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Peanut Butter Cookies

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This classic peanut butter cookie recipe is thick and chewy, dusted with sugar, and downright delicious.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Our week of holiday cookie recipes on the blog this week continues today with another throwback classic…

…soft, chewy, buttery, always-a-hit peanut butter cookies.

Over the years, I’ve made a variety of healthier peanut butter cookies, which I also really love and make most often nowadays. But whenever I happen to spy one of the fork-crossed, sugar-dusted originals at a holiday party, I’m instantly reminded just how irresistible this classic peanut butter cookie recipe still is. And when we baked up a batch during my little holiday bake-a-thon this week, our friends here were quick to agree that nothing beats this classic recipe.

Gotta love a good peanut butter cookie. 

So if you feel like baking up a batch this season, here’s the recipe I’ve used for years!

Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe | 1-Minute Video

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients:

To make this peanut butter cookie recipe, you will need:

  • All-purpose flour: Or you are welcome to substitute white whole wheat flour.
  • Baking powder and baking soda: This recipe calls for both.
  • Cornstarch: To help make them extra-chewy.
  • Salt: To bring out the flavor.
  • Butter: Two sticks, completely softened.
  • Sugars: Both granulated (white) and brown sugar, plus extra for rolling the dough balls if you’d like.
  • Peanut butter: Either smooth or crunchy.
  • Vanilla extract: Either store-bought or homemade.
  • Eggs: Two, please!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies:

So, how to make peanut butter cookies? Simply…

  1. Prep your oven and cookie sheet. 350˚F and parchment paper.
  2. Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Mix in peanut butter until it is incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients until they are just incorporated and the batter is smooth, being careful not to over-mix.
  5. Form your dough balls. Form the dough into 1.5-tablespoon round balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. (If you’d like, you can roll each of these balls in a bowl of granulated sugar before adding them to the baking sheet.)  Press a criss-cross pattern into each dough ball with a fork to flatten slightly, being sure that each dough ball is at least 2 inches apart.
  6. Bake. For about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are slightly puffy. Remove from the oven, and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool.
  7. Enjoy! Serve warm, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Possible Variations:

Feel free to add in some:

  • Chocolate chips: Semisweet, dark, white, normal-sized, mini-sized…any kind. :)
  • Cinnamon chips: I’m a big fan of mixing cinnamon and peanut butter in this recipe.
  • Nuts: Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or even extra chopped peanuts would be delicious in these cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk

More Favorite Cookie Recipes:

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Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 128 reviews
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 0 About 4 dozen cookies 1x

Description

These peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy, and absolutely delicious!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • (optional: 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling the dough balls)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Mix in peanut butter until it is incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients until they are just incorporated and the batter is smooth, being careful not to over-mix.
  4. Form the dough into 1.5-tablespoon round balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.  (If you’d like, you can roll each of these balls in a bowl of granulated sugar before adding them to the baking sheet.)  Press a criss-cross pattern into each dough ball with a fork to flatten, being sure that each dough ball is at least 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are slightly puffy.  Remove from the oven, and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool.
  5. Serve warm, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days.  Or freeze for up to 3 months.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

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219 comments on “Peanut Butter Cookies”

  1. I bake a lot of cookies but didn’t have a go-to peanut butter cookie recipe. Made these today for a birthday at work and they were such a hit! This is definitely my go-to recipe now!!






    • Unbelievably Good! They are dangerous to be around! I added French Vanilla creamer instead of reg vanilla… Love it! Great recipe will be using it all thru Christmas…
      Thank you






  2. Oo my these are delicious!! I added peanut butter chips to mine..hubby loves them!!






  3. Hi the cookies are so good. But I was wondering if you could freeze or store the dough?






    • I made some with Hershey kisses, some with chocolate chips and some peanut butter cookies they was yummy my family loved them will make again






  4. Dewayne
    So delicious. Added cinnamon. Then sprinkled with icing sugar after baking.
    It’s a keeper.






  5. Absolutely delish! I used the store brand of peanut butter and they were amazing! I dipped my fork in a small dab of flour before criss-crossing to keep the fork from sticking to the cookie. They were a huge hit!






