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You are here: Home / cookies / Salty Ancho Peanut Butter Cookies

Salty Ancho Peanut Butter Cookies

July 30, 2010 By Laura 9 Comments

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I got the idea for these cookies from the Rogue Bakery, a homemade, home-delivered cookie bakery in Columbus and Cleveland. I actually have not tried their spicy peanut butter cookies, but when I heard the owner/baker say ancho and peanut butter in the same tweet, I was instantly intrigued. (For what it’s worth, I have tried other cookies they make and they are delicious.)

This is a match made in heaven. My version are not spicy, are not even that strong of an ancho flavor, but the ancho somehow brought out the peanut buttery goodness in the cookies and made them even more peanut buttery (although if you are wondering, I’d love to try a truly spicy version too, with chipotle). I was exclaiming over my new discovery when my sister pointed out that she had recently featured a spicy peanut butter cookie and I somehow missed it–bad sister! bad Laura! much self flogging…but anyway hers use a spicy peanut butter and so are a bit different (and are next on my to try list because ohmigosh they look amazing).


The texture of these cookies are a bit different for me. They are not super chewy (indeed next time I might bake one less minute) but they are not crunchy or crispy either. Matheson refers to them as “airy” and while I would not call them airy, I might call them airy for peanut butter cookies, if you see what I mean by the difference. For me, personally, the sugar and salt on top were absolutely necessary.

Salty Ancho Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from Salty Sweets, Christie Matheson

1 T AP flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t fine sea salt
1 t ground ancho chile pepper
1 cup regular (not natural) peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 T finely chopped salted peanuts
coarse turbinado sugar and coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk together the flour, sea salt, baking soda, and ancho. Set aside.

Using a mixer, cream the peanut butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add the flour mixture and mix in until well combined. Add the beaten egg and mix until incorporated. Stir in the peanuts.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet–I got 12 cookies per sheet for a total of 24 cookies. Flatten the balls slightly with a fork (but know that the tine marks will disappear). Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the coarse sugar and salt.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until set and slightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheets for 1 minute and then transfer to a cooking rack.

Filed Under: cookies, peanut butter, peanuts

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Comments

  1. Jennifurla says

    July 30, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    Great idea, they certainly look tasty

    Reply
  2. Joanne says

    July 31, 2010 at 5:46 am

    I'm always up for trying a new PB cookie! I love the spice twist on these.

    Reply
  3. grace says

    July 31, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    salt. i want it, i need it, i love it. awesome twist on a classic cookie!

    Reply
  4. Cristina says

    August 1, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    These cookies look sinfully good. Luv the chile twist in it too!

    Reply
  5. Eliana says

    August 1, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    Wow – these look so delicious. I would have never thought to add spice to peanut butter. It sounds wonderful.

    Reply
  6. Spicie Foodie says

    August 2, 2010 at 10:19 am

    The cookies are like a relative to the Mexican Mole 🙂 They sound really good, bookmarking them.

    Reply
  7. Fun and Fearless in Beantown says

    August 2, 2010 at 10:51 am

    The combination of peanut butter with the salty, sweet and spicy flavors sounds fantastic to me!

    Reply
  8. Spice Sherpa says

    August 7, 2010 at 7:21 am

    You had me at ancho! What an excellent idea. And I looooove peanut butter.

    Reply
  9. Nina says

    December 13, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    This is brilliant! Have so enjoyed perusing your blog — fantastic job with it and I love your recipe choices!! Can’t wait to try these! Happy Holidays 🙂

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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