Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Peanut butter and cinnamon work so perfectly together! I also love the dark brown sugar in this recipe, which gives it a rich, complex sweetness.
Texture: Ultra soft and thick, with that crunchy cinnamon sugar coating.
Ease: Super easy!
Pros: Fun twist on a classic cookie recipe.
Cons: None!
I make this again? Oh yeah.
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Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles are the most delicious, nutty twist on the classic Snickerdoodle cookie.
I am completely obsessed with peanut butter. I have hundreds of PB recipes on my site, like my outrageously good Peanut Butter Pie, my decadent Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies, and my crazy-popular Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I love playing with recipes utilizing different peanut butter flavor combinations. Through experimenting with countless recipes, I’ve found that I love PB and cinnamon together. You might not expect that to be such a great flavor combination, but it really works!
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
These Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles allow that flavor combo to shine. A thick, chewy snickerdoodle made with plenty of peanut butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar, creates an utterly delicious cookie that no one will be able to resist.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles
Can I Make Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar?
- Traditionally, Snickerdoodle cookie recipes always contain cream of tartar, to bring a slightly tangy flavor and create that classic crinkly top.
- When developing my Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies, we experimented with Snickerdoodles made with and without cream of tartar. We found that using cream of tartar created cookies that were chewier, and crinkled more on top to look prettier.
- I recommend using cream of tartar for the best texture possible.
- Be sure to use fresh cream of tartar, to help to create those crinkly tops.
- If you don’t have it on hand, simply omit it! Your cookies will still taste great.
How to Make Soft, Chewy Cookies
- Measure your flour correctly. Be sure to measure your flour correctly by weighing with a digital scale or with the spoon and level method to avoid cakey, dense, or tough Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles cookies that don’t spread. Learn more about how to measure flour correctly here.
- Don’t overbake. Take these cookies out of the oven when the cookies are just set and beginning to brown. Overbaking will make these Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles hard and dry.
- Don’t reduce the sugar. Reducing the sugar will ruin the texture of these Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles. Sugar does so much more in baking beyond sweetening. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
Why Did My Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles Spread?
We want these cookies to spread just a bit, so we’ll press the dough down a little before baking – but if your cookies are spreading into flat cookie puddles, it could be due to warm butter. It’s important to make sure your butter is at a COOL room temperature. Your stick of butter should give slightly when pressed with your finger but still hold its shape. Around 67°F is perfect. Learn more about why butter temperature in baking is important here.
Can I Make These Cookies With a Hand Mixer?
Yes! A hand mixer will work just as well as a stand mixer – just be sure to use a deep enough bowl to prevent splatter.
What’s the Best Baking Pan for Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles?
Use light-colored aluminum half-sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Avoid dark nonstick pans as they brown too much and may burn the bottoms of your cookies. Learn more about the best (and worst!) baking pans here.
Use a Cookie Scoop to Make These Even Faster!
Using a stainless steel spring-loaded cookie scoop when portioning out cookie dough is one of the KEYS to beautiful, uniform, evenly-shaped, and evenly-baked cookies – and it saves you so much time in forming the balls of dough. When using a scoop, you ensure each ball is evenly sized so the cookies bake evenly, meaning you don’t have any small overbaked cookies or large underbaked cookies. Learn more about Cookie Scoops and how to use them here!
How to Store Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store cookies with a tortilla to keep them soft for longer.
Can You Freeze Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles?
Yes – freeze Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle cookie dough for up to six weeks. Roll the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar and lightly flatten them before placing in a freezer-safe container or in a Ziptop bag. Bake from frozen at 350°F for 13 minutes, or until the cookies are set and begin to brown. Learn more about how to freeze cookie dough, and bake from frozen, here.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Classic Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup (135 grams) smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup (50 grams) for rolling
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at cool room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated.
- Place the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow dish. Using a medium spring-loaded cookie scoop, shape the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat evenly. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets and flatten with the bottom of a measuring cup or glass.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set and begin to brown. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated with weight measurements and additional baking tips.
I love PB Cookies, but my husband doesn’t. But he loves Snickerdoodles. I tried these yesterday and my husband really likes them. They were nice and tender, a good peanut butter flavor without being overpowering. I used the last of a giant tub of peanut butter and it was a little dry, so the cookies didn’t pick up as much cinnamon sugar as I would have liked. I think if I use fresh peanut butter, these will be perfect. This recipe is definitely going into the regular rotation. (These will be particularly good with a cup of hot cocoa in the middle of winter.)
So happy you enjoyed these cookies, Susie! I’m glad to hear it was a perfect “compromise” for the both of you 🙂
Can I use organic peanut butter ?
I made these with a 1/2 tsp baking powder and a 1/2 baking soda b/c I don’t have cream of tartar. I absolutely love the smell that comes from these cookies. PB & chocolate is my all time favorite. But I think I have a new go to cookie!! It’s great.
I’ve never made snickerdoodle, can I make these without cream of tarter? I don’t have any
Just made a batch of these for a little neighborhood gathering in Seal Beach and they are amazing. Great texture and taste. Don’t know how many will be left for the neighbors…
These cookies turned out dry! When I flattened them with a glass they crumbled! Flop
Made these tonight! I didn’t have cream of tartar and only had egg whites which definitely altered the texture but still tasty!
I’ll make these again when I have all the ingredients. Can’t help it when you youre craving cookies!!!
So I just made these unbelievable Peanut Butter Snickerdoole cookies! They are so good! My grandson loved them, my husband loved them, I love them! Perfect amount of peanut buttery-ness, soft and the cinnamon sugar is the icing on these babies! So easy to make too as I am not really a cookie maker, but these were perfect!! I will definitely keep this recipe to make again and again! Thanks Tessa!!
Thank you thank you! Appreciate your comments 🙂
Yum, these look awesome. I never thought of adding peanut butter! Can’t wait to make these for my kids.
For some reason I only make snickerdoodles around Christmas. But I could be enjoying them year round. What?! The kids would go crazy for this peanut butter version. YUM!
I’m not alone!!! I used to think I was the only candle hoarder. Until I moved most recently, I had a drawer full of candles! I’d buy them faster than I’d use them, and stock up on scents i loved/would be discontinued. I took action before I last moved however and made a point to burn through a lot of them so that I wouldn’t have to move them haha. P.S. In love with these cookies. Does it come in a candle scent!? 😉
Haha! I feel like all us food bloggers should come together and start manufacturing candles based off our best smelling recipes 😉
I agree! The best smell in the world is home baking, especially sweets and breads! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! You can’t go wrong with a fun candle though as well 🙂