Peanut Butter Cookies
Published on December 14, 2022
Quick Summary
Peanut Butter Cookies – this is the BEST peanut butter cookie recipe! The cookies are super soft, chewy, and have lots of peanut butter flavor. If you like peanut butter, you will LOVE these cookies!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItI bake a lot of cookies. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT! I love creating new cookie recipes, but I also love baking the classics.
Peanut butter cookies are some of my favorites to bake: peanut butter oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate chip, no bake cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and peanut butter cup pretzel cookies, just to name a few.
But whenever I am in the mood for good old-fashioned peanut butter cookies so I make my Soft Peanut Butter Cookies. This is the BEST peanut butter cookie recipe out there.
I’ve been making these peanut butter cookies for years and every time I make them I fall in love all over again. They are seriously the best peanut butter cookies.
The cookies are super soft, chewy, and have the perfect peanut butter flavor. They practically melt in your mouth. I can never stop at one…or three:) They are the BEST peanut butter cookies!
If you are a peanut butter lover, you will LOVE these cookies. They are absolutely perfect!
Table of Contents
Cookie Ingredients
- All-purpose flour– to measure the flour, give it a good stir/fluff, spoon it into the measuring cup, and then level it off with a knife. Never pack your flour or you will have dry and puffy cookies.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder– to give the cookies a nice lift.
- Salt– to enhance the flavors.
- Butter– use unsalted butter that is at room temperature. If your butter is too warm the cookies will be flat and greasy, we don’t want that!
- Peanut butter– use a brand like Skippy or Jif for this recipe. I like creamy peanut butter, but crunchy will work too if you want a slight peanut crunch!
- Sugar– brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Egg– always use large eggs for baking.
- Vanilla extract– use pure vanilla extract, the good stuff!
- Extra Granulated Sugar– for rolling the cookies. The sugar makes them extra sweet and extra pretty.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
(Scroll down for the full recipe with ingredients and instructions)
- Preheat oven the oven and line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter together until combined. Add the sugars and beat until creamy and smooth.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix the dough.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and form a cookie dough ball. Roll in granulated sugar until well coated. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes or until they are golden at the edges and just set. Don’t over bake, the cookies will set up as they cool. If you over bake the cookies won’t be soft and we are going for a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie.
- Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
How to Store and Freeze
- Chilling the Cookie Cookie Dough: Covered tightly, the cookie dough will keep in the fridge for up to 72 hours.
- Storing Baked Cookies: Store the baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. To keep the cookies soft, place a piece of bread in the container. The bread will get hard but the cookies will stay soft. It is magic!.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Let the cookies cool completely. Store in a freezer bag or freezer container for up to 3 months.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet or tray and freeze until balls are solid. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the balls from the freezer and preheat the oven. Bake the cookies as directed but add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
FAQ
I recommend using a brand like Skippy or Jif for this peanut butter cookie recipe. Natural peanut butter will make the cookies dry and crumbly.
No, you can make the dough and bake right away.
If you want to chill the dough, it will keep in the fridge, tightly covered, for up to 72 hours. When you preheat the oven, take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes. Then, you can scoop or roll the dough into balls and bake.
Yes! You can easily double the recipe…and you might want to because the cookies are SO good!
Yes, you can stir in up to 1 cup of chopped peanuts or chocolate chips.
More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Salted Pretzel Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet (LOVE these pretty gold ones)
- Stand Mixer (I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer)
- Silpat Baking Mat (cookies NEVER stick to this)
- Cookie Scoop (this is my favorite!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Extra granulated sugar, for rolling cookies in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter together until combined. Add the sugars and beat until creamy and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and form a cookie dough ball. Roll in granulated sugar. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes or until they are golden at the edges and just set. Don't overbake, the cookies will set up as they cool. Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
I love their recipes. I’ve made peanut butter, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and oatmeal raisin cookies using them. All are big hits!!! All are amazing!
Yay!!
What about using hand mixer?
That is fine.
This recipe is amazing and they are for sure the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made. We wouldn’t bother trying another recipe in this house! 🙂 I have one predicament every time I make these- I do not come near to 24 cookies though- it’s more like 12. Anyone else?
Yes, Kimberly same here got 12-13 but my cookies are pretty big!
