These are our all-time favorite Peanut Butter Cookies — they’re thick, soft and chewy, and have a rich peanut butter flavor with plenty of sweetness. Jazz these cookies up even more if you’d like by dipping half in melted chocolate (optional).
Love peanut butter? Us too! Try some of our other favorite peanut butter treats like this no-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, this Buttercrunch Candy, or these Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins (which are secretly healthy!).
The Creation Of Our Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
When my older brother was 3, he was rushed to the emergency room from what we later learned was an intense peanut allergy. Peanuts and peanut butter were no longer allowed in our home growing up. So you can probably imagine my excitement of living in a peanut-allergy-free home when I moved out to college. I immediately filled my entire pantry shelf with peanut butter, and weekends consisted of me making peanut butter cookies like they were going out of style. (It also meant a never-ending stash of trail mix in my backpack and late-night spoonfuls of edible peanut butter cookie dough to “help” the studying along.)
While I might not be able to tell you much of what I learned my freshman year of college, I can tell you that I tried every single peanut butter cookie recipe on the internet, and these cookies are my homegrown creation from a mash-up of my favorites. Right in time for the holidays (and cookie baking season!), these easy Peanut Butter Cookies will be sure to please. I can’t wait for you all to try them.
What To Expect From This Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
These cookies are big — three tablespoons of dough per cookie! They’re thick throughout with especially soft and satisfying chewy centers — think a big, soft sugar cookie, but peanut butter flavored.
The gooey, chewy texture is in part due to the ingredient ratios and in part to the method which (dual-purpose) actually makes these cookies quick, easy, and simple to prepare. The method? Melted butter. The melted butter gives these cookies the perfect texture and simplifies the process — no stand or hand mixer is needed for this recipe! Just grab a bowl and whisk and you’ll be well on your way to Peanut Butter Cookie heaven.
Why Do They Use Criss-Cross Patterns On Peanut Butter Cookies?
Typical peanut butter cookie dough is much denser than most other cookie doughs, so the criss-cross indentations are to help flatten the cookie. It also encourages even baking.
While you can’t beat three-ingredient peanut butter cookies in the department of short ingredient lists, they definitely leave me wanting more. Those types of peanut butter cookies (that are crisscrossed with a fork) aren’t my favorite. Any I’ve had are often dry, too crisp, and typically a bit lackluster in the flavor department. So, no fork marks are required for this recipe and get ready for the softest and chewiest Peanut Butter Cookies around.
Of course, you may prefer crisp and crunchy peanut butter cookies instead. And if that’s the case, I’d recommend this recipe!
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies
- To make a Peanut Butter Cookie soft and chewy (as opposed to crispy), the cookie needs to have a higher moisture content than typical. You achieve this by using two large eggs instead of just one, an entire cup of brown sugar (the added molasses has a 10% water composition), and overall less flour.
- To get the cookies even chewier, we melt the butter. When you mix room temperature (or cold) butter with sugar and other ingredients, you’re introducing air, which gets trapped in whatever you’re baking, and that results in a more cake-like texture. Melting the butter eliminates any air getting trapped inside and makes the cookies chewier.
- Finally, it helps to chill the dough. When you chill the dough, the butter solidifies, allowing it to melt slower when it’s baked. This creates a thicker cookie and prevents the cookie from going flat and becoming crispy. Chilling the dough also gives the sugar time to absorb more of the liquid and become more concentrated. Concentrated sugar is going to give you a chewier and sweeter cookie. The recommended chill time on these cookies is 30 minutes, so that’s not too bad!
Peanut Butter Cookie Variations
- If you’re wondering how to make peanut butter no-bake cookies, try these Avalanche Cookies or these Healthy No-bake Cookies.
- Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with this recipe.
- Make peanut butter cookies healthier by using honey and oats and reducing the sugar (which is what I do in these Healthy Breakfast Cookies!)
- Try this recipe for peanut butter cookies vegan-style! (Replace the honey with agave, use a vegan rice crisp cereal, and vegan chocolate for the drizzle.)
- To make peanut butter cookies without brown sugar, replace the brown sugar with white sugar. (The cookies will be crunchier and less chewy this way.)
Peanut Butter Cookies Tips
- Use room-temperature eggs. This ensures the eggs disperse more evenly into the batter, giving these cookies a lighter texture (the eggs trap in the air). Soaking refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes is a quick way to do this. Otherwise, pull the eggs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before use.
