This Is the Cookie That Will Win the Cookie Swap

As a Southern Living editor, I probably shouldn't be admitting to this, but here it goes: I am not a baker. Believe me, I've tried—really tried—after getting inspired by reading the delicious recipes that fill the magazine's pages each month, but it's just not a skill that I was born with. The outcomes of my culinary efforts? Burnt, dry, or generally tasteless. So I usually decide to leave the gourmet cooking to the professionals and stick with my trusty go-to kitchen appliance—the microwave.

But come Christmastime, when holiday parties are in full swing, I need to have at least one homemade treat in my arsenal that I can bring to each occasion (and one tastes good too). After searching the Southern Living website for an easy cookie recipe, I finally found one that even amateur bakers like myself I can master: Our Easiest (Ever!) Peanut Butter Cookies.

These treats are simple yet delicious. Who doesn't love a classic peanut butter cookie? The recipe calls for four ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen: 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, one large egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

The directions are approachable as well. Begin by stirring all ingredients together in a large bowl, and then shape the dough into balls on a baking sheet. Flatten the tops with the tinges of a fork to get the classic peanut butter cookie look. Bake them at 325°F for 15 minutes until golden brown, and that's it. The entire process takes a little more than 30 minutes, and the recipe yields 30 cookies (and there's even a chocolate-peanut butter variation you can try.) The result is a batch of crowd-pleasing peanut butter cookies that will impress guests at every get-together.