Maple Peanut Butter Cookies

Brogan and I decided to make some cookies this morning so I thought we’d try out a peanut butter cookie recipe from Pinterest.  The recipe was for Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies,  but I was low on honey.  I decided to improvise and go with my go-to sweetener, maple syrup.  So I subbed butter in place of shortening and maple syrup in place of honey and these cookies were delish!  The maple really adds something great to the flavor, however it’s very subtle.

Maple Peanut Butter Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar, placed in shallow bowl  (for rolling dough balls)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3.) In a stand mixer, cream butter, maple and peanut butter until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs and vanilla, beating on medium speed until well combined.
4.) With the speed on low, add in dry ingredients about a cup at a time until flour is fully incorporated.
5.) Scoop about 2 tbsp of dough and roll it in your hand to create a ball.  Roll the balls in the sugar and place on a stone or baking sheet about 3 inches apart from each other.  With a fork, make two perpendicular imprints on each ball. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

I had to cook these in batches and on my first batch I made the cookies too big.  I ended up cooking them for about 15 minutes and they still turned out really chewy.  They were good, but I prefer my peanut butter cookies on the crispier side, so on the next batch I made the balls smaller, cooked them for 13 minutes, and they were perfect.  This recipe will yield about 50 cookies.

Adapted from My Baking Addiction’s Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies.