Parent Trap Cookies
Inspired by my favorite childhood movie, these Parent Trap Cookies take the twins' iconic snack from the film and turn it into a cookie! An easy 1-bowl peanut butter cookie dough is studded with PB chips and Oreo pieces, for the most nostalgic treat this millennial could dream of!
Servings: 28 large cookies, approximately
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter cubed
- 1 ¼ cups (338 grams) natural peanut butter very well stirred so there’s no dry clumps
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 large yolk separated when cold and then brought to room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (12 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) milk any kind
- 2 ¾ cups (358 grams) all-purpose flour measured correctly - too much flour will make hard cookies
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (170 grams) peanut butter chips
- 12 (137 grams) Oreo cookies quartered, plus 7 additional cookies (100 grams) for decorating, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and peanut butter until melted. Whisk carefully to combine. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and whisk together to combine. If the mixture is hot, set aside to cool until just warm.
- Add the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and milk to the cooled mixture. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a very sturdy spatula until almost combined.
- Add the peanut butter chips and quartered Oreos and mix in until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
- Using a large 3-Tablespoon spring-loaded cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Press the dough balls down slightly using your palm, so they're about 1-inch thick.
- If time permits: Cover the shaped cookie dough well with plastic wrap and chill for 24 hours. This will give you thicker, chewier cookies with a bakery-style texture and a much more prominent PB flavor.
- When ready to bake, place cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, placed a few inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake for about 9-11 minutes, or until set and lightly golden brown at the edges. Straight out of the oven, press in additional quartered Oreo pieces to decorate the tops of the cookies, if desired. Allow cookies to cool on the baking trays before serving.
Notes
The Peanut Butter: Conventional peanut butter won’t provide as much peanut butter flavor compared to natural PB, and won't make cookies that are quite as thick - but it still works just fine at a 1:1 ratio if needed.
Correct Measuring: To ensure thick yet moist, chewy cookies, be sure to measure your ingredients (especially your flour) correctly, to avoid accidentally adding too much and accidentally creating dry, hard cookies. Use a digital kitchen scale for best results.
Shaping and Decorating: If desired, immediately out of the oven, run a round cookie cutter (slightly larger in size than the cookies) around the edges of the hot cookies. This pulls their edges in slightly and makes slightly thicker, perfectly round cookies. Do this before pressing in additional quartered Oreo pieces to decorate the tops of the cookies, for the prettiest bakery-worthy cookies.