Martha's Peanut-Butter Sandwich Cookies Are a Must-Bake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do I know if my peanut butter cookies are done? ›

Unlike many other cookies, peanut butter biscuits only fully harden once they've been removed from the oven. Here's how to tell when peanut butter cookies are done: The tops of the cookies are a uniform light brown. They're soft to the touch but not moist or mushy.

If your peanut butter cookies are hard, you likely cooked them for too long. They should not be baked for more than 8 or 9 minutes.

Watch for cookies that still have a doughy or unbaked look. Texture: Touch the surface of the cookies gently. They are likely not fully cooked if they feel excessively soft or doughy. Properly baked cookies should have a slightly firm texture on the outside.

So it looks like that there are utilitarian reasons for the cross-hatching—to allow for even cooking—but it might have been passed along for nearly a hundred years for primarily aesthetic reasons, where the cross-hatching is more to identify the cookies as peanut butter ones, rather than to cook them well.

But this doesn't have to be the end for your underdone cookies, simply return them to the oven for a second round of baking. The purpose of this second bake is for the heat to permeate the center of your baked goods and even their textures.

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.

If the dough seems too soft, chill it for 10 to 15 minutes before baking. Use shortening instead of butter or a combination of the two if you don't want to sacrifice that buttery flavor. The dough was too wet. Using the wrong size egg could also add extra liquid, resulting in too much spreading.

The easiest way to soften cookies with bread is to place the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread and leave them for a few hours. The bread will release moisture and help to rehydrate the cookies, making them soft and chewy once again.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

I am going out on a limb against popular opinions by saying, YES, it's okay to place your under baked or underdone cookies back into the oven for a second bake.

Should you bake cookies at a higher or lower temperature? ›

For those ooey, gooey chocolate chip cookies, 375 degrees Fahrenheit is your sweet spot. It's the perfect temperature to ensure super crispy exterior edges, while leaving the center slightly underdone and, thus, doughy and fudgey. If you're feeling particularly bold, give 400 degrees Fahrenheit a go.

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. I chilled this cookie dough for 24 hours and my cookies were soft, thick perfection. I recommend chilling the dough for at least 3 hours.

The most common mistake with peanut butter cookies is using the wrong type of peanut butter. The BEST peanut butter for today's cookies is a processed creamy peanut butter, preferably Jif or Skippy.

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.

Is shortbread supposed to be soft when it comes out of the oven? Yes, upon cooling it will firm up. Shortbread should have a soft and tender texture but be slightly crisp when you bite into it.

We know you've got a knife in your kitchen already, which is one reason it's our favorite alternative to toothpicks, but there are additional options. Thin bamboo skewers. Wooden skewers you might use for grilling are a little thicker than toothpicks, but they'll work just fine for a cake test.

If the dough is shiny as it bakes (thanks to the butter or other fat in it), that shine will significantly reduce or go away once the cookies are set. As soon as they reach that stage, remove them from the oven. Even if they don't feel firm yet, they'll continue to set and harden as they cool.

When making cookies, brownies, cakes, or bread, you might be tempted to taste a bite before it's fully baked. But you can get sick after eating or tasting raw (unbaked) dough or batter.