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Peanut Butter Cookies are sweet, chewy, and make the most satisfying after school snack. This is the easiest, softest, best recipe you’ll ever try. Don’t forget a tall glass of milk!
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There’s nothing better than sinking your teeth into a soft, chewy cookie. The more moisture in the cookie, the softer and chewier they are. To make these easy peanut butter cookies extra chewy, keep the moisture content high. Using room temperature butter and soft brown sugar will help keep these super soft.
Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
These peanut butter cookies are going to be gone before you know it! Take the dry ingredients to help lift and add texture to the cookies. Combine with the peanut butter and wet ingredients to have a soft dough ball. These cookie dough balls will become the best peanut butter cookies you have ever had!
- Flour – Helps bind the cookies together and hold their shape.
- Baking soda – Creates a soft and fluffy cookie by releasing carbon dioxide which helps leaven the dough.
- Baking powder – This helps the cookies rise and puff up.
- Salt – Enhances the flavor, but also gives it the chewy texture.
- Butter – Gives cookies the structure and softness. Salted or unsalted butter works with this recipe.
- Peanut butter – This is the main ingredient! You may think you need extra or want more creaminess with peanut butter, but adding more can actually throw off the recipe.
- Sugars – White and brown sugar are mixed together to add sweetness and give the cookie a crispy outer layer.
- Egg – Adds in color, binds the ingredients together, and holds the shape of the cookie dough.
- Milk – This moistens the cookie dough batter.
- Vanilla extract – Adds in a sweet hint of flavor!
Tips and Variations for the Best Peanut Butter Cookies
Bake these classic peanut butter cookies to golden brown and enjoy the soft peanut butter flavor in every bite! Make these cookies as simple or use more ingredients for flavor and texture. Follow these tips and variations for great ideas when making creamy peanut butter cookies.
- Add in – Chocolate or peanut butter chips, coconut, or peanuts for crunchy and delicious variation.
- Peanut butter – Use either crunchy peanut butter or creamy. We like to use Jif, but Skippy is also another great brand.
- Scooping dough – You will want your cookies to be even amounts of cookie dough on your baking sheets. Use a cookie scoop to make sure they are measured correctly to help with baking.
- Baking – Another trick to the softest, chewiest cookies? Don’t over bake! Make sure to take these out of the oven while they still look under baked. Don’t worry, they will set up as they cool and will stay supremely soft and delicious!
- Cool down – Let your cookies cool on a wire rack before serving or storing them.
“My 11 year old daughter made these and they were the best pb cookies I’ve ever had!”
-Brook
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Pre-make the dough according to the recipe. Store the cookie dough in a separate bowl in the fridge overnight for three to five days. When ready to bake, use a cookie scooper to place the cookies on a silicone baking mat.
It depends on how big the cookies are when rolling them into balls. You should be able to make two dozen large cookies or three dozen small ones.
To help cook the peanut butter cookies evenly, the tops were pressed with a criss cross pattern. This would press the cookie dough down evenly to help with baking. When doing this, the outside edges tend to be a bit crispy. 
Over-mixing or using too much of one ingredient. Peanut butter cookies are a balancing act of using a 1 to 1 ratio on a lot of the ingredients. If the cookie dough seems dry you can add in more milk or butter to help with your dough.
Butter! This is always a common ingredient in cookies. First let your butter soften, then using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter until it is soft and fluffy. This will help give moisture to the cookies from the beginning.
Yes! Substitute your all purpose flour for gluten-free blend of flour. This will be an easy change and you will have healthy GF peanut butter cookies!
Storing Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
Keep your cookies from getting dry by storing them in an airtight container. The cookies will stay soft and delicious in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, but will last in the freezer for a couple of months! To avoid the cookies from sticking, place parchment paper in-between each layer of cookies.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
‘Tis always the season for cookies! Bake a batch or two of our yummy recipes below, and let us know which ones are your favorites!
Peanut Butter Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth or chunky
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips optional
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
- 1 tablespoon sugar regular or super fine (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy.
- Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips and chocolate chips (optional).
- Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion.
- Using a fork, lightly indent with a criss-cross pattern. I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top, but do not overly flatten cookies.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storing Peanut Butter Cookies
Keep your cookies from getting dry by storing them in an airtight container. The cookies will stay soft and delicious in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, but will last in the freezer for a couple of months! To avoid the cookies from sticking, place parchment paper in-between each layer of cookies.Nutrition Information
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Can I use more peanut butter in this recipe ?
We’ve only tested the recipe with the written amount of peanut butter, so I don’t know how that would turn out!
Can I make the dough a day before and refrigerate the dough?
Sure! Just let the dough come to room temp before you bake!
My 11 year old daughter made these and they were the best pb cookies I’ve ever had!
These are just great old-fashioned peanut butter cookies. I added chocolate chips. I used real butter. Easy too!
There is a recipe for egless peanut butter cookies but I’ve lost it. They keep longer.
You use much more sugar than peanut butter. I use much more PB. than any recipe I have ever found & less sugar. They never stay on the plate. Even I love them.
So glad you liked them!
How any cookies dose is make?
Depending on the size of the cookie, it makes between 2 dozen larger cookies or 3 dozen smaller cookies. Thank you for asking!
How fun! What kind of camera did you get??
I can attest that these cookies are delicious – I have the same recipe posted on my blog (although your picture is WAY better) and I have no self-control when it comes to eating these.
I got the Canon EOS 50D. It is GREAT! I HIGHLY recommend it!