Flat peanut butter cookies?

Question

I've never made peanut butter cookies although I've been cooking for many years. I stumbled across a recipe that only called for white, brown and confectioners sugar, peanut butter and egg. Once baked you were supposed to put a chocolate kiss in the center. It sounded suspicious to me, I had never baked anything that didn't call for at least flour and/or baking powder or baking soda. I did some checking and it seemed like a popular recipe as far as peanut butter cookies were concerned so I gave it a shot.
I did everything like instructed and the cookies were as big around as saucers and flat as can be. That's NOT what they were supposed to look like. What went wrong here?

Okay, again......I thought someone forgot the flour as well so I did some online checking and it seems like it's a common recipe.........so no, I DID NOT FORGET the flour. And the time didn't have anything to do with it as they almost instantly ran flat.

PPS: I did chill the dough for almost an hour too. The recipe said so to make the dough more formable and less sticky.

The cookies don't really have to rise, per se, because the dough is rolled into a ball and put on an ungreased cookie sheet. They should really just flatten out a little bit thus not needing to rise at all.

Answer 1

That sounds just like my recipe, and I just found a similar one at allrecipes.com (great site!), too.

What may have happened is that the dough was already a little warm from your preparation, so it spread out way too far once it was in the oven. (I bet it still tasted fine--gotta enjoy cookie failures, huh?) If you try it again, refrigerate the dough after you've formed each individual cookie, then pop the cookie sheet straight from the fridge into the oven.

Can I have one?

Answer 2

If you used low fat peanut butter they do that, the lower fat content in the peanut butter will make the cookies flat and very chewy.

Use this recipie but make sure that you use regular peanut butter!

1 cup Peanut Butter (Smooth or Chunky)
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients together and spoon into tablespoon fulls into hand, roll into balls and place on cookie sheet press with a fork and bake in over for 10-12 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes on pan and then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes approx. 12-14 large cookies

Answer 3

This is the easiest and best PB cookie recipie, and it does not take flour, and it always turns out (very yummy)

1 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Refrigerate 30 min. Roll peanut butter mixture into 18 balls. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten each ball, in a criss-cross pattern, with fork.
BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 5 min. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack; cool completely


You can also press this into a small square pan and sprinkle it with chocolate chips before baking.

Answer 4

Did you use natural peanut butter instead of the regular, commercial hydrogenated stuff? If so, I'll bet that's the problem. Many recipes that call for peanut butter really require the processed stuff. The oils in skippy, peter pan, etc are hydrogenated, making them solid like shortening. Natural peanut butter has oil that separates and runs.

Answer 5

flat cookies result from spreading before being able to set.

EDIT: i'm not sure then. try cooking at a higher temperature so that the dough can set. you sure ur oven's working properly?

Answer 6

Did you happen to open the oven door to peek at the cookies? That would cause them to fall before they are done cooking. The cold air hits the hot air in the oven and then, hockey pucks!

Answer 7

just sounds like the recipe needs some help from you! maybe add some flour next time and see what happens

Answer 8

The cookies have no leavening in them (Baking powder or soda) so they won't rise. Flour also adds structure to a cookie, so I think this is merely a lame recipe

This is the BEST PNB Cookie recipe you will ever make. You won't want to mess around w/ a chocoalte kiss, either!


** Big, Super-Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies **

"The key to a peanutty cookie that is crisp on the edges and chewy in the center? Chunky commercial peanut butter and an extra hit of roasted, salted peanuts.

The Problem: Recipes for peanut butter cookies tend to fall into one of two camps: sweet and chewy with a mild peanut flavor (which means lots of butter and sugar but not much egg), and sandy and crumbly with a strong peanut flavor (which means lots of peanut butter but not a lot of flour).
The Goal: What we wanted, of course, was the best of both worlds--that is, crisp on the edges and chewy in the center, with lots of peanut flavor.
The Solution: Commercial peanut butters helped the cookie rises and achieve a crispier edge and a softer center. Also playing roles in our quest for the "perfect" peanut butter cookie were the amount and type of sugar (white sugar is necessary for crisp edges and chewy centers, dark brown sugar enriches the flavor of the nuts); flour (too little and the cookies are oily, too much and they are dry); and leavening (baking soda contributes to browning and peanut flavor, baking powder provides lift, so both are necessary). The final turning point, however, rested on peanuts and salt. Adding some roasted, salted peanuts, ground in a food processor, and then adding still more salt (directly to the batter as well in the form of salted rather than unsalted butter) produced a strong roasted nut flavor without sacrificing anything in terms of texture.

Bringing the butter, peanut butter, and eggs to room temperature makes it easier to blend the ingredients. Be sure to grind the peanuts, since whole, and even chopped peanuts tend to slip out of the dough. If using unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Keep finished cookies refrigerated in airtight container. To restore just-baked chewiness, wrap a cookie in a sheet of paper towel and microwave for approximately 25 seconds. Cool before serving."

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), salted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter , preferably Jif
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup roasted salted peanuts , ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (about 1 cup, packed)


1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.

3. Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time (see illustration 1 below), roll into large balls, placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Following illustration 2, press each dough ball with back of dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 7 days. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

--March 1998, Cooks Illustrated

Answer 9

that certain recipe forgot flour.

you should have cheaked other recipies as well

i googled some up, and they all had flour.

here is a good website

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeid=35542

Answer 10

overbaked them??? I have the same problem with mine and when I decreased the time they were in the oven it helped them not come out so flat.