  6. The best peanut butter cookie recipe I’ve ever had. Easy to follow recipe, I made it exactly as stated, I would not change anything. Cookies looked amazing and tasted wonderful! Not too sweet with the perfect balance of peanut butter. Everyone that tired them, loved them.






  7. Made these cookies for my hubby. I used whole wheat white flour & topped some w sugar & some without. Hubby loved these cookies, the extra sugar on top/or rolled in wasn’t needed. They were great & will make again.






  8. So good! Stick to the baking temp. and time for nice soft on the inside and crispy around the edges! A big family hit! So good! Did I say that already? haha!






  9. Had to bake for 16 min and the went completely flat in the oven ?






  10. If you use bread flour would you have to eliminate the cornstarch?

  11. Easy and yummy, though the judges at home say that they are not “peanut buttery” enough and tend to agree. I had to chill the dough, as it was too sticky to work with right after mixing. I wonder if adding more peanut butter is the answer for us. Nice and chewy!






  12. This recipe gets 5 stars from me the a came AMAZING the best peanut butter cookies I’ve made thus far Love it………. do you have a chocolate chip cookie recipe like this one? Would love to try it…. ?






  13. So delicious. I was told, chewy not crunchy, mom. That’s what this recipe is!

  14. I forgot to rate this. So this is a do over.

    So delicious. I was told chewy, not crunchy, mom. That’s what this recipe is!






  15. Absolutely the best… This is the only PB cookie recipe I ever use!






  16. Way too labor intensive for peanut butter cookies. I was expecting them to be easy as the recipe described, but there were way too many ingredients and steps that I don’t think are necessary for a good peanut butter cookie. Made way too many and half of them were raw, half burnt. Sucked.






  17. Exceptional! Easy, wonderful recipe. I’ll be making again!






  18. We made these last night exactly but I would make smaller balls as they do flatten quite a bit. Most delicious peanut butter cookies. It was better then I remembered them when I was young. Such a treat!!






  19. Cut the recipe in half. These were delicious! Followed the instructions exactly but added peanut butter chips. YUM can’t wait for everyone else to try these






  20. These were a huge hit, gone very fast. Soft and delicious. Will definately keep this recipe.






  21. I made these cookies for my annual Christmas cookie box, which I gift to about half a dozen friends. Just got some feedback from one of the recipients that they were the best peanut butter cookies he’d ever had, better than anything he’d gotten from local bakeries. So this one’s definitely a keeper! (I also use your ginger molasses cookie recipe, and those are also perennial favorites.)

  22. Hello. After reading all the comments, I will definitely make these peanut butter cookies. Just one question, can I use pure peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter such as Kraft or Jiffy?

    • I used jiffy and the cookies were great but honestly most peanut butter tasted the same to me and I think over all they will still be great.

  23. Come on?!?!?!?!? These are crazy!!!!






  24. Easy recipe and extremely delicious. I did add a a tablespoon of vanilla in the second batch of cookies and that was amazing!!






  25. Don’t have a stand up mixer would a hand. Mixer work ? Thanks

  26. these were AMAZING! I wanted a fun recipe to do with my sister and found this and I am 100% convinced this is the best recipe I’ve ever made and 100% recommend!

  27. Excellent – crispy, chewy. Made additional variations with crushed potato chips (why waste the bottom of the bag -yum), crushed pretzel (not bad, not great), and then of course add chocolate chips (sugar free and non sugar free). I also made this recipe using sugar substitute for the white sugar. Still good.






  28. I gave you the wrong rating before I am sorry for that






  29. I made some with Hershey kisses, some with chocolate chips and some peanut butter cookies they was yummy my family loved them will make again






  30. I follow according to the recipe, man these cookies taste so good.






  31. I’m Speechless. it tastes so good…






  32. These recipes are amazing.