Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed, cream together the room temp. butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). On low speed, beat in the milk and vanilla extract.

Add flour, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt. Combine on low speed until a soft dough forms. You may need to stir it with a spoon so the dough comes together - sometimes the paddle attachment won't press the dough together all the way.

Pour the ½ cup granulated sugar topping in a shallow bowl. Portion out the dough into 3 oz. balls. I recommend using a kitchen scale for this, otherwise measure out about 4 tbsp of dough. Roll each ball in sugar. Place on baking sheet (about 4 for a large baking sheet).

Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and slam down on counter 4 times. You should see some cracks form. Transfer back to the oven and bake for 2 minutes. Repeat the pan banging, bake for 2 minutes, then repeat pan banging one last time. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.