, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart, with the rows staggered. Place ¼ teaspoon of peanut butter in the center of each round. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and slice in rounds. Place each round on top of a peanut butter-topped round. When all of the rounds are covered, lightly flour your fingertips and seal the cookies by pressing down gently all the way around. It won’t matter if the top cracks a little. Your rounds should be about 2½ inches in diameter.

  5. Step

    5

    Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly colored and semi-firm to the touch, switching the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before eating. They won’t be crisp until they cool.

Tip

  • Advance preparation: These will keep for 3 or 4 days, if you can keep them around for that long.

Ratings

4

out of 5

230

user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

David Look

From Martha: You can substitute regular all purpose flour for the ww pastry flour.

Healthy Cook

I did try freezing the dough, then thawing before slicing and baking. Worked beautifully.

Rita

What if you don't want to use whole wheat flour? What substitutes for pastry flour?

Healthy Cook

I made these, substituting coconut oil for the butter. Absolutely delicious!

PrivateChef

I made these using half AP and half sprouted WW flour. I added 1 tsp cinnamon to the mix. I used my smallest cookie scoop to portion and then flattened them using a small square of parchment and the back of a half cup measure. I pressed them to about 1/8". baked 12-14 min. Once they cooled I filled with WF Nutella and made sandwich's. They got great feedback from my client who happen to be cookie connoisseurs. I think the cookie is borderline bland and really needed the cinnamon and Nutella.

Cook from Chapel Hill

These worked just fine veganized. Used Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter plus Bob’s red mill egg replacer. Very, very good recipe. A keeper.

Kate S

Delicious and cozy! The second time I made these, I also pressed a disc of dark chocolate into the bottom layer before sandwiching. Would recommend.

JLE

Hs anyone tried making an ice cream sandwich with these cookies?

norma jean

I love this recipe. The key is letting the dough set for a good amount of time in the fridge then cutting the slices very thin to get a crispy cookie. I substituted half cashew butter for the cookie and used crunch dark roasted PB for the filling and sprinkled with smoked maldon sea salt. I was out of eggs so subbed 1/4 cup of apple sauce for the egg. I love pb&j so I added thumbprints immediately after baking and dolloped my favorite jam in the center. Perfection!

Cook from Chapel Hill

These worked just fine veganized. Used Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter plus Bob’s red mill egg replacer. Very, very good recipe. A keeper.

Delz

Perfect texture for a peanut butter cookie. Would recommend much more peanut butter filling, perhaps 1/2 up to 1/3 teaspoon for each cookie.

Joe A.

Delicious. Used half AP flour and whole wheat flour. Takes a little longer to cook than specified to get slightly brown. Will make again.

PrivateChef

Addition to my first comment - I also used coconut sugar in place of the raw brown sugar which likely led to a more bland cookie but overall yielded good results with the addition of the cinnamon and Nutella.

PrivateChef

I made these using half AP and half sprouted WW flour. I added 1 tsp cinnamon to the mix. I used my smallest cookie scoop to portion and then flattened them using a small square of parchment and the back of a half cup measure. I pressed them to about 1/8". baked 12-14 min. Once they cooled I filled with WF Nutella and made sandwich's. They got great feedback from my client who happen to be cookie connoisseurs. I think the cookie is borderline bland and really needed the cinnamon and Nutella.

Mary

Wow. Crispy and chewy. The grains of the raw sugar give this great texture. Excellent peanut flavor.

Paula

The whole wheat flour made them taste like cardboard. Maybe I’ll try again with all purpose

Sarah

Baked these today as written, except we used organic almond butter. They turned out better than expected! I am gonna take another baker’s suggestion the next time we make these, and use coconut oil. What a terrific idea....

Deborah

After reading notes below, I skipped PB schmear in center & instead used bittersweet chocolate discs (El Rey Gran Saman 70%) which worked well. Cookies were full of PB flavor and appealingly crisp without being dry. I liked the rustic texture. PB lovers won't be disappointed.

cindy

Can I use almond butter or other nut butter?

sandra

What makes them a sandwich?

Heather

It is a "sealed" sandwich. There is PB filling in the center.

