Last season, we covered a lot of classic cookie recipes in our gluten free holiday baking posts. We made Chocolate chip, Oatmeal and spiced cookies, just to name a few, and they were all smashing successes, even among our allergy-free friends and family. There was one classic cookie, however, that was missing from the lineup: A good, basic peanut butter cookie. As an antidote to that omission, we figured that this would be the perfect recipe to marshal in this year’s parade of baked goodies. The basis for this recipe, not unlike so many of our favorites, came to our attention via Smitten Kitchen way back in 2007. That recipe was based on a peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookie recipe from NYC’s famous—and ever-expanding—Magnolia Bakery. Better known for their cupcakes, their cookies have taken a bit of a backseat in popularity over the years, but this particular cookie deserves to be front and center. While the original recipe is nothing to balk at, Kyle has done a fair amount of artful tampering with it over the years (of course), turning it into more of a purist’s version of a peanut butter cookie. Prior to this gluten free incarnation, it was pared down to the best, most basic version of itself. What we offer here is a fantastic blank canvas, ready for your personal touches and tastes.
To illustrate a few of those embellishments, it should be known that the original contained peanut butter morsels and chopped, semi-sweet chocolate bits. Tasty, but like we said, we wanted a great, classic, all peanut butter dough. That meant that the chocolate had to come out of the recipe (black arm bands, we know), and as good as they are, the morsels–despite being peanut butter–were overkill and an unnecessary expense and step. The balls of dough were also rolled in granulated sugar prior to baking, but without the somewhat bitter notes of the chocolate, that sweet counterpoint was also unnecessary. It was also one more step between us and those finished cookies, so ummm…No.
Other versions of the recipe also gave you the option of using crunchy-style peanut butter, which would work fine in a pinch, but there’s just something so much more satisfying about chopping up the peanuts yourself. Not only does it impart a more rustic texture to the cookies, it also lends a more pronounced “roasted” quality to the finished cookie.
This ingredient also leaves the most room for personal preferences. If you like the marriage of salty and sweet, use salted nuts, and if you do like that extra little bit of sweetness, honey roasted nuts are the way to go. You could even venture away from peanuts altogether and swap in chopped almonds, walnuts, pecans, or any other nut that you fancy. Go nuts! *snicker* As a template, this also leaves you room to add in any other favorites, like chocolate chips, dried fruit, or bits of candy (M&M’s, anyone?)
As for the gluten free part of this adaptation, our favorite gluten free cookie flour blend and a little xanthan gum did the trick as usual. That blend really is a lifesaver this time of year. It hasn’t failed us once.
While we would normally recommend that you chill the dough for 30 minutes to allow the xanthan gum to fully hydrate, blah blah blah—we couldn’t wait that long. Have we ever mentioned our collective lack of will power? The cookies came out fine, they just spread a bit more in the oven. They’re still nice and crisp around the edges with that ooey-gooey loveliness in the center. If you want more compact cookies, then stick with the 30 minute chill method and you’ll be good to go.
One word of warning: These cookies will look underdone when you take them out of the oven at the end of the recommended baking time. They are not. Let them cool and they’ll set up just fine.
Too many times people are tempted to leave them in for “just a few minutes longer,” hoping that they’ll set up in the oven (been there), but what ends up happening is that the bottoms get overdone and it basically ruins the flavor of the cookies. Mind you, that hasn’t stopped anyone from eating the cookies in the history of, like, forever, but why risk ruining a perfectly fantastic cookie experience? That would be nuts. *snicker AGAIN*
Adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook via Smitten Kitchen.
Find the recipe for Cookie Dough Flour here!
- 6.25 ounces (1¼ cups) gluten-free cookie flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter at room temperature
- 5.25 ounces (3/4 cup) sugar
- 3.5 ounces (1/2 cup) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup toasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cookie flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanuts. If you want the cookies to spread less, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes (in the cookies pictured, we skipped this step, opting for the wider, flatter cookies).
- Using a 2-tablespoon-size scoop, portion the dough onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Lightly flatten the dough with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
- Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
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