This Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie recipe makes the most wonderfully soft and buttery cookies that are packed full of peanut butter flavor. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk for a real throwback treat.
When choosing the best peanut butter to use for peanut butter cookies, you will want to pass on a more natural or freshly ground peanut butter. If it separates, save it for sandwiches. It will separate in your baked goods, too, often causing them to spread more and not bake nearly as well.
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The Best Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Weโve tried lots of Peanut Butter Cookie recipes and have to say, we stuck with this one for a reason. The peanut butter-to-flour ratio, along with the brown sugar and real butter, makes for perfectly soft and chewy peanut butter cookies every time.
Our family likes these made with creamy peanut butter, but if you like a little crunch to your Peanut Butter Cookies, you can use crunchy peanut butter, or toss some chopped dry-roasted peanuts into your dough.
Peanut Butter Cookies Video Tutorial
Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
- Butter - you want your butter to be at room temperature
- Peanut Butter - either creamy or chunky, as long as you stick to one of the regular โno-stirโ types. I personally love Jif or Peter Pan peanut butter cookies.
- Brown Sugar - brown sugar keeps your cookies softer than granulated sugar, and adds a great flavor. It is also slightly acidic so it actually is the ingredient that activates the baking soda.
- Egg - itโs best if you pull this from the fridge ahead of time so it isnโt super chilled.
- Vanilla Extract - you can also use imitation vanilla if thatโs all that you have.
- Salt - salt is extremely important in all baked goods. It provides a great balance to the sweetness.
- Milk - again, itโs best if your milk isnโt straight from the fridge, and slightly more room temp.
- All-Purpose Flour - any brand is fine.
- Baking Soda - this will help your cookies stay slightly fluffy.
How to Make Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cream the butter, sugar, and peanut butter. In the bowl of a standing mixer, add the room temperature butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, cream until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes.
- Mix the cookie dough. Add in the egg, then mix on low to combine. Then add in the vanilla, salt and milk and mix on low to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda, then add this to the butter mixture and mix on low, just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure there are no lumps of butter in your dough.
- Scoop the cookie dough. Once mixed, scoop and roll the cookie dough into 1 ยผ" balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Use a fork to flatten the cookies, creating a cross pattern.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the bottoms are very lightly browned.
- Cool and serve. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe Variations
If you want to switch up the classic peanut butter cookie recipe, here are a few easy ways:
- Peanut Butter Cookies with Hersheyโs Kisses or Mini Reeseโs Cups: roll and flatten your cookies, bake, then stick one Hersheyโs Kiss, or Reeseโs Cup, in the center of each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 ingredients - mix together 1 cup creamy peanut butter + 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 egg, then scoop and bake just as you would for our classic Peanut Butter Cookies and voila! Simple cookies with ingredients that you will almost always have on hand. Plus, they are gluten-free!
- Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies - add 1 cup of dry-roasted, chopped peanuts into your dough before shaping.
- Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies - mix in ยฝ cup chocolate chips and ยฝ cup chopped pretzels to your dough before shaping. Flatten the balls slightly with your hand, rather than a fork.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies - part cookie, part brownie, with an incredible Reese's surprise on the inside!
Frequently Asked Questions
The best peanut butter to use for Peanut Butter Cookies are any of the ones you grew up with - Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan or a similar store brand.ย Either creamy or chunky will work fine, it just depends on whether you want small chunks of peanuts in your cookies or not.ย The oils in these brands are completely emulsified already and wonโt seep out of your cookies while they bake.
Why Do You Make Criss Cross Fork Marks in Peanut Butter Cookies?
The first mention of making criss cross fork marks in Peanut Butter Cookies was in a Pillsbury cookbook from 1936.ย It didnโt specifically mention why one should make the criss cross fork pattern, but itโs widely assumed that it was simply to flatten the dough down.
ย ย
The fork marks have now become a hallmark of these cookies.ย With the dough being quite denser than other cookie doughs, it does also help make sure that the cookies bake evenly.
Yes, you can make your dough and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, either pre-scooped or not.ย Just be sure that, however you store your cookie dough, it stays covered.
Absolutely.ย In fact, just about any cookie dough can be frozen.ย Our recommendation is that you make, scoop, and even make the criss cross fork marks before freezing.ย You can store cookie dough this way, in freezer bags, or any other type of airtight container, for up to 3 months.
Once you are ready to bake, remove them from the freezer and transfer to a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.ย You can let them thaw in the fridge overnight, or else bake them straight from the freezer.ย Just add on another 1-2 minutes of baking time.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup Butter room temperature
- ยพ cup Peanut Butter creamy or chunky; Jif or similar brand
- 1 ยผ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 1 ยพ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ยพ teaspoon Baking Soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, add the room temperature butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, cream until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes.
- Add in the egg, then mix on low to combine. Then add in the vanilla, salt and milk and mix on low to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda, then add this to the butter mixture and mix on low, just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure there are no lumps of butter in your dough.
- Once mixed, scoop and roll the cookie dough into 1 ยผ" balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Use a fork to flatten the cookies, creating a cross pattern.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the bottoms are very lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Peanut Butter Desserts You Will Love
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Bars
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter No Bakes
- Peanut Butter Balls
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Cookie Recipes
These classic Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies come together quickly and are so hard to resist. Theyโre wonderfully soft, buttery and packed full of peanut butter flavor. We recommend enjoying with a cold glass of milk.
Kelly
These are wonderful and super easy to make!
Ana
These are the best peanut butter cookies Iโve ever had or made !!
Sherrie
Great cookies. Lots of requests from family to make them.
Sherrie
I get a lot of requests to make these over and over. They taste yummy.
Elle
A tad bit too sweet but overall the best recipe for peanut butter cookies!!
Gina
These cookies were so easy and delicious!
Renee Goerger
This is the exact recipe I grew up with. I adore these peanut butter cookies!!
Geeta
Omg ! I just made these cookies ???? & they are absolutely ???? fabulous ???? I cut the sugar down a little & bake a few mins longer ????
Geeta
Omg ! I just made these cookies ???? & they are absolutely ???? fabulous ???? I cut the sugar down a little & bake a few mins longer ????