Jacqueline

I made these quite a few times, also with slight variations: replacing (half of the) peanut butter by tahini, filling them with chocolate (or a mixture of melted chocolate and crème fraîche), and each time they are just delicious.They belong to my favourites.

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Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies falling apart? ›

The wrong type of peanut butter may cause them to fall apart. Or using old eggs may create crumbly cookies. How long do peanut butter cookies last?

How do you keep peanut butter cookies from falling apart? ›

If you find that the dough is too dry (without the fat) then simply hold back some of the flour and add it near the end of mixing when you add the fat/butter If this helps to hold your baked cookies together, fine. If not then add a few more minutes of mixing.

Is it better to bake peanut butter cookies with butter or shortening? ›

Yes, shortening yields chewier cookies than butter does, because butter contains water and shortening doesn't. But you can easily make up for butter's crisping tendencies by using crucial ingredient No. 3… Brown sugar instead of white sugar.

What happens if you don't flatten peanut butter cookies? ›

If you don't flatten the cookies first, then the fork does double duty – it performs both functions. One very subtle result of creating the pattern is that the little tips of dough bake up crisper than the rest of the cookie, giving you both a bit of additional texture and deeper taste where the dough is more baked.

What are the basic ingredients for peanut butter cookies? ›

Image of What are the basic ingredients for peanut butter cookies?
Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers.
Wikipedia

Should you refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking? ›

Prep your Peanut Butter Cookie recipe up to 24 hours in advance, cover it and refrigerate it so you are ready to bake at a moment's notice. The kids can even help you scoop, roll and flatten the cookies. If the dough is too firm to scoop, let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Why are my peanut butter cookies dry and crumbly? ›

If you're wanting to use natural (no sugar added) peanut butter, the cookies will be less sweet and they will likely spread out more. Using natural peanut butter will change the structure and texture of the cookies. Why are my cookies dry and crumbly? This is most likely a classic case of using too much flour.

Why do my peanut butter cookies come out dry? ›

Overmixing the dough

If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.

What does Crisco do for cookies? ›

Crisco® all-vegetable shortening will make your cakes moist, pie crusts flaky, and cookies soft and fluffy, with 0g of trans fat per serving*. One look, and you'll see why we've got butter beat.

What happens if I use butter instead of shortening in cookies? ›

Cookies made with butter are usually crispier than chewy cookies made with shortening, but the flavor is richer with butter. So a one-to-one butter swap will work great if you need a shortening substitute for cookies. In cakes and breads, the substitution is rarely noticeable when using shortening vs. butter.

What happens if you don't chill peanut butter cookie dough? ›

The most important part of today's recipe? Chill your cookie dough! The dough is extremely soft due to the creamy peanut butter, eggs, and butter and if it's not cold going into the oven, the cookies will spread all over your baking sheet.

Why do you press a fork in peanut butter cookies? ›

These early recipes do not explain why the advice is given to use a fork, though. The reason is that peanut butter cookie dough is dense, and unpressed, each cookie will not cook evenly. Using a fork to press the dough is a convenience of tool; bakers can also use a cookie shovel (spatula).

Why do people put fork marks on peanut butter cookies? ›

The baking company shared that the reason has to do with the consistency of the dough. Because peanut butter cookie dough is dense, using a fork helps flatten it into the ideal shape and thickness, allowing it to bake evenly.

Why are the peanut butter cookies crumbling? ›

Why are my cookies dry and crumbly? This is most likely a classic case of using too much flour. It's crucial to properly measure the flour in this recipe, as even 1 extra tablespoon of flour can completely change the structure of the cookies. You also might have over baked them!

Why are my cookies falling apart so easily? ›

If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.

Why are my peanut butter cookies breaking? ›

According to baking site Creme de la Crumb, if you find your cookies to be crumbly, it is because you've used too much flour. The site notes that it's an easy mistake to make, especially for us rookies who might think moist-looking cookie dough is a problem.

Why are my homemade cookies falling apart? ›

Too much flour: If you add too much flour to your cookie dough, it will be dry and crumbly. Make sure to measure your flour correctly using a kitchen scale or by spooning it into your measuring cup and then leveling it off. Not enough fat: Fat helps to bind the ingredients together and make cookies chewy.

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