Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

Peanut butter cookies are one of the best and easiest cookie recipes around! With only a few hands-on minutes of work, you can have these cookies whipped up. I love that this recipe has that tasty peanut butter flavor without being too sweet. So grab you apron and let’s get baking!

Peanut butter cookies are a delicious favorite in our home. I love the sweet nutty goodness, especially when they are hot out of the oven. They just cannot be beat!

These peanut butter cookies are a special recipe that I learned from a dear friend and who also loves to bake as much as I do. We both love that these cookies pull together quickly, but they are easy to make as well. Plus, you can bake them the traditional way with a criss cross texture on top, or I’ll show you how to make light and fluffy peanut butter cookies.

No matter whether you love your peanut butter cookies soft, crunchy, or made with chocolate chips, this recipe is the basis of where you need to start. It can be made in different styles to match your taste. Plus, it is one of my favorites to use as a foundation in a variety of recipe ideas that will be coming to you soon! I hope you enjoy!

Psst! Don’t forget to save this recipe for later!

FAQs:

Can you use crunchy peanut butter for cookies?

Yes! While I use the smooth peanut butter most often in my peanut butter cookies, you could easily swap it for crunchy peanut butter in this recipe. The result will be that you can taste the texture of the peanut ever so slightly, but it is really delicious either way!

Why did my peanut butter cookies spread?

Peanut butter cookies spread more when you bake them before chilling them long enough. With the higher liquid amount in these cookies, they can spread easily as they heat up in the oven. To combat this, you need to chill the dough for at least 1 hour before baking. You can chill them up to 24 hours, but beyond that, there is not a beneficial difference.

What makes the best peanut butter cookies?

The best peanut butter cookies in my opinion are made with brown sugar and white sugar. The brown sugar brings a richer flavor profile to the cookie. Instead of just tasting sweet, the molasses-like flavor of the brown sugar melds very well with the peanut butter to create a nutty sweetness in the cookie that is just perfect.

Do peanut butter cookies freeze well?

Peanut butter cookies do freeze well! There are two ways you can freeze peanut butter cookies. You can bake them as normal, allow them to cool, and then freeze them in freezer safe packaging for up to 3 months.

Another option though is to scoop out the dough and place it on a cookie sheet like you would when baking. However, you freeze the peanut butter cookie dough in ready cookie shapes overnight, and then package them up in freezer bags to store for up to 3 months. Then right from the freezer, you can bake as normal just adding a couple extra minutes to the bake time.

Peanut Butter Cookie Variations:

If you want to mix up the basic peanut butter cookie recipe, you could try one of these variations:

• Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies: Add about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to your dough right before chilling!
• Hershey’s Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies: Instead of creating the criss-cross pattern on top of your cookies, bake as normal and then push a Hershey’s chocolate kiss into the center of the cookies while they are still warm.
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies: Try mixing in some Reese’s Pieces or chopped up Reese’s candy to your dough before chilling.
• Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies: Instead of using smooth peanut butter, swap it out for chunky peanut butter to add a little crunch to your cookies!

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Peanut Butter
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Egg
• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt

Supplies:

• Mixer (Stand or Hand)
• Glass Bowl
• Spatula
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Cookie Scoop
• Baking Sheet

How to make Peanut Butter Cookies:

With your mixer, start by creaming together the butter, peanut butter, both sugars, and egg until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).

Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture until somewhat incorporated. Then mix on high for about a minute to give the dough a whipped texture.

Next, use a spatula to scrape the dough down the sides to combine it, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep the baking sheets with parchment paper or reusable non-stick baking sheets.

Scoop the cookie dough out and place on baking sheets. You can either leave them as is for fluffy peanut butter cookies, or you can flatten with a fork dipped in sugar and create a criss-crossed pattern.

Then place them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Shorter time will result in softer cookies, and longer time will give you crunchier cookies.