An old favorite in our house – Peanut Butter Cookies.  I knew that this had to be one of the cookies that I included in my series.  These cookies are super easy to mix up and toss in the oven.  They can even be mixed the night before and then baked first thing in the morning. 

 

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies

*Original recipe from Betty Crocker Cook Book – modified to be gluten-free by me

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 a stick)

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups GF flour mix (I used Carol’s sorghum mix)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. xanthan gum

1/4 tsp. salt

Granulated sugar (for topping)

 

Method

1.  Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter & egg together in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Chill for at least 2 hours. 

2.  Heat oven to 375.

3.  Shape dough into small balls and roll in granulated sugar.  Flatten cookies with a fork (you may want to spray with Pam) in a criss-cross pattern.

4.  Bake for 9-10 minutes or until light brown – do not over-bake.  They took just 9 minutes in my oven.  Cool 5 minutes & remove to wire rack for the remainder of the cooling time. 

 

Tips

• This recipe is another that works best using a GF flour mix without added baking soda or baking powder.  That way you can control the amounts.  I usually reserve Pamela’s Baking Mix for muffins, cakes, scones and not cookies.  The one cookie I made with Pamela’s last week came out cake-like. 
• Use parchment paper on your cookie sheets to help your cookies from sticking & to keep them from spreading too much.
• I thought about subbing the shortening out to make these a little healthier.  The cook book suggests using 1/4 pkg. (8 oz pkg) light cream cheese in place of the shortening.  I didn’t have any, but would love to try that next time. 

My helper:

Using his “tool”:

Ready to go into the oven:

The finished product:

 

Once again, a hit.  The kids scarfed down the cookies that I would allow them to have & begged for more.  I asked what the best cookies were so far – Jon said the Almond Cranberry Bites from yesterday; Hannah said the Peanut Butter Cookies & the Spritz Cookies are her favorite.