Fall Peanut Butter Cookies 3 ways

There is something about a simple plain peanut butter cookie that brings me right back to my childhood. The sweet and salty, nutty flavor is hands down a crowd pleaser and is super versatile lending itself modestly for a "healthier" cookie, but dresses up really nice when paired with chocolate. These cookies are all made from one easy Peanut Butter cookie batter so it doesn't get much more simple.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a Standing Mixer, combine sugar and butter on medium low with paddle attachment until light and fluffy.

3. Add egg, vanilla extract and salt until well combined.

4. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together and with the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

5. On cookie sheets lined with silmats or parchment paper, scoop one inch balls about 2" apart.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies begin to crinkle on top; careful not to over cook as you want them to be crisp on the edges but chewy in the middle. Once removed from the oven, the cookies will settle after 1 minute then you can transfer them to a cooling rack.

Trail Mix Peanut Butter Cookies

Add ins for these cookies can be a mix of any of your favorite seeds, dried fruit or nuts. Pictured I used chopped almonds and pumpkin seeds. Just follow the cookie batter instructions above and once the batter is done, simply fold in your trail mix options then bake as directed.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cookies

For chocolate covered cookies, pick what morsels you prefer: Milk or Dark chocolate. Pictured, I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao Dark Chocolate chips.

1. In a heat proof bowl, put chocolate chips and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir then continue to heat for 15 second intervals and mixing until the chocolate has melted.

2. Dip or drizzle chocolate on cookies and decorate with you choice of sprinkles or nuts.

3. Let cool completely before storing so chocolate hardens.