Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies – easy and delicious cookie recipe from your childhood school cafeteria. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. All you need is a glass of milk and you are set! Butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, instant dry milk, flour, salt, and baking soda. Can freeze the cookie dough for a quick treat later! Makes a lot of cookies – great for parties and bake sales.
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This is another recipe from my government cafeteria cookbook. When I posted the School Pizza recipe, I had several requests for these Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies. I looked through the cookbook and found the recipe! Woohoo! I honestly don’t remember these cookies from my elementary school days, but I’m always up for trying new recipes. The cookies are surprisingly good! It just might be the perfect classic peanut butter cookie. A little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. All you need is a big glass of milk and you are set!
How to Make Cafeteria Peanut Butter Cookies
These cookies are very easy to make. Start with mixing together butter and peanut butter. Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, instant dry milk powder, and salt. Scoop the dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten cookies with a fork and bake.
- One cup of flour weighs 4.25-ounces. To properly measure flour, give the flour a stir to loosen it up in the container. Use a spoon and lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Use a flat straight edge (like the straight back of a knife) to level off the top of the flour in the measuring cup. Do NOT compact the flour in the measuring cup.
- I used smooth Jif peanut butter. Feel free to use your favorite brand. You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter.
- This recipe uses instant nonfat dry milk. I buy it at Walmart. You are going to need 1 cup or 2.25-ounces.
- This recipe does not roll the cookie dough balls in additional sugar. Feel free to roll the dough in sugar before flattening if you prefer.
- Can cookie dough be frozen? YES! I suggest scooping the cookie dough into balls and freezing the cookie dough unbaked. You can store the cookie dough balls in the freezer in a freezer bag for about 3 months. PERFECT for a quick treat!
- You can also freeze any leftover baked cookies in a freezer bag. The cookies will keep at least 3 months in the freezer.
Easy Dessert for a Crowd
This recipe makes a lot of cookies. Perfect for when you need a sweet treat for a crowd. The cookies are great for potlucks and bake sales. They are also delicious crumbled into ice cream! YUM! Give these a try the next time you need a quick and easy classic peanut butter cookie!
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Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1½ cups peanut butter
- 1½ cups sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add sugar and brown sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
- Slowly add dry milk, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until blended.
- Scoop dough with a medium cookie scoop and place on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Flatten the cookies with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Notes:
- One cup of flour weighs 4.25-ounces. To properly measure flour, give the flour a stir to loosen it up in the container. Use a spoon and lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Use a flat straight edge (like the straight back of a knife) to level off the top of the flour in the measuring cup. Do NOT compact the flour in the measuring cup.
- I used smooth Jif peanut butter. Feel free to use your favorite brand. You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter.
- This recipe uses instant nonfat dry milk. I buy it at Walmart. You are going to need 1 cup or 2.25-ounces.
- This recipe does not roll the cookie dough balls in additional sugar. Feel free to roll the dough in sugar before flattening if you prefer.
- Can cookie dough be frozen? YES! I suggest scooping the cookie dough into balls and freezing the cookie dough unbaked. You can store the cookie dough balls in the freezer in a freezer bag for about 3 months. PERFECT for a quick treat!
- You can also freeze any leftover baked cookies in a freezer bag. The cookies will keep at least 3 months in the freezer.
Steph
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Just wanted to thank you for posting these lunch lady recipes. I grew up in in the ’60’s and can remember the wonderful aromas from the school cafeteria. I was stunned 40 years later when I went to lunch at school with my grandson; the same school I attended. No warm, welcoming aromas and the lunch was just horrible.
I was wondering if the cookbook contains a recipe for salad dressing that used government cheese. I know this sounds odd but the cafeteria at my high school made this. I bought a chef salad almost every day, just to get this dressing. It wasn’t really a creamy dressing but not a vinaigrette either. There was a good amount of spices in it. I have a feeling my school lunch ladies just made the recipe up but have no idea of where to get that recipe now. Hoping I am wrong and that it may be living in your cookbook some place.
I didn’t see a recipe for salad dressing made with cheese. Sorry!
If you don’t have powdered milk, can I substitute with whole milk?
No. It won’t turn out the same.
Our school cafeteria had glazed donuts weekly. Would love that recipe.. I remember it had lemon juice in the recipe. Do you happen to have it?
Like the old time recipes..thanks
I have made these before and they’re the only ones my family enjoys. Was curious about the government cafeteria cookbook you mentioned. Is it for sale? Would so love a copy!
These cookies are to die for! Just as I remember from ancient times (the 50s) in the school lunchroom.
Oh, and could I get that recipe you mentioned for the oatmeal cookies, too? Pretty please!
Thanks Stephanie for all the hard work you do preparing the blog and the recipes for us. Love you (and the kitties)!
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
I’m going to test out the oatmeal cookies this week.
On the lunch lady’s peanut butter cookies when it calls for dry powder milk is it just the powder or prepared to liquid. It may sound silly but not used powder ed milk in a cookie recipe before.
Thank you
just use it dry
Stephanie, would you happen to have a recipe from the Lunch Lady that is a oatmeal cookie? I remember a cookie from the lunch room that was a very special oatmeal cookie that I dearly loved in the 7th grade. Have never been able to duplicate it.
I just checked and there is an oatmeal cookie recipe. I’ll give it a try soon.