If you’ve had peanut butter cookies, you know they rock! Unless they come out hard, then they’re more like rocks. But this soft peanut butter cookie recipe is like a good riff that never gets old, one that you can count on to see you through for satisfying your sweet tooth any time!
Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
The best peanut butter cookies recipe should give you a soft texture and a delicious peanut butter taste. You won’t be able to stop eating them so make sure you bake up enough to share! Of all the peanut butter cookie recipes we’ve tried, this is by far our number one favorite.
Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
This simple peanut butter cookies recipe might just be the easiest cookies to make from scratch. They require only 8 ingredients that I bet you have right now in your kitchen. And they only take 20 minutes total to prep and bake. You could be eating these easy peanut butter cookies 20 minutes from now!
Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients
- Flour – Use all-purpose flour for chewy peanut butter cookies.
- Baking powder – The leavening agent you’ll need to give these some lift and softness.
- Butter – Use unsalted and softened butter.
- Sugar – You will need both granulated sugar AND brown sugar. You need to pack that brown sugar well to get the right measurements.
- Creamy peanut butter – The star of your cookies!
- Egg – One large one will do it.
- Vanilla extract – Of course it’s in these! It’s a must!
How do you Make Peanut Butter Cookies from Scratch
You’ll start with preheating the oven to 350F and lining your baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift your flour and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl, then whisk. In another bowl, cream your butter and sugars together. Then add the peanut butter. You’ll mix in the egg and vanilla extract, making sure to scrape down the bowl when needed. Next, you’ll add the dry ingredients and beat them together on low. Roll your dough into little balls and put them on the baking sheets. Then flatten them with a fork to make that signature crisscross pattern. These will bake for 8 minutes, then you need to take them out as they’ll continue cooking on the rack. Let them cool before enjoying!
Expert Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Soft Peanut Butter Cookies Every Time
- Use good peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter is always best to use in any recipe for peanut butter cookies, but also equally as important is choosing a quality brand. You’ll get a better texture this way.
- Chill if you have time. Chilling the dough is great for most cookies, and while not required, it will give you even more awesome peanut butter cookies if you do.
- Feel free to add variations. You can roll the dough balls in sugar before using the fork on them. Or you can leave them in balls, roll in sugar, and bake. Then when they come out, press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie.
What do peanut butter cookies taste like?
Peanut butter cookies have a strong taste of peanut butter. If they are made right, they should have a soft texture and a mellow sweetness from the sugars and vanilla extract.
How to make peanut butter cookies?
You’ll combine flour, baking powder, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, creamy peanut butter, an egg, and vanilla extract to make a dough and then bake at 350F for 8 minutes.
How much butter do you put in peanut butter cookies?
For a batch of peanut butter cookies, you will need a ½-cup of butter.
What happens if you add an extra egg to cookies?
Adding an extra egg to your cookies will give them an even softer texture after baking. It will be more cake-like and chewy.
Should you refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking?
You don’t have to, but if you can wait, chilling the dough will result in cookies that are still soft but don’t spread as much.
Why do people crisscross peanut butter cookies?
The dough for this kind of cookie is much denser compared to other cookies. When you put a crisscross with the fork, it flattens them out so they bake more evenly. It’s also a recognizable way to know you’ve got a peanut butter cookie when choosing from a tray of baked goodies.
What makes a cookie soft and chewy or crispy?
Butter is what gives cookies a softness. Adding more eggs can do that too. Crispier cookies are usually the result of using more granulated sugar.
How do you make peanut butter cookies better?
The key is to add vanilla extract. It helps highlight that peanut butter flavor and rounds it out with more complexity.
Why are peanut butter cookies so dry?
The problem with peanut butter cookies is that they can look raw when they are fully cooked. Stick to the recipe time of 8 minutes at 350F and let them finish cooking on the trays outside the oven. They will be soft and delicious this way.
Why are my peanut butter cookies hard?
Hard peanut butter cookies mean you baked them too long. Follow the bake time of this recipe and your cookies will be perfectly soft.
How