Peanut Butter: The star of the show! I typically reach for creamy peanut butter for its smooth consistency and even flavor distribution. However, if you prefer a little extra texture, my mom often used chunky peanut butter when I was growing up, which adds delightful bits of chopped peanuts. Both options yield fantastic results, so choose according to your preference for a classic or extra-crunchy peanut butter cookie.

Shortening: This unsung hero is key to achieving that wonderfully soft and tender cookie texture. Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, which means it helps the cookies maintain their shape during baking, preventing them from spreading too thin. While it doesn’t contribute much flavor, its textural contribution is invaluable for a truly old-fashioned cookie.

Butter: This is where the rich, buttery flavor comes in! Butter adds depth and richness that shortening alone can’t provide. Whether you use salted or unsalted butter, it will beautifully enhance the overall taste of your cookies. Just ensure it’s softened to room temperature for optimal creaming with the sugars.

Whole Wheat Flour: While we only use a small amount (½ cup) of whole wheat flour in this recipe, it plays a subtle yet significant role. Its slightly nutty flavor perfectly complements the robust taste of peanut butter, adding a complex note that elevates the cookie. Plus, it lends the cookies a tiny “healthy” touch, making them feel a little less indulgent (though still utterly delicious!).

Sugars (Granulated and Brown): The combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar is essential for both flavor and texture. Granulated sugar provides crispness and helps with browning, while brown sugar adds moisture, depth, and contributes significantly to the chewy texture. Using both ensures a balanced and irresistible cookie.

Eggs: Eggs act as a binder, holding all the ingredients together, and also contribute to the cookie’s structure and richness. They help create that desirable chewiness and slight puffiness.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder: These leavening agents work in tandem to give the cookies their rise and tender crumb. Baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar, while baking powder provides an extra lift, resulting in a soft and airy texture.

Salt: A pinch of salt is crucial for balancing the sweetness and enhancing the flavors of all the ingredients, especially the peanut butter. Don’t skip it!

Step 1: Cream the Wet Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, both granulated and brown sugars, creamy peanut butter, shortening, and softened butter. Beat these ingredients together until the mixture is light, fluffy, and perfectly smooth. This creaming process incorporates air, which is crucial for a tender cookie. Once smooth, gradually add the dry ingredients – the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (Refer to the photo above for visual guidance on mixing the wet ingredients.)

Step 3: Scoop and Shape the Dough. Using a large tablespoon or a cookie scoop, portion the dough into small mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Aim for pieces that are approximately the size of a walnut or a golf ball. It’s important to make each cookie as close to the same size as possible. This consistency is key to ensuring that every single cookie bakes evenly and results in that consistently soft and chewy texture we’re aiming for. (See the photo above for how the scooped dough should look on the baking sheet.)

👩🏻‍🍳 The Secret to Non-Stick Cookies: Parchment Paper

In the past, when my mom baked her wonderful cookies, she would meticulously grease each baking sheet with shortening. This method certainly works to prevent cookies from sticking! However, I’ve found a much easier and cleaner alternative that I swear by: parchment paper. It’s incredibly durable, provides a consistently non-stick surface, and perhaps best of all, makes cleaning up your baking pans an absolute breeze.

Simply line your baking sheets with parchment paper before placing the dough. Once your cookies are baked and cooled, you can easily slide them off the paper. Then, just crinkle up the used parchment paper and dispose of it. While your baking pan might still need a light wash to remove any minor residue, using parchment paper significantly reduces the amount of grease and sticky bits that build up, saving you precious time and effort in the kitchen. It’s a small change that makes a big difference for stress-free baking!

🌡️ How to Store and Freeze Your Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies

To keep your Old-Fashioned Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies fresh and delicious, proper storage is key. Once the cookies have fully cooled on a wire rack, stack them carefully in an airtight container. They will stay wonderfully soft and chewy at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.

For longer storage, or to enjoy these delightful cookies whenever a craving strikes, freezing is an excellent option. Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container or a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag. Arrange them in a single layer or separate layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Store them in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply remove them from the freezer and let them defrost at room temperature for an hour or two. They’ll taste almost as fresh as the day they were baked!

The crisscross pattern is an iconic hallmark of peanut butter cookies, a tradition that dates back to the 1930s when it became a standard part of peanut butter cookie recipes. While the exact historical reason isn’t always clearly explained, we know for sure that peanut butter cookie dough is inherently thick and dense. Pressing the dough down with the tines of a fork helps to flatten the cookies and prevents them from becoming too thick or dome-shaped, which in turn ensures that the center bakes evenly and thoroughly along with the rest of the cookie, guaranteeing a consistent texture throughout. Plus, it’s just so charmingly classic!

It’s a common challenge, as peanut butter cookies are prone to drying out and becoming hard or crunchy if overbaked. The key to keeping them wonderfully soft and chewy lies precisely in the baking and cooling method outlined in this recipe.

The primary strategy is to avoid overbaking at all costs. Remove the cookies from the oven when their centers still look slightly soft. Then, instead of immediately transferring them, they cool for a few minutes directly on the hot baking sheet right out of the oven. This allows them to gently finish cooking and set without losing precious moisture, ensuring they retain their delightful chewiness long after they’ve cooled.

Technically, you could make a substitution, but for the best flavor and texture in this specific recipe, I strongly recommend using both butter and shortening as specified. While shortening contributes to a wonderfully soft and tender crumb and helps the cookies hold their shape, butter is indispensable for adding that rich, irresistible buttery flavor that truly elevates these old-fashioned treats. Using only shortening would result in a less flavorful cookie, while using only butter might make them spread a bit too much. The combination strikes the perfect balance for a truly exceptional peanut butter cookie.

While natural peanut butter can be used, it often has a different consistency and oil separation compared to conventional creamy peanut butter. If you opt for natural peanut butter, ensure it’s well-stirred to integrate the oils. You might find the cookies spread a bit more or have a slightly different texture due to the varying fat content. For the most consistent “old-fashioned” results as intended by this recipe, a conventional, no-stir creamy peanut butter is recommended.

Softened butter should be pliable enough to leave a slight indentation when gently pressed with your finger, but it shouldn’t be melted or greasy. It usually takes about 30-60 minutes for butter to soften at room temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t cream properly with the sugars; if it’s too warm, your cookies might spread excessively.

📖 The Enduring Inspiration Behind This Classic Recipe

This particular recipe has been my steadfast, go-to peanut butter cookie recipe for years, and it’s precisely why I affectionately call them “old-fashioned” peanut butter cookies. It’s a recipe that has truly stood the test of time in my kitchen.

I originally had the precise ingredients and instructions neatly scribbled down on a worn piece of paper, tucked away safely within one of my well-loved recipe binders. The recipe’s true origin, however, dates back to an old Betty Crocker children’s cookbook. This charming little cookbook was an absolute favorite of my daughter’s when she was a little girl, filled with simple, delightful recipes that sparked a love for baking. Sadly, that cherished cookbook is long gone from our house – how we managed to lose track of it, I’ll never quite understand. But I am eternally grateful that I had the foresight to save this precious recipe. It continues to bring joy to my family, embodying the spirit of homemade goodness and childhood memories.

If you appreciate a peanut butter cookie that is wonderfully tender, boasts a perfectly soft and chewy interior, and offers just the right amount of slightly crispy edges, then you and your loved ones are absolutely going to fall in love with these timeless treats.