Description
These Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies combine classic rich peanut butter flavor with a festive chocolate dip and holiday sprinkles, making them perfect for holiday celebrations. Soft, chewy, and adorned with colorful sprinkles, these cookies are simple to make and delightful to share with friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Toppings and Finishing
- 2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoon coconut or vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Baking Sheet: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375°F to ensure an even baking temperature.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sifted all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt until thoroughly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Incorporate the egg and vanilla extract into the creamed mixture and continue mixing until the batter becomes light and fluffy in texture.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until everything is just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure uniformity.
- Portion Dough: Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out the dough and drop the balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart for proper spreading.
- Shape Cookies: Press each dough ball gently with a fork twice in a crisscross pattern to flatten slightly while maintaining the round shape.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until edges are set and cookies are lightly golden. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Melt Chocolate: In a small bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring, then continue melting at 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth.
- Prepare Chocolate Dip: Stir the coconut or vegetable oil into the melted chocolate until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Dip Cookies: Dip each cooled cookie halfway into the melted chocolate, then place the dipped cookie onto parchment paper. While chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the holiday sprinkles on top.
- Set Chocolate: Allow the chocolate-dipped cookies to set at room temperature for 1 hour until the chocolate is firm and completely set.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days to maintain freshness.
- Unsalted butter can be replaced with salted butter, but omit the ½ teaspoon of kosher salt in the dry ingredients if using salted butter.
- Cookies freeze well; freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months to enjoy later.
- Melting wafers can be used instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the coating.
- Rolling cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before baking adds extra sweetness but is optional since the chocolate dip provides sufficient sweetness.
- Try topping cookies with crushed peanuts along with sprinkles for added salty crunch.
- For a variation, skip sprinkles and use festive mini M&Ms to create peanut butter M&M Christmas cookies.
- Sprinkling sea salt on the chocolate-coated cookies balances the sweet and salty flavors beautifully.
- Experiment with different chocolates for dipping: milk chocolate for sweeter cookies or dark chocolate for deeper flavor.
- Customize cookies for any holiday by swapping out Christmas sprinkles for other seasonal themed sprinkles such as Valentine's, Easter, or Halloween.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
