Perfect Ovenly Cookie

Who knew that one of the side effects of a global pandemic is that it turns everyone into a wannabe baker? Flour is in short supply, yeast is nowhere to be found, and I have ongoing egg insecurity*.

Luckily my neighbour brought me a huge bag of flour while I was in self-isolation after returning from Palm Springs, so I’m all set for a little while, but I still think twice every time I dip into it.

So what better time to make a flourless peanut butter cookie? And not just any flourless peanut butter cookie, but the Ovenly peanut butter cookie. I first had this dough ball of joy in 2014 on one of my trips to NYC with Lydia and fell in love. I got the Ovenly cookbook and eventually tried to make them for Champagne & Cookies, but I was so disappointed when they all spread out, and I couldn’t replicate the classic Ovenly shape (and didn’t have time to remake them).

PB Stack

Well guess who’s got time now? I mixed these up on Easter weekend since I had no big Easter baking projects (sad), and I left them in the freezer for about 24 hours before baking. They turned out perfectly! Little chewy pillows of peanut butter bliss! My only note for this recipe is to use the best, most delicious peanut butter since that’s the main ingredient here, and in my world that means JIF.

Thick & Chewy

*Yes, I’m always afraid of running out of eggs, but I know this is a trivial problem when there are neighbours in our communities going hungry.  I’ve started donating to my local food bank to help out a little bit.

Ovenly’s Salted Peanut Butter Cookies

Source: The Ovenly Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups (335 g) brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cups (450 g) smooth peanut butter (NOT natural)
  • flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top

Directions

  1. Line a plate or tray (that will fit into your freezer) with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs together until smooth
  3. Add the vanilla and peanut butter and whisk again until fully combined; you shouldn’t have any streaks of peanut butter.
  4. Stick the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up a bit before scooping.
  5. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls and place on the parchment lined plate. Stick the plate in the freezer and chill overnight.
  6. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough balls on the sheet and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown around the bottom edges.
  7. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.