1-Step 1: Prepare Your Workspace and Equipment Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. This temperature is crucial because it’s hot enough to set the edges quickly while keeping the centers soft and chewy. While the oven heats up, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Parchment paper prevents sticking and makes cleanup so much easier, plus it helps the cookies bake evenly on the bottom. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use silicone baking mats or lightly grease the pans with butter or cooking spray.

2-Step 2: Create Your Peanut Flour This is where the magic happens and what sets Tim Hortons peanut butter cookies apart from ordinary recipes. Place 1 cup of roasted peanuts and 1 cup of all-purpose flour in your food processor. Pulse and blend for about 30 seconds until you have a fine, uniform powder. The peanuts release their natural oils into the flour, creating a peanut-infused flour that intensifies the nutty flavor throughout the entire cookie. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture looks like a slightly darker, speckled flour with no large peanut pieces remaining. Set this aside for now.

3-Step 3: Cream the Base Ingredients Grab your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a hand mixer if that’s what you have. Add 1 ¼ cups of peanut butter, ½ cup of softened butter, 1 ½ cups sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat everything on medium speed for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes soft, fluffy, and light in color. This creaming process is essential because it incorporates air into the dough, which gives the cookies their tender texture. The mixture should look smooth and somewhat whipped when it’s ready.

4-Step 4: Add the Egg Gradually Here’s a pro tip that many bakers skip but makes a real difference: take your 1 large beaten egg and add it in two separate additions rather than all at once. Pour in half the beaten egg, mix on medium speed until fully incorporated (about 30 seconds), then add the remaining half and mix again until smooth. This gradual approach prevents the batter from splitting or curdling, especially if your butter wasn’t perfectly at room temperature. The result is a smooth, emulsified dough that bakes into uniform cookies with the perfect texture.

5-Step 5: Form the Dough With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the peanut flour mixture you prepared earlier. Let it mix until just combined with the wet ingredients, then pour in 3 tablespoons of milk. Continue mixing on low speed until a soft, cohesive dough forms. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky but still hold its shape when scooped. If it seems too wet, you can add another tablespoon of flour. If it’s too dry and crumbly, add another splash of milk. The consistency is right when the dough comes together in a ball around the paddle.

6-Step 6: Shape and Portition the Cookies Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, divide the dough into 34 portions. Each portion should be about 2 tablespoons of dough. Roll each portion into a ball between your palms and place them on your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. This spacing is important because these cookies will spread during baking, and you want them to remain individual cookies rather than merging into one giant cookie sheet. You’ll probably need to bake these in two batches unless you have a very large oven with multiple racks.

7-Step 7: Bake to Perfection Slide the baking sheets into your preheated 350°F oven and set a timer for 16 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges look crisp and slightly browned while the tops are just starting to show some color. The centers might still look slightly underdone when you take them out, but that’s exactly what you want for soft, chewy centers. Every oven is slightly different, so start checking at the 14-minute mark. If your cookies seem to be browning too quickly, you can rotate the pans halfway through baking.

8-Step 8: Cool and Set Patience is key here. Leave the cookies on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. During this time, they’ll continue cooking slightly from residual heat and will firm up enough to handle without breaking. The cooling period also allows the centers to set properly while staying soft. After 10 minutes, transfer the cookies to wire racks to finish cooling completely. Once cooled, they’re ready to enjoy or store for later.