Cookie of the Month: Peanut Butter

I have always loved peanut butter cookies. My grandmother used to visit and make them for me. That's how it all started.

As a child, I told myself that if I ever grew up and started a blog, I would write about cookies. So here it is.

This is my first blog post for Better Living with Gerald Chambers (BLWGC). BLWGC is all about lifestyle and activities, hence the name Better Living.

The Food Mill in Oakland used to make a peanut butter cookie, but they discontinued it. Now they make a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.

No.

I imagine it's good, and somebody likes it, but I'm strictly straight PB, man. If I eat a chocolate chip cookie, it won't be with PB.

Here's the story.

A few days ago, I decided to try to duplicate the Food Mill peanut butter cookie that they discontinued. The recipe required several substitutions, including whole wheat flour for white flour, molasses for vanilla extract, and light brown sugar for white sugar.

I made the substitutions and baked my first batch on November 8, 2026. I achieved the soft, chewy consistency I wanted, and they tasted close enough to the Food Mill cookies to make me happy.

I also met with my sponsor and our support group that day. I decided to take the cookies to his house and share them with the guys to get their opinions, too.

Unbeknownst to me, it was also his recovery birthday. He was celebrating 33 years clean.

He usually bakes a cake for his sponsees to celebrate our clean-time birthdays. This time, I got to bring him something.

The cookies helped us celebrate someone who has been very supportive in all of our lives.

I'm sharing the recipe to encourage anyone reading this to bake some cookies and share them with the people in your life you care about.

That way, you won't eat them all yourself.

The Recipe: Soft and Chewy Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes: Approximately 18–20 cookies
Oven temperature: 350°F
Baking time: Approximately 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups whole wheat flour

• 1 cup chunky peanut butter

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened

• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1–2 tablespoons milk, if needed

Instructions

1. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy, about 2–3 minutes.

2. Add the egg and molasses. Mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Make the dough. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture. Mix until combined. If the dough seems too dry, add milk one tablespoon at a time.

5. Chill the dough. Refrigerate for 20–30 minutes. This gives the whole wheat flour time to absorb moisture.

6. Shape the cookies. Scoop the dough into evenly sized balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten each cookie with a fork to make a crisscross pattern.

7. Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the edges are set, but the centers are still soft.

8. Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

How They Turned Out

The cookies were soft and chewy, with a rich peanut butter flavor. The whole wheat flour added a little nuttiness, the brown sugar helped keep them moist, and the molasses gave them a deeper flavor.

They were really quite good.

And even better when shared.