1. Pre-heat oven to 375˚
2. In a large bowl, stand mixer or food processor, combine wet ingredients including softened butter, crunchy peanut butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well-incorporated, with a smooth consistency. (Crunchy peanut butter is optimal but plain ol' peanut butter works just as well.)
3. Add baking soda into flour. Sift flour and baking soda. If you don't have a sifter, toss it in a colander or – as a last resort – ensuring you have very clean hands – run your fingers back and forth through the flour to get rid of any knots.
4. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Personal bias leans towards a stand mixer that might aid one's kitchen work.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and allow your peanut butter cookies dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Once sufficiently chilled, roll batter into golf ball size spheres and place on a cookie sheet. Leave sufficient room surrounding each ball for the cookie expand and flatten. (Test three cookies across; then four cookies across.)
7. Press each ball with a fork and make a gentle criss-cross hatch imprint - it is not necessary to completely flatten your peanut butter cookies.
8. Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes. It is important to know and test your oven's heats. It may have hot or cool spots.
9. For softer, chewier peanut butter cookies, reduce your baking time to 8-9 minutes. (A softer cookie crumbles more easily.)
10. Enjoy.

What to say about peanut butter cookies that hasn't already been said – especially with the advent of AI and – oy! – as if that isn't cause enough to eat more peanut butter cookies with a cold class of didn't that used to taste more like milk?

With the increased consciousness surrounding allergies and other important digestive and general health issues, it isn't uncommon to find modern variants of peanut butter cookies recipes substituting almonds, cashews or even sunflower seed kernels in addition to versions that are gluten and/or dairy free variants.

Originally native to South America, plentiful peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) have long been considered a low-cost, high-protein food and with the creation of peanut butter at the turn of the 20th Century, the lowly legume found immediate fame and the classic, traditional peanut butter cookie recipe – with fewer than ten ingredients – was born. Popularity of peanut putter cookies only grew throughout World War II as they were cheap and easy to make – and tender reminders of home for fighting soldiers.

A perennial favorite, peanut butter cookies pair well with a glass of cold milk.