Tried the peanut butter cookie recipe today and added peanut butter chips and chocolate chips to the batter as I love both, and they turned out great! also love the option to 1x 2x 3x the recipe, just tap the one you want and it does all the calculations for you, for a no fail doubled or tripled recipe. Thank you for the great recipes ❤️
You are welcome!
These peanut butter cookies really are the best of the best. I have made these successfully vegan several times. They have turned out well with vegan butter, but also coconut oil. I have made them with JustEgg as well as a flax egg. Both have turned out well. These just melt in your mouth! So dang good!!
They are my favorite too:)
Delicious cookies! I made one batch with crunchy and one batch with creamy peanut butter. I’m putting vanilla bean ice cream between some of the cookies for a cool dessert tomorrow! This recipe is definitely a favorite!
Love them with ice cream!!
Just made these for the first time. Took 14 min to bake. Next time I will add 3/4cup peanut butter and 1/4cup butter for more peanut butter flavour. Otherwise, chewy and delightful. This is a keeper. Thank You
Lynn in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I am glad you enjoyed the cookies.
This recipe makes by far the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had. I made them last night for a neighbor’s retirement party, and couldn’t help but make ANOTHER batch this morning!! My husband has never complimented another cookie more.
My favorite too:)
The Perfect PB Cookies! Melts in your mouth, soft & quite delicious cookies! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!
My favorite too!
Need the amount of ingredients for soft peanut butter cookies please.
Scroll down to the recipe card!
they tasted really good. how did you make cookies crackled? mine didn’t turn out like that at all. thanks
Mine didn’t either but I used a large serving fork to press them down as soon as i pulled them out of the oven. not an exact replica of what it photographed here but it did the trick 🙂
Perfect recipe I wouldn’t change a thing. The best dense, chewy peanut butter cookie I’ve made! Thanks for the recipe
Yay! Glad you loved the cookies!
Oh my goodness these were good! I made them for my dad’s birthday and they were a hit! However, my batter was a little thin and I added all the ingredients in the correct order and the correct amount. is there anything I could do to make that better?
Maybe your butter was too warm? You can also try adding 1/4 cup flour.
so good however the batter was a little thin but I love them
My bf said he wanted peanut butter cookies for his bday… and these did not disappoint. They are soft but chewy and not overly sweet. Saving this for later!
Yay! So glad you loved them!
Recipe is simple and my whole church says these cookies are divine. I add a pinch more salt and use natural peanut butter, and it comes out great every time!
Glad you loved them!
These are wonderful cookies. Soft and chewy. I added a few milk chocolate chips for fun. These are actually the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made. Thanks for the great recipe!
You are welcome!
do you press the rolled cookies down or put them in the oven as balls? Ive used your recipe a few times and have done it both ways. But would like to know which..Love these cookies.
As balls!
Tried this recipe, cookies came very good. Thank You so much
You are welcome!
You were right! These are literally the best peanut butter cookies. We make this recipe all the time.
They really are the best.
So easy and delicious! I was only able to get 12 cookies out of the batch with 2 tbs size cookies. Mine also needed more baking time. Closer to 12 minutes.
Is there any way that someone can provide “real” measurements?
Outside of the US nobody knows what is meant by “cup of butter” and the sizes of tablespoons vary from household to household…..
I’m diabetic – can I use a sugar substitute for the sugar & the brown sugar?
I haven’t tried it.
I love how peanut-buttery they are! Plus, even better the second day!
– Used my large cookie scooper (which is 3 tbsp in size) and got about 14 cookies out of it.
– I didn’t have enough granulated sugar, so I used coconut sugar, which worked great!
– Next time I think I will drizzle chocolate on top to be like a peanut butter cup.
Chocolate is always a good idea. I am glad you loved the cookies!
these were really good! I really needed a good way to use up peanut butter and my whole family loved these! thanks!
No better way to use up the peanut butter:)
same, but my cookies were giants!
Amazing! So easy to make and the chewy texture is great!
They are so soft and delicious! I am glad you loved the recipe.
THEEEEE best peanut butter cookies ever! Whip the butters + sugars pretty well. Would definitely recommend doubling the recipe, though. Only makes about one large pan.
My favorite peanut butter cookies!