Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
These soft peanut butter cookies are easy to make, full of peanut butter flavor, and don’t require any dough chilling. This is the best peanut butter cookie recipe you will ever try!
Over the years I’ve published hundreds of recipes on my site. It’s been my goal this summer to update some of those older recipes that I really love with more pictures and information to ensure that you can make them with ease.
So today I’m bringing back one of my favorite classic recipes on the blog – these delicious homemade peanut butter cookies!
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- They’re incredibly easy to make
- No dough chilling required
- Super soft
- Packed with peanut butter
I’m also sharing helpful tips on freezing your cookie dough, preparing the dough ahead of time, and so much more. If you love peanut butter, then this is one cookie recipe you’ll want to try!
Ingredients For This Recipe
To make this peanut butter cookie recipe, you’ll need 9 simple ingredients. Let’s break down each one and what it does in this recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour: The flour helps provide the structure for these cookies so that they hold their shape and don’t fall apart when you pick them up.
- Baking Soda & Salt: The baking soda provides a little lift and the salt enhances the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: I recommend sticking with unsalted butter for this recipe if possible. Your butter should also be soft enough to press your finger into.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: I prefer to use a mix of sugars, the brown sugar adds moisture to the dough and keeps the cookies soft.
- Peanut Butter: I like to use creamy peanut butter and recommend sticking with a no-stir option like Jif or Skippy.
- Egg & Vanilla Extract: The egg helps bind everything together and the vanilla adds flavor.
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies
Once you have all of your ingredients, it’s time to prepare these peanut butter cookies. To start, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper. The parchment paper is completely optional here, but it will make for easier cleanup and I find that cookies just bake up better with it too.
Next, you’ll whisk together your flour, baking soda, salt, and set it aside. You’ll mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for a minute or two until they’re well combined. Then, mix in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract. I suggest stopping to scrape down the sides of your bowl at this point and giving it another mix to ensure that the wet ingredients are well combined.
After you mix up the wet ingredients, you’ll add the dry ingredients and mix them in until just combined. Then, scoop the cookie dough, roll each ball in some granulated sugar, place them on the prepared baking sheets, and press each one down with the tines of a fork in a criss-cross pattern. The fork marks will help flatten the cookies some so that they spread as they bake in the oven.
Once the cookie dough is ready, simply bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set. Let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
FAQ’s
Can I use crunchy peanut butter in these cookies?
Yes, you can substitute the creamy peanut butter with the same amount of crunchy peanut butter.
How do I adjust the recipe if I only have salted butter on hand?
A good rule of thumb when replacing salted butter with unsalted butter in a recipe is to reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon per stick of butter. Since this recipe only uses 1/4 teaspoon of salt, I recommend still adding a tiny pinch of salt.
Can these cookies be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze these cookies! Once the cookies have cooled completely, you can store them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply place the cookies on the counter for a few hours so that they can come to room temperature.
If you want to freeze the cookie dough: Scoop the cookie dough with a cookie scoop, press each ball of dough down with a fork in a criss-cross pattern, and freeze the cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 1 to 2 hours. Once the cookie dough is frozen, freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. You can bake the cookie dough from frozen for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Can I prepare the cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes! You may prepare the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. If you need to prepare it further in advance, then I recommend freezing it.
Baking Tips
- It’s best to use a room temperature egg in this cookie dough. If you forget to let your egg come to room temperature, simply place it in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
- I prefer to roll the cookie dough in some extra granulated sugar before baking, but this step is completely optional. Feel free to skip it if you prefer!
- Want to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Mix 1 cup (190 grams) of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
More Easy Peanut Butter Recipes To Try!
- Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Balls
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe Video
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190 grams) all purpose flour, spooned & leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (190 grams) creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined.