- Add eggs one at a time. Each egg should be thoroughly mixed in before adding the next egg. This allows the eggs to be evenly mixed in AND allows the eggs to emulsify with the fats (that’s the butter in this recipe).
- Bake on a Silpat liner. These cookies come out best when baked on a silicone liner — they bake evenly and the bottoms won’t get too crispy. (Parchment paper is the next best thing!)
- Use a food scale if you have one. A food scale ensures the right amount of flour (measuring flour can vary wildly from person to person!). It also makes sure you’ve got even-sized cookie dough balls (and evenly baked cookies). If you’re simply eyeballing portions, you may end up with some over-baked cookies while other cookies aren’t fully baked through because of inconsistent cookie dough ball sizes.
- Roll large cookie dough balls. We have made this recipe dozens of times and experimented quite a bit with the size of the cookie dough balls. While you may want smaller cookies, the texture is not the same. The “sweet spot” for this recipe is exactly 3 tablespoons (60 grams) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect!
Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs
Why are my Peanut Butter Cookies dry and crumbly?
Too much flour can make peanut butter cookies dry, crumbly, and flavorless. Overbaking also dries them out.
How do you make Peanut Butter Cookies turn out well?
Here are my top tips for baking the best peanut butter cookies:
- Follow the recipe carefully.
- Bake at 325°F instead of the typical 350°F.
- Roll even-sized large cookie dough balls.
- Use a food scale for perfect measurements every time.
- Dip in chocolate! For a fun flavor enhancement, dip half of the cookie in chocolate or drizzle melted chocolate on top.
What happens if you don’t flatten Peanut Butter Cookies?
Peanut butter cookies are dense and don’t spread much. Flatten the dough balls a bit before baking for even cooking.
Storage
Storage And Freezing
The yield from this Peanut Butter Cookie recipe stores well at room temperature (in an airtight container) for 3-4 days. Baked cookies freeze okay, but it’s even better to freeze the dough!
To do so: Place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until hard. Then, move them to an airtight container and keep frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, put them directly in the oven from the freezer—no need to thaw. Just bake a little longer until the edges are firm but the middle stays soft.
Use Leftover Peanut Butter In One Of These Recipes
- Peanut Butter Granola with chocolate chips
- Peanut Butter Blossoms with a Hershey’s kiss center
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Mix with mini Reese’s cups
- Peanut Butter Brownie Bites made in a miniature muffin tin
- Peanut Butter Cup Brownies with double the peanut butter!
Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- large sheet pan,
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted; 1 cup
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark, lightly packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling (optional)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter see note 1
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional!
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour see note 2
Optional Chocolate Dip
- 4 ounces chocolate baking bar milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate
Instructions
- Line a large sheet pan with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) and set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter until it’s melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature (hot butter will melt sugars and cause greasy cookies). Once at room temperature, use a spatula to scrape every bit of butter into a large bowl and add brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with a large whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add peanut butter, almond extract (if using), and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add 1 egg. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated, then add the second egg. Again, mix until ingredients are just incorporated. Add baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated. Add flour and mix again until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, up to 1 hour—see note 3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into large balls that are each 3 packed tablespoons (60 grams) in size (see note 4) and if desired, roll dough balls in some extra granulated sugar. Place dough balls on a lined sheet pan—6 cookies at a time—leaving ample room (2-inches) between cookies.
- Bake for 8–14 minutes. Ever so slightly under-baking the cookies will keep them soft and chewy. (They also bake a bit more on the sheet pan when removed from the oven.) Be careful to not overbake!
- Remove the cookies (if any edges are going wayward, working quickly, press the edges inwards with a metal spatula) and allow them to cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Cool completely before dipping in chocolate (optional step).
- Optionally dip in chocolate: Coarsely chop the chocolate bar into evenly sized pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl (see note 5). Microwave in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring between each burst for 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate, scrape the bottom of the cookie on the bowl, then transfer the cookie to a sheet of parchment paper. Allow chocolate to set at room temperature.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these with chunky peanut butter, and they are fantastic! No more dry, crumbly peanut butter cookies 🙂
Yessss!! I can’t stand dry, crumbly cookies! I’m so glad you enjoyed! 🙂
This is a great recipe – made exactly as written (our oven needed 11 minutes though). Sprinkled kosher salt on the melted chocolate on half the batch and the family agreed that made a huge yummy difference – will definitely do that again in the future!
