Growing up we could never have peanut butter. In fact it wasn’t even allowed in our house. Now, before you think I had crazy parents or something, it was for a very valid reason.
My older brother is quite deathly allergic to peanuts; even the smell the peanut butter or peanuts made his eyes and throat swell up.
One time, as a little girl, I got a peanut butter cup from a friend. I brought it home and ate it without thinking much of it. Later that day I gave my brother a kiss and that kiss sent him to the emergency room.
Apparently and unbeknownst to me I had a tiny bit of peanut butter left on my mouth that had gotten onto him causing a terrible reaction. Needless to say, I didn’t eat peanut butter the rest of my childhood or anytime I was home for that matter.
The minute I moved away and off to college though, I went a little bit peanut butter crazy. I stocked my apartment full of peanut butter and ate it all the time. It is my absolute favorite food.
The two ways I like peanut butter best are, first, on a spoonful covered with chocolate chips, and second, in the form of easy peanut butter cookies. I love peanut butter cookies and this recipe is the one I’ve been using for years. It’s very easy and extremely tasty – two musts for a busy college student.
These cookies are chewy in the center, crisp on the edges, packed with flavor, and they smell delicious. The cookies don’t take too long to mix together and only about 8-10 minutes to bake.
Are you convinced you need these cookies in your life? I hope so! Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned that delicious center – marshmallow fluff. It’s ooey and gooey in the best possible ways!
Once all of the ingredients are beaten together, I like to use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a tray. You can line your tray with a nonstick mat if desired, but I never do for these cookies since I like the bottoms better without the mat.
A cookie scoop helps to ensure that all of your cookies are the same size making sure they will all cook at the same time. Without a cookie scoop I find that some cookies are overcooked while others aren’t all the way done.
Once all of the cookie dough balls are on your cookie sheet, use a fork to press down the tops of the cookies. I like to press the fork down twice — once top to bottom and next from side to side.
A quick time in the oven and these cookies are absolutely divine. I let the cookies stay on the cookie sheet for another 2-3 minutes after baking to solidify and “bake” a little longer before removing them to a cooling rack.
While they are sitting on the cookie sheet, I like to sprinkle a little bit of coarse sea salt on top of the cookies. My family and I love that extra salty touch, but feel free to omit it if you aren’t a huge fan of salt or are watching your sodium intake.
Before the cookies are completely cool, spread a nice sized helping of marshmallow fluff in between two cookies and sandwich them together. The amount of fluff you want is totally up to you, but I used about a heaping tablespoon per sandwich cookie.
Trust me when I say there aren’t too many things better than a warm and gooey peanut butter and marshmallow cookie sandwich! Enjoy!
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter, do not use a natural version
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Coarse sea salt, optional
- 12 heaping tablespoons marshmallow fluff
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, white sugar, eggs, baking powder, and vanilla extract.
- Beat until completely combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop all the dough into even amounts on cookie sheets.
- Press a fork from top to bottom and side to side on each cookie.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden around the edges.
- Remove and allow to stand on the cookie sheet for another 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Before the cookies are completely cool, spread a heaping tablespoon of marshmallow fluff onto half of the cookies.
- Sandwich another cookie on top and enjoy!