Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies

These aren’t your standard peanut butter cookies with fork marks pressed on top. This version goes all in with a full cup of peanut butter in the dough AND a thick peanut butter frosting slathered on top. Double the peanut butter, double the reason to make them.

The dough is a classic drop cookie method: cream the butter and peanut butter with sugar until light, beat in eggs one at a time, then fold in the dry ingredients. Dropping by rounded teaspoonfuls gives you smaller, snack-sized cookies that bake up in just 10 minutes. They’ll look barely set when you pull them out, but that’s exactly right. They firm up as they cool and stay soft in the center.

The frosting is dead simple: melted margarine, powdered sugar, vanilla, and more peanut butter beaten together. If it seizes up too thick, a splash of milk loosens it right back to spreading consistency.

Chef Tips

• Let the cookies cool completely before frosting, or the heat will melt the frosting into a greasy puddle
• Cream the butter and peanut butter for a full 3 minutes to get that light, fluffy texture that makes the cookies tender
• Use creamy peanut butter for the frosting (chunky works fine in the dough if you like bits of nut)
• Store in a single layer until the frosting sets, then stack with parchment between layers

Variations

• Press a chocolate kiss into the frosting while still soft for a buckeye-style cookie
• Add ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the dough for a peanut butter-chocolate combo
• Use almond butter and almond extract instead of peanut butter and vanilla for an almond twist