Peanut Butter Cookies

How to Make the BEST Peanut Butter Cookies

What are the ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookies?

• Flour – We are using all-purpose flour for this recipe. Be sure to measure your flour correctly! If you add too much flour, you may end up with tough, hard peanut butter cookies.
• Baking soda & baking powder – Learn more about these two leaveners, and how to test for freshness here.
• Fine sea salt – I prefer the flavor of sea salt, but any fine salt will work. Learn more about the differences between types of salt here.
• Unsalted butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking. It’s important that your butter is at a cool room temperature. Your sticks of butter should give slightly when pressed with your finger but still hold its shape. To be precise, your butter should be about 67°F.
• Creamy peanut butter – I don’t recommend using a natural peanut butter – more on that below!
• Sugar – We’re using a combination of granulated and light brown sugars here. Brown sugar is made from a combination of granulated sugar with a small amount of molasses. The addition of molasses creates that amazing butterscotch sweet flavor that we all love in cookies, plus it draws in moisture. Cookies made with brown sugar are slightly darker in color, taller in thickness, and a bit more chewy. Learn more about the role sugar plays in your baking here.
• An egg – At room temperature. Be sure to use a large egg, about 56 grams in shell. If your egg is too large or too small, that will impact the outcome of your baking greatly.
• Vanilla extract – for flavor.

How to make these cookies:

1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the butter mixture. Beat in the peanut butter until well combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just combined.
5. Scoop into cookie dough balls and roll in sugar. In a separate bowl, place the additional granulated sugar. Using a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop, form the dough into balls. Roll dough balls between your palms to smooth, then roll in the granulated sugar before placing on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, spacing about 2 inches apart.
6. Make the criss-cross pattern. Slightly flatten the dough by pressing the back of a fork into each ball of dough twice to create a criss-cross pattern.
7. Bake. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing the peanut butter cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

How to make thick and soft Peanut Butter Cookies:

Peanut butter is one of those ingredients that basically automatically lends itself to a thick texture in cookies. It’s thick and rich all on its own, and that translates to the final result. That’s actually why we press the tines of a fork into the balls of cookie dough: to flatten it into a disk shape. Otherwise the cookies would hardly spread.

Now the key to soft peanut butter cookies is the perfect ratio of PB, butter, flour, and leavening – which is what I believe I’ve accomplished here! Plus a hefty amount of brown sugar, which draws in moisture, for soft and tender cookies.

TIP: When measuring flour, be sure to use a digital kitchen scale or the scoop & level method that I discuss in detail in this article here. This will prevent dry or crumbly cookies.

Lastly, for soft peanut butter cookies, be sure not to over-bake these. They’ll continue to bake from the residual heat of the oven. I find it’s best to remove them *just* before they look completely done so you don’t over do it.

What’s the best peanut butter to use for cookies?

When it comes to baking in general, conventional creamy peanut butter is usually best, both for texture and taste. Some “natural” peanut butter products have too much oil separation and won’t make for a cohesive dough. Crunchy peanut butters also don’t become as cohesive with the additional nuts in there. You can usually get away with the more natural peanut butter options among conventional brands like Skippy, Jif, or Justin’s – as long as they have an ingredient like palm oil or vegetable oil to keep everything smooth; just keep in mind that the cookies made with natural peanut butter will spread a bit more and will be crumblier.

Why do you put a criss-cross pattern on peanut butter cookies?

Pressing a fork into these peanut butter cookies prior to baking helps flatten the cookies slightly, promoting oven spread.  The fork marks also encourage the cookies to bake more evenly and brown evenly. If we skipped that step, these cookies are so thick that they would barely spread, and they may not bake all the way through.

Do you have to refrigerate this cookie dough? What does chilling cookie dough actually do?

You do not have to chill this peanut butter cookie dough, but you can if you would prefer! Chilling cookie dough is very similar to marinating meat – things just get so much better if you wait a day or two. The baked cookies become chewier and thicker, and the flavor intensifies. If you don’t have time, no worries. You can bake the dough off right after it’s made – they’ll still be perfectly thick and full of peanut buttery flavor. Learn more about why we chill cookie dough, and the benefits of chilling cookie dough here!

Do I need to refrigerate peanut butter cookies? How to store these cookies:

You do not need to keep these peanut butter cookies in the fridge. They will keep in an airtight container or a ziptop bag for about 3 days at room temperature. Keep a piece of bread or a tortilla in the container with the cookies to keep them soft and chewy, and prevent them from drying out or getting hard as quickly.

Can these Peanut Butter Cookies be frozen?

Yes! Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for about 1 month. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in a 300°F oven for about 5 minutes, if desired. You can also freeze the disks of peanut butter cookie dough (that have been rolled in sugar and pressed with the fork) in an airtight container for several months. Allow to thaw to room temperature before baking as written. Get all of my tips for freezing cookie dough here!