Cayenne Peanut Butter Cookies
A pinch of cayenne pepper turns a classic peanut butter cookie into something with a little more personality, just enough warmth to notice after the sweetness hits. Chopped roasted salted peanuts add crunch throughout the dough, and there's no chilling it before it goes in the oven. Twelve to fourteen minutes in the oven gets you soft-centered cookies with crisp, golden edges, ready for a cookie tray in under an hour start to finish.
Servings 24
Calories 148kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter room temp
- ⅓ cup sugar Plus a tablespoon for dipping the fork
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup roasted salted peanuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- With an electric mixer, combine butter and ⅓ cup white sugar and ½ cup brown sugar and mix until creamy. Add peanut butter, egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cayenne and soda. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Stir in peanuts.
- With an ice cream scoop, measure out 2 tablespoon balls and place on prepared sheets. Dip a fork into sugar and flatten tops using a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until slightly browned on edges. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.
Notes
- Dip the fork in sugar before pressing the crisscross pattern on top, it keeps the dough from sticking to the tines.
- This dough is ready to bake as soon as it's mixed, no need to chill it first.
- Bring the egg to room temperature before you start, it blends into the butter and sugar more evenly.
- A large cookie scoop makes about 18 cookies. Use a smaller scoop for more cookies, and shave a minute or two off the bake time.
