Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter-Sesame Cookies

by:
May 29, 2018
4
5 Ratings
Peanut Butter-Sesame Cookies
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 16 minutes
  • Makes 12-14 cookies
Author Notes

These peanut butter cookies are a riff off on my grandmother's. They are equally as soft (and stay that way long after being out of the oven), but I add toasted sesame oil, which brings out the incredible flavor of the peanut butter. —Jerrelle Guy

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe is part of our storytelling series, My Family Recipe. To read about the story behind this recipe, go here. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup extra-creamy peanut butter (low-sodium)
  • 4 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the butters, sugars, vanilla, and oils together until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until combined. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt and combine completely. Whisk the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until a soft dough is formed. Pinch off 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces of dough and roll them into balls between your palms.
  4. Place the balls on the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each one, and bake for 14-16 minutes or until the cookies are set and golden brown on the bottom. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm.
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  • Yvette
    Yvette
  • SarahBunny
    SarahBunny
  • Greg
    Greg
  • Jerrelle Guy
    Jerrelle Guy

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10 Reviews

Dori
Dori October 7, 2020
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe with the almond flour! I can't wait to try the GF version. Wonderful story...and yes, that is EXACTLY what Big Ma wanted all along. :)
 
Sonja S.
Sonja S. June 23, 2018
I loved the story behind these cookies so I tried them. And, true, they are nice and soft. I followed the recipe but am not sure I used the right kind of sesame oil. What I had was Pure Sesame Oil that one would use in Chinese cooking. There was no mention of "toasted." However, I did not find that the oil brought out the taste of the peanut butter. It was OK but I thought the peanut butter taste was a little muted. I wish I had added at least a cup of peanuts (I did use chunky PB) to the cookies. Next time, I will definitely add peanuts to the mix.
 
mlledaffodil
mlledaffodil April 29, 2023
You needed to use toasted sesame oil for flavor!
 
Yvette
Yvette June 17, 2018
Just made them and they turned out beautifully.
 
Jerrelle G.
Jerrelle G. June 19, 2018
Thank you Yvette! So happy you gave them a try :)
 
Rita F.
Rita F. June 14, 2018
Could you make these with almond flour?
 
Jerrelle G.
Jerrelle G. June 19, 2018
Just tested this for you Rita because I wanted to know too. I had to add an extra 1/2 cup for a total of 1 1/2 cups of Almond flour, but they came out great. They didn't have as much height but still soft and yummy!
 
SarahBunny
SarahBunny June 4, 2018
Just made my first batch of these; due to an allergy I substituted cashew butter for the peanut butter. The sesame and cashew flavors blend beautifully, and the resulting cookie isn't too sweet. Next time I make them (and I WILL be baking these again!) I'll try reducing the salt by half -- my husband thought they were a touch too salty. Thank you for interpreting and sharing this family gem!
 
Jerrelle G.
Jerrelle G. June 19, 2018
Hi Sarah! Thank you for this note! I adjusted the salt in the recipe after trying it with a different brand of peanut butter--And I definitely agree with you both! Thank you! :)
 
Greg
Greg May 29, 2018
I love the story and the recipe. I've long wanted to make a decent PB cookie that stood out from the crowd. I'm going to make one change - using Tahini instead of sesame seed oil.
The best people always want the world to experience what they love. Thank you for the post.