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The Hunger Games: Three Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes Fight to the Death

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Got a half-eaten jar of peanut butter in your pantry? You could hold up, hoping it spontaneously springs to life, or you could convert it to diamonds, or you could produce a pile of peanut butter cookies.

Perhaps the best thing about peanut butter cookies is that, on one of those days that you spend mostly on the couch, watching as many Jennifer Lawrence movies as you can stream into a single Saturday, and you suddenly realize that a Netflix binge isn’t complete with out a food binge to go with it – in fact, just the thought of that makes you totally lose control and convince yourself that your flat-out starving – and you know that there’s no way you’re putting on pants and going to the store – yeah, you know the kind of day I’m talking about – you need to know that there’s something god-awful you can make with stuff that you have in your cupboards. And that, of course, is peanut butter cookies. But if cookie, which recipe?

Let the hunger games begin. I narrowed it down to Betty, Simply Recipes, and Martha. I placed each of them into an arena that I quickly set up in my kitchen. I followed each of their recipes more or less until it came time to put the cookies on the sheet. I’m a guy; I like big, guy-sized cookies. Size matters. Even though the cookies I produced were sizeable, I insist that these are single-serving cookies, since, if they were half the size, no one I know would eat only one. To accommodate the impressive size of my manly cookies, I had to lower their baking temperature. Martha’s version doesn’t call for the dough to be refrigerated, but the others do. The chilled dough is much easier to work with and produces a slightly more interesting texture. I went ahead and chilled all three peanut-buttery doughs. I also took a few other liberties, like using a stand mixer and Silpats, whether the recipes called for them or not.

Although no one disliked Betty’s cookie, our testers were evenly split on their preference for the “Simply Recipes” and Martha Stewart cookies. News of the unprecedented tie rippled through my house almost as quickly as the three batches of cookies did.

Betty Crocker

(Clicking on the green-font titles will take you to the original recipes.)

These cookies have a lighter and more refined texture than the other two, and tend toward crispness. The trade-off is flavor. Although they certainly taste good, their flavor profile is the simplest of the three.

Makes 9 cookies, 4″ diameter, weighing slightly more than 2 oz. each

Ingredients:

3 oz. granulated sugar (½ cup) • 3 oz. packed brown sugar (½ cup) • 3⅛ oz. peanut butter (½ cup) • 2 oz. Crisco (¼ cup) • 2 oz. butter, softened (¼ cup) • 1 egg (1⅝ oz.) • 6⅛ oz. flour (1¼ cups) • ¾ tsp baking soda • ½ tsp baking powder • ¼ tsp salt

Abbreviated Directions:

1. Sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg: 30 seconds, speed 4. Incorporate remaining. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
2. Pre-heat: 350ºF.
3. ¼-cup scoop, 4-5 cookies per sheet, requisite crisscross pattern
4. Bake 15 mins/light golden brown. Cool 5 mins; remove to rack.

Simply Recipes

These cookies come closest to reminding me of my childhood. Crispy edges; dense, chewy-ish centers. Peanutty.

Makes 10 cookies (see above)

Ingredients:

4 oz. butter (½ cup, or 1 stick), room temperature • 4¼ oz. sugar (½ cup) • 4 oz. packed brown sugar (½ cup) • 3⅛ oz. peanut butter (½ cup) • 1 egg (1⅝ oz.) • 6⅜ oz. cup flour (1¼ cups) • ¾ tsp baking soda • ½ tsp baking powder • ¼ tsp salt

Abbreviated Directions:

1. Cream butter, 2 min, speed 4. Sugars, 2 min. Peanut butter and egg, speed 2. Whisk dry. Incorporate. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 3 hours.
2. See “Betty,” step 2
3. See “Betty,” step 3
4. Bake 16 min/ light brown. Cool 5 min; remove to rack.

Martha Stewart

Darker in color than the other two, with a far more complex and sophisticated flavor.

Makes 12 (see above)

Ingredients:

4 oz. unsalted butter (8 Tbs, or 1 stick) • 6 oz. smooth peanut butter (¾ cup) • 4 oz. granulated sugar (½ cup) • 4⅛ oz. packed dark-brown sugar (½ cup) • 1 large egg (1¾ oz.) • ⅛ oz. pure vanilla extract (½ tsp) • 5½ oz. flour (1 cup) • ¾ tsp baking soda • Peanuts, for sprinkling (optional)

Abbreviated Directions:

1. 350°F. Baking sheets and Silpats.
2. Paddle butter, peanut butter, sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; combine well, med speed. Sift flour, baking soda. Combine.
3. See “Betty,” step 3
4. See “Simply,” step 4

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