MMMMM that sounds amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed! Thanks! 🙂
Hi this may be a silly question but what is 2-2/3 cups of flour? Is it 2 cups and 2 thirds? Or am I completely off.
Hey Hannah!! So it is 2 full cups of flour and 2, 1/3 cups of flour. Totally not a silly question! Thanks! 🙂
I read this after I made the cookies. Your recipe calls for 2 2/3 cups of flour not 2 1/3 cups of flour. Concerned I may have used too much flour.
It is 2 and 2/3rds cup of flour. I was explaining 2/3rds cup is two, 1/3 cups 🙂
Made these to share with a group of friends and of all the cookies that were at our get-together, these were the most raved about (and requested to take extras home with them, haha) – I used a small cookie scoop, so it made a lot. I found myself needing more chocolate than was suggested, but that was probably b/c of making so many smaller-sized cookies!!
Over the past couple years, I have brought several things that I’ve made from your blog to my get-togethers and they are almost always raved about. After eating one of these peanut butter cookies, someone said, “everything you bring is always so wonderful- you should start your own bakeshop!” Then I told him that my recipes are all from a great blog that I follow. Thanks for taking the time to really perfect your recipes to make them the BEST! So fun to have so many incredible recipes to make for my family and friends!
Sarah, you made my day! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind comment 🙂 It really meant/means so much to me <3 I'm thrilled to hear every time you enjoy a recipe!! XO Chelsea
Did you shorten the baking time because the cookies were smaller?
Dianne
This is the perfect recipe! I followed the recipe exactly (baked for 9 1/2 minutes) and the cookies turned out soft, chewy and moist. Hours later, and they’re still the same! I also love the science behind your instructions. If anyone’s looking for a chewy peanut butter cookie recipe – this is it! Thank you so much!
I’m soo happy to hear you enjoyed!! Thanks Shirley! 🙂
I have read the reviews and truly believe you deserve the 5 star rating. My issue was that I was lying in bed the other day unable to sleep because my brain said I will have to bake some cookies and my favorites are peanut butter, chocolate chips, and being a man I know that bacon goes with everything. Obviously I had to try it so I used your recipe but added 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of fresh bacon crumbled. Baked in convection oven 9 minutes slightly larger than golf ball size and makes about 36 cookies. I may die an early death but I will die happy.
Haha!! Thanks so much for your comment Mike 🙂 The bacon sounds delicious!!
I have the dough presently in the fridge chilling, as I plan to surprise my sis when she gets home to try! I did not have almond extract either, and I used crunchy peanut butter, but nibbling the dough, they taste great! Will keep the recommendation of rolling the dough taller than wider when baking, and will try for 12-15 minutes to see how they come out first then will adjust. Thank you for sharing your recipe! 🙂
I followed directions except for almond extract, didn’t have any. The vanilla flavor was a little too strong for me, I’ll reduce next time. I took the first batch of cookies out at 10 minutes and for me they were a little too dense and tasted undercooked. The second batch I baked for 15 minutes, and they puffed up nicely, spread a little more, and stayed soft and chewy. With these adjustments, I may make this recipe again. Thanks.
I’m glad you were able to figure out the cook time! You have to try the almond extract next time, you’ll love it! 🙂 Thanks Christina!
Just made these and they are THE best! So soft and chewy! I did add an extra 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Yay! Thrilled to hear that 🙂
I like Peanut Butter, but have never liked on PB cookies cuz I never had one that didn’t taste store bought. This recipe is a game changer! Everyone in my house….and my neighbors love these cookies! Thank you!
Ahhh this makes me sooo happy!! So glad you guys enjoyed! Thanks Jodi! 🙂
These turned out fantastic. I made a few changes for my husband who doesn’t like things super sweet:
– 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup for the brown and white sugars.
– 3/4 cup peanut butter (cheapo Safeway crunchy style).
– A little over 1 cup of flour and the rest rolled oats.
– Didn’t have almond flavoring.
Followed the ‘whisk and don’t over mix’ instructions carefully.
Made these last minute for guests and they devoured them, it is a much nicer flavor and texture than regular peanut butter cookies I’m used to, definitely a recipe to keep!
Awesome!! Way to work this recipie to be perfect to you! I’m so glad to hear you guys enjoyed! 🙂