Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

We have a long list of favorites when it comes to cookies, but this cookie recipe is high up there on our list. A soft, chewy peanut butter cookie is a true classic, most often made around the holidays for a cookie exchange. But, why wait for a holiday to make a moist, sweet and salty peanut butter honey cookie?! When a cookie is this good, it should be made year round, no special occasion required. We have our usual go-to recipe for peanut butter cookies, but this peanut butter cookie made with honey is truly something special. If you’ve not tried them before, you’ll soon know why these cookies are so wonderful.

Peanut butter and honey are like peanut butter and chocolate, a pairing that just works well together. In this recipe, we swapped white sugar with honey and it made all the difference. Honey adds moisture to the cookie as well as warmth and richness to the overall flavor profile. The cookie dough whips up fairly quickly, but it is important to give it a little bit of time to chill in the refrigerator. Chilled dough will prevent the cookies from over-spreading while they bake, and it actually helps the cookies to keep their moisture, and in this cookie recipe that moisture is super important.

A peanut butter cookie is often marked with a crisscross pattern (made with a fork) prior to baking and we love how this distinctive “tattoo” is so unique to a peanut butter cookie. Once out of the oven, we like to sprinkle a little bit of coarse sea salt over the top of each cookie – this is optional, of course, but we think it makes the cookies extra special. Do not expect a cookie this good to last very long! Our peanut butter honey cookie is a sweet treat that everyone loves. Be sure to save a few for yourself before sharing with others!

Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

15 minutes active; 1 hour 15 minutes inactive to prepare serves 24-30

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup honey
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Optional: coarse sea salt, garnish

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a Silpat. Set aside.
  2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda) together in a bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat brown sugar and softened butter until creamy.
  4. Add eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
  5. Stir in the peanut butter and honey until ingredients are well blended.
  6. Mix the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, forming a dough. Chill dough for 1 hour.
  7. To make the cookies: scoop a heaping tablespoon of the dough mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat, leaving 1-inch of space between each cookie.
  8. Use a fork to flatten each ball, creating a crisscross pattern across the top of each cookie.
  9. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just golden brown.
  10. Optional: as soon as the cookies are pulled out from the oven, lightly sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top of each cookie.
  11. Cool slightly before serving. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted from Modern Honey.

Whizzco for LPE