- Mix in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract until fully combined, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Place the 3 tablespoons (40 grams) of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough, roll into a ball, and coat in the granulated sugar. Place each ball of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one. Gently press each one down with a fork to make a small criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
JUST MADE THESE, LOVE THEM. COOKED A LITTLE TO LONG ,CRUNCHIE AROUND THE EDGES AND SOFT IN THE MIDDLE. PERFECT FOR ME.
I just made these, with a couple small alterations: I put some cinnamon in with the flour, because I add cinnamon to all my cookies. And I mixed 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder with the sugar coating at the end. My daughter wanted to try one, which very quickly became three.
These are sure to be a hit with my coworkers. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe was delicious! Best peanut butter cookies I have ever made and will continue to use this recipe!
My father is a fireman and so I’ll make them a batch of these peanut butter cookies every once in a while and I add chocolate chips to them! These cookies are their favorite and are considered legendary around the station!
That’s wonderful to hear!
Love this recipe ? so good and well let’s just say my coworkers and my landlord loves them
These were so yummy !!! Thanks for sharring
And naturally separating peanut butter is not a good choice because of ?? I may have missed something in a tutorial or ?? Just found your recipe/blog today —
Sounds great, wanted to make them, but only have natural peanut butter on hand…. help? Thanks!
I find that natural peanut butter tends to cause cookies to spread more and they can be greasier. I’ve had other readers who have used it and said they’ve turned out okay. It would probably be okay to use the natural peanut butter, but they won’t be quite the same as the other peanut butter.
Will chunky peanut butter work for these cookies?
That should be fine.
I just tried this recipe. Used Skippy non stir natural peanut butter. They came out fabulous!
I don’t normally comment on recipes, but I was so impressed with the strong peanut butter taste and how FAT these cookies stayed while baking! They were soft and thick like bakery cookies but crunchy on the outside. The first time I made them using natural peanut butter, so I poured some of the oil off the top of the jar. I thought that was why they baked up so nice and thick, since natural PBs that need stirred for consistency tend to cook up flat and greasy. The next time, though, I didn’t pour any oil off, and they still cooked up great. ??♀️ They weren’t as sweet as cookies usually are, so the second time I added 1.5 Tbsp. of maple syrup, which did the trick! My only edits both times were what I always add: a little extra flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. These will cook up quite a bit even after you take them out of the oven. Please follow her advice on under cooking them!
I took your advice and added 1.5 tbsp maple syrup. They turned out perfect!!!
I forgot to add in my review that I added semi-sweet chocolate chips to half the batch. So good and it didn’t override the strong PB taste! ?
OMGosh! These are the best peanut butter cookies! So chewy and soft in the middle, just the way they should be. Went to a meeting and took them to share and everyone raved about how good they were. Will definitely make them again. Thanks for the recipe!
I followed this recipe exactly to the letter, no changes or skipped steps or improperly measured ingredients, but my cookies came out dry and crumbly and not moist at all! ? They do not hold together at all, and are almost sandy in texture. I can’t seem to figure out where I went wrong, either.
Sorry to hear that, Kat. If you measured everything correctly, I’m wondering if they were overbaked? Were the cookies hard or soft?
Made these last night for fun and oh my gosh!! They are really delicious. I did add peanut butter chips to half the batter, and white chocolate chips with crushed peanuts to the other half. Don’t waste your time, skip the white chocolate chips, add peanut butter chips if you’d like, THEYRE DELICIOUS mm mmm so soft and yummy! Just WOW. I’ve followed several different cookie recipes recently and most are close to garbage…but these ????
I make these cookies all the time for my husband he just absolutely loves them. But I do always add cinnamon and some times chocolate chips very good. I think next time I will try adding some nutmeg I do think that would be good.
I made this recipe, & the dough itself turned into very crumbly sand, even before I could get all the flour in it… so I added an extra egg & some maple syrup. This fixed the problem. — perhaps people with similar issues live in a dryer climate (i live in NM) & therefore need to add more moisture than this recipe calls for. Otherwise, great recipe, very tasty. Thank you.
