Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies are made with UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE for a lightened-up version, a tad bit of butter for added richness, and those pantry staples we know all too well. You gotta try these.
¼cupunsweetened applesauce(at room temperature *Note: Use a dry ingredient measuring cup (see recipe notes))
1egg(at room temperature)
¼cupwhite sugar
½cupbrown sugar
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1.5cupsunbleached all purpose flour
1tablespoonunbleached all purpose flour
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspooncornstarch
¾cup peanut butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
Wet Ingredients
Cream together unsweetened applesauce, butter, white sugar & brown sugar and whisk until light, fluffy, and airy.
Add peanut butter and whisk, add vanilla extract and whisk.
To same bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, & cornstarch. Whisk dry ingredients lightly. With a medium or large spoon, mix until all ingredients are combined. DO NOT OVER MIX COOKIE DOUGH BATTER.
Using an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet. With index, middle, and ring fingers together, gently press each ball of dough to flatten slightly. If cookie dough is to sticky, damp fingers with water to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers. Use a fork to create hash marks on the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack for 5 to 10 minutes. **Note: For this batch, I added two scoops of dough per cookie to make larger cookies. Otherwise, use one scoop of dough per cookie to make them smaller.
Store extras in an air tight container or zip loc.
Notes
*When I first measured the applesauce, I used a dry ingredient measuring cup by mistake; however, it turned out to be the perfect amount for this recipe. Since that measurement worked, I stuck with it and didn't change to a wet ingredient measuring cup.**Please note: Nutritional values serve as a guide only as values may vary.If you decide to make cookies at the last minute, use the following tips to bring your wet ingredients to room temperature:
Measure out the applesauce and microwave for 30 seconds or less just to knock the chill off. DO NOT OVERHEAT.
In a small bowl, fill with warm water and place the egg in the warm water for 5 minutes.
Hopefully, your butter is already soft, if not, measure out the butter and place in microwave for a few seconds until it softens and does not melt.
When measuring dry ingredients, it is important that you measure correctly:
When measuring out the flour, scoop the flour into the dry measuring cup using a spoon and fill. When you've filled the measuring cup to the top, level the top with a butter knife or a straight finger.
The above method will prevent you from packing your measure cup with flour. If you pack your measure cup with flour, your dough will become dense which may result in a dry cookie.
The same holds true for salt, baking soda and cornstarch. When you fill your measure spoon, level off with a straight finger.
It's worth noting that darker baking sheets require less baking time compared to lighter baking sheets and the end results tends to be a crispier cookie and darker bottom compared to lighter baking sheets. Personally, I prefer baking on a lighter baking sheet.