5-Ingredient Salted Peanut Butter Cookies

I have my go-to peanut butter cookie recipe that I make interchangeably with tahini depending on what I have on hand.  I think everyone has their classic recipe that they are happy with.  The thing is.. sometimes, another one just jumps at you and begs you to be tried.

This is what happened with this one.  It seemed too good to be true, but too intriguing not to try.  I've never done a flourless cookie before.  Nor a butterless.  Come on.. we're not on a diet here!

But this cookie is not a diet cookie.  It is just peanut butter greatness in its perfect form.

It is the way peanut butter cookies were meant to be made.

 Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted from Ovenly.

Yield 33 Tbsp sized cookies

Ingredients:

240g (8.5oz) cassonade or light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 packet vanilla sugar or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

450g (1 lb or 1 3/4 cups) natural smooth peanut butter

fleur de sel to finish

Directions:

1.  Beat the eggs, then beat the sugar into the eggs.  Go for it.  Beat it good.

2.  Add the vanilla, then peanut butter.  Mix very well, then put in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes or while the oven heats.

3.  Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).

4.  Line a baking tray with a cookie sheet.  Mine was silicone.  Scoop Tbsp sized balls onto the sheet.  Sprinkle with fleur de sel, and bake for 18-20 minutes.

5.  Remove and wait for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

6.  Very important.  Let cool completely before eating.

These cookies are crunchy on the outside and in the center, depending on the cooking time, you get a nice melty chewy center.

Plus, they are beautifully domed and oh so sexy!

I made a few changes to the recipe from SK.  She uses 335g of sugar and that was just not thinkable, so I reduced to 240g.  They are still sweeter than I prefer, so next time I will go for 200g and they will be perfect.  

She also uses Skippy processed peanut butter with sugar explaining that the processed stuff gives the best results.  I used Dakatine peanut butter without sugar.  The ingredients are 97% peanuts, emulsifier, and salt.

She also chills the dough in the freezer before scooping and after scooping, explaining that it helps the cookies keep their dome shape.  I did not do this because of freezer space, but keeping the dough in the fridge between batches gave me the perfect domes I wanted.

I snuck a few pieces of broken dark chocolate into a few of the cookies to surprise myself later on.. teehee!!