My peanut butter cookie recipe is everything a classic should be. Perfectly sweet (without being overwhelmingly so), soft with slightly crisp edges, and very peanut-forward. They’re made with all butter (no shortening!), brown sugar, and a touch of cornstarch for the perfect, tender, soft and buttery cookie. Recipe includes a how-to video!
This super soft and buttery peanut butter cookie recipe is one of my all-time classic favorites, right up there with my chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles. I have quite a few peanut butter cookie recipes on the blog (a quick search will show you there are at least 13 🫣), but these are my take on the classic.
Why This Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe Works:
- All butter, no shortening. Many classic peanut butter cookie recipes (including the one I grew up with) rely on shortening, which can lend thickness to the cookie but leaves them tasting flat. I swap this ingredient for butter, which not only adds flavor, but creates a tender, richer crumb.
- Slightly underbake for just the right texture. The cookies should come out of the oven looking just barely underdone in the center. Residual heat finishes baking the cookies as they cool, leaving you with chewy centers and cookies that are still soft the next day (and the day after that…)
- Classic look, improved method. We still press them with a fork (it’s tradition, after all 😉) but unlike many recipes these cookies don’t actually need it, the dough is already balanced for just the right spread.
- Adaptable. Add your favorite mix-ins (I include a few of my favorites below!), or head over to my recipes for flourless peanut butter cookies or sourdough peanut butter cookies for those equally tasty versions.
Ingredients
- Peanut butter. I prefer creamy peanut butter, but chunky peanut butter will also work if you want a little extra texture. Natural peanut butter (the kind where the oil separates) or homemade peanut butter can work, but will yield more crumbly, dry cookies.
- Butter. Many recipes (including my family’s recipe growing up) use shortening or a blend of butter and shortening. I developed my peanut butter cookie recipe specifically to use butter and only butter. The result is a cookie that’s soft with a buttery, tender crumb and flavor that makes your eyes roll back in your head.
- Flour. Measure this with a scale or alternatively use the technique in my post on how to measure flour. Adding too much flour to the dough will make for hard, dry, and bland peanut butter cookies.
- Sugar. Growing up, peanut butter cookies were only ever made with granulated sugar. One of the first changes I made when developing my own recipe was to swap out a majority portion of that with brown sugar. This not only adds moisture (thanks to the molasses in brown sugar, but also depth of flavor. We do still keep a bit of the granulated sugar in the dough to keep things from being overwhelming, and I also roll my cookies through granulated sugar for a pretty, sparkly exterior that helps encourage just the right amount of spread and gives them a lovely, delicate and subtle crunch (just on the outside!).
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch acts similarly to flour by absorbing moisture and preventing the cookies from spreading too much, but you need less of it than you do flour and it doesn’t toughen the dough the same way. It’s key for a soft texture and you’ll find it in many of my cookies like my peanut butter blossoms and brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
SAM’S TIP: Feel free to add chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, Reeses pieces, chopped chocolate, or even chopped up Nutter Butters to the dough.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
- Step 1: Make the dough. Cream the butter, sugars, and peanut butter together until well combined and smooth, then stir in the egg and vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until you have a cohesive dough, then cover and place in the fridge to chill.
- Step 2: Roll through sugar. After chilling (the dough shouldn’t be sticky–if it is, put it back in the fridge), roll 1 ½ tablespoon scoops of dough between your palms. Roll each dough ball through granulated sugar, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Step 3: Press with a fork. Use a fork to gently press down into the cookies in a criss-cross pattern to give the cookies a head start on spreading.
- Step 4: Bake. Do not over-bake these cookies! The centers should actually seem just slightly under-baked when they come out of the oven. They will finish baking as they cool on the cookie sheet for perfectly soft and chewy results.
SAM’S TIP: If your first batch of peanut butter cookies comes out a bit too flat, your ingredients may have just been a tad warm, just pop the dough back in the fridge and chill it a bit longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since peanut butter is thick and low in moisture, it can keep the cookies from spreading more than you’d expect. Lightly pressing them with a fork gives the spread a head-start (and their signature look).
Peanut butter cookie dough is typically quite dense and needs to be pressed down to encourage spreading and even baking. Typically this is done with the tines of a fork.
With my peanut butter cookies recipe, the fork marks are less necessary (and you can skip it if you prefer unnecessary as these cookies will spread pretty well on their own. However, a peanut butter cookie without the criss-cross design on top just doesn’t seem right to me, so we keep it classic here!
Yes! My peanut butter cookies recipe freezes quite nicely. To do this, simply follow the directions for rolled cookies (if rolling in sugar) or drop cookies (if not rolling in sugar) in my how to freeze cookie dough post.
Over-baking your cookies is a surefire way to ruin their texture, so keep a close eye on them! I actually recommend you remove them from the oven when they’re still a bit soft in the middle, that way they can finish cooking on their cookie sheets outside the oven.
For softer cookies, it’s better to avoid using natural peanut butter AND make sure that you measure your flour properly (see my post on how to use a kitchen scale!).
More Peanut Butter Recipes:
Can’t get enough peanut butter? Try my peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies, peanut butter snickerdoodles, or peanut butter pie next! 🥜
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
(The Actual Best) Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (140 g) creamy peanut butter¹
- ⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Additional granulated sugar for rolling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well combined.10 Tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, ½ cup (140 g) creamy peanut butter¹, ⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Make sure to pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well-combined.
- Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place peanut butter cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes to one hour (start with 30 minutes, if the dough is too sticky or your cookies are coming out of the oven too flat, chill for an additional half an hour. This dough may be chilled overnight if you'd like).
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Once dough has chilled, remove from refrigerator and scoop into heaping 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls (39g).
- Roll the cookie dough between your palms until smooth and then roll thoroughly in additional granulated sugar. Place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least 2" apart.Additional granulated sugar for rolling
- Use the tines of a fork to gently make a criss-cross pattern on the surface of each cookie by slightly pressing down.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 9-12 minutes. Edges should be just turning golden brown but the cookie centers should appear slightly under-baked, allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheets and the centers will finish baking (but remain soft and chewy) as they cool on the cookie sheet. Don't over-bake or the cookies will be dry.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Notes
¹Type of Peanut Butter
Crunchy peanut butter would work fine here (just adds texture to the cookies!). While “natural” peanut butter will “work”, the cookies tend to be a bit more dry and crumbly.Freezing
This cookie dough freezes well. Chill the dough as instructed then scoop and roll through sugar and criss-cross with a fork (if desired) before freezing in an airtight container. Cookie dough will still need to bake on 375F but may need an additional minute or so in the oven.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This peanut butter cookie recipe was originally published 05/09/2018. The recipe remains the same but more notes, photos and a video have been added to the post to make it as helpful as possible!
Yvonne
Love Love Love these peanut butter cookies
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for giving them a try, Yvonne! 🩷
Cathy
I am excited! My cookies are in the oven. The recipe is easy to follow and I appreciate your tips.
Sam
I hope you love them, Cathy! 🙂
Joan Dow
Fantastic peanut butter cookie recipe but even more impressive is the format in which you have written the directions. Including the ingredients in each step of the directions is a game changer! Made these cookies for a family member by request and he gave them a 10/10. Now I need to see what other treasures I can find here. Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Joan! 🙂
Stef
Thank you for putting these on your site! We are making these for a bake sale for my kiddos to attend youth camp this summer! Praying they turn out well! The recipe is super easy to follow!
Sam
I hope they sell really well, Stef! 🙂
Sarita
I never ate PB cookies growing up but they’ve grown on me and this recipe really filled my recent craving for something peanut buttery! the only thing is that they did flatten quite a lot in the oven, losing the fork design some, so next time I’ll chill them even longer or stick the designed cookies in the freezer for 5-10 min before baking. But they were still delicious- peanut buttery, lightly sweet, and a very nice delicate texture. Love your blog!
Chantelley
The best peanut butter cookies ever! They are soft and crispy on the outside and they freeze wonderfully. I love that they spread just enough to create a chewy cookie but not super thin. It’s not dry and very soft and flavourful. I ended up making 12 cookies at the end jumbo size!
Kathy
How long can the dough be refrigerated before baking?
Sam
Hi Kathy! The dough will be good for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. 🙂
Chantelley
You are my all time fav baker and every recipe you make is perfect! Thank you for taking the time to make amazing recipes and sharing them you seriously are wonderful. The peanut butter cookies are so yummy and soft just the right amount of sweetness and crispy on outside and chewy on the inside! I wanted to ask when I freeze the dough how long should I bake them and at what temp? I rolled them in balls but should I let them come to room temp before baking? Thanks!!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Chantelley! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed everything so much! If you freeze these you can just bake them from frozen at the same temperature. They may just need a minute or two longer in the oven. 🙂
Ashley
Can you make these without cornstarch and flour and baking powder??
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashley! We’d suggest our flourless peanut butter cookies instead 😁
Nancy
just made your worst chocolate chip cookie recipe it’s the best my chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever turned out must be the cornstarch and that putting in the fridge for a while but thank you I love them
Jean campbell
I love all your recipes. Than you so much. These peanut butter cookies are the very best.
Justina
These came out really well, be sure to use good quality peanut butter, I tried it with a creamy PB and the brand was a cheaper one, they came out ok. But then I tried it with a crunchy PB with better quality and just mixed it enough to make it smooth. The bake time on this recipe is way too long, I baked them at about 4 minutes and that seemed to be the sweet spot. Keep an eye on them while baking for sure. Besides that the recipe was solid and came it really good!
Richard
can I add Reece’s (peanut butter) pieces to the recipe?
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
We haven’t tried this but it sounds delicious!
Tina Jones
I just Love your recipes. They always turn out awesome and the convenience of not having to keep going up and down from the ingredients to the process of making is totally appreciated. Thanks
Tina Dillman
Just made these and they are amazing! Hubby said ‘what is wrong with them, they are fluffy! Never had fluffy peanut butter cookies! He loves them!
Erin
Can you add more peanut butter to this recipe?
Sam
Hi Erin! I would be hesitant to do so as it could dry the cookies out a bit. 🙁
Kate
why not use natural peanut butter? I used sucker’s natural peanut butter and they turned out great for us. I was just curious what the reason would be.
Sam
I’m so glad it turned out, Kate! Natural peanut butter can make the cookies a little bit more dry. I have used natural peanut butter for my own family, but for best results I recommend not using the natural. 🙂