Sweet-and-Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are one of my favorite treats. Here's my take on a classic peanut butter cookie recipe with a dash of Himalayan pink salt for folks who like sweet and salty.
My Grown-Up Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
I absolutely love peanut butter. And as a child, peanut butter cookies were one of my all-time favorites. As an adult, though, my palate has changed, and I often prefer sweet treats that are tempered with a bit of salty flavor. Some traditional peanut butter recipes suggest rolling the dough balls in table sugar before pressing them flat on a cookie sheet. But I find that this makes the cookies much too sweet for my adult taste buds.
Using a traditional peanut butter cookie recipe, I made a few adaptations to create a slightly saltier-tasting cookie. I reduced the amount of salt in the dough from a half teaspoon of table salt to a quarter teaspoon of table salt. And instead of rolling the dough in white sugar before baking, I sprinkled Himalayan pink salt on the cookie tops.
Prepping and Baking Time
Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
---|---|---|---|
20 min | 15 min | 35 min | 24 of the best peanut butter cookies ever! |
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Himalayan pink salt, (for sprinkling on cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease two large baking sheets with butter.
- In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. (You may use a hand blender or wooden spoon to blend the mixture together. Use whichever method is most convenient for you.)
- Mix in peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- Beat in one fresh egg. The consistency should be smooth and well incorporated.
- Add in table salt and baking soda, followed by the flour. Mix until ingredients together until they're well combined.
- When the mixture forms into a solid dough, pinch pieces of dough off and roll them into 1-inch balls. Place dough balls on cookie sheets, evenly spaced out (about 12 dough balls per sheet).
- Lightly flatten each dough ball with a fork. Then, using clean, dry hands, sprinkle a pinch of Himalayan pink salt over each cookie, distributing the salt crystals evenly with the grooves. Don't overdo it with the sal; keep it light.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 375°C (190°F). Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before transferring to cookie tin or plate.

When I was a child, my favorite part of making PB cookies was squishing the dough balls with a fork.
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Do You Like to Bake for Other People?
Scientists have figured out why baking for other people is sweetly fulfilling.
I never realized how satisfying it was to bake something sweet for people I cared about until I got over my fear of messing up and made my first cheesecake from scratch. Since then, I've settled on a few favorite dessert recipes that I can confidently whip up without much fuss. Here are some of the reasons scientists, and bakers alike, believe that baking is good for your heart and soul:
- Baking is a creative process and a form of self-expression.
- Baking requires mindfulness. Measuring, rolling, forming and piping icing are all acts that require focus and attention.
- Baking can bring comfort to others and establish a sense of community in the face of upset and turmoil. When people are feeling helpless watching others cope with grief, loss, or illness, baking a cake, some cookies, or a pie and sharing it with the family can help express empathy and understanding when it's hard to find the right words is difficult.
© 2018 Sadie Holloway