Are you at a higher altitude? If so, you’ll definitely have to adjust it to make it work correctly. Glad they turned out great for you!
I am a purist. I don’t like chunks in my chocolate “chip” cookies or candy bars sticking out of them. These cookies are like a big hug from gramma! I haven’t made peanut butter cookies in forever and making these brought back fond memories. They turned out beautifully and the only thing I changed in the recipe was doubling it. The crunchy sugar outside, the soft puffy cookie and the subtle smooth taste of peanuts don’t punch you in the face, but rather invite you in for a taste of your childhood. I’m glad I found this perfect purely peanut butter cookie recipe. It’s a keeper!
I just made these peanut butter cookies and “Wow!” Thank you for posting such an awesome, delicious, user-friendly recipe. I’m certain these will show up in our kitchen several times a year.
I forgot to vote! I’m coming back to give these a 5 star rating. 😉
So glad you liked the cookies, Erica!
Can I put the Hershey’s kisses on these ones?
Yes, that’s fine! I wouldn’t press them down before baking them, just roll them into balls, bake them, and when they’re out of the oven you can press the Hershey’s kiss on top.
How come every time I make these cookies my dough turns out dark brown? They are still very good and I do make them about once a month. Thank you for the recipe.
The dough should be brown, but not super dark. Are you using dark brown sugar?
These peanut butter cookies, are great, went very , easy, on my favorite Cookie list keep up the good work thank you so much
Can I use extra crunchy peanut butter in stead of the smooth peanut butter? I am seriously brand spanking new to baking. I want to try and make an impression, But I am afraid I will not be able to deliver. PLEASE HELP!!!! Thank You.
That should be fine!
Can I use butter flavored crisco.
You probably can, but keep in mind that shortening has a higher melting point than butter so you’ll want to make sure to flatten your cookies (otherwise they probably won’t spread much).
Thanks for this recipe. I am not a cook or baker, but wanted to give it a try for Thanksgiving. They turned out to be delicious. I’ll be making them again for Christmas and any time really. They were that good and simple to make.
Can I use salted butter and leave out the salt?
Yes, that should be fine!
I used this recipe for the first time, now going for round 2. This time, someone is paying me to bake them? thank you for the extra holiday cash! Merry Christmas
How many does this make? Any idea of nutrition info?
It will make 2 dozen cookies. I’m not sure about the nutritional information, but you can plug it into an online calculator to get an estimate.
Best PB cookies ever. I made 33 cookies- used Jif and land o lakes butter because those are the boldest flavors. Super yum!
BEST PB cookie recipe ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will def be my new go to PB cookie recipe!!
The flavor is amazing. Really delicious. My texture was a bit off, as some mentioned… very soft (good!), but sandy and crumbly… almost the texture of “moon sand,” or, frankly, the texture of brown sugar…moist, yet fall – apart crumbly. They firmed up a bit as they cooled, but still, didn’t bind together as much as I’d have liked. I’m wanting to send some in a care package to a Navy Chief stationed in Afghanistan, but I’m afraid he’ll just get a baggie of delicious crumbs.
I’m in Florida, at sea level, so dry weather and elevation aren’t the culprits. I did follow the advice to slightly underbake… I’m wondering if not baking longer caused the brown sugar to not fully meld into the dough, or something. I also ran out of vanilla, so I used Penzeys vanilla sugar for some of the sugar and for rolling. I doubt the absence of that small amount of liquid made a big difference. I’ll do more test batches tomorrow, and maybe play with adding another egg, giving a few more minutes of bake time, etc.
It’s so tasty, though!
Sorry you had some trouble with the recipe, Jess. Did you make sure to spoon and level the flour and double-check the measurements on the other ingredients? If the cookies were a bit too soft, you could try baking them a little longer and see if that helps too.
Made these to a T and they turned out crumbly, wont hold together. Good flavor though! Maybe next time another egg… thank you ?
I love your recipe directions and photos 🙂
Thank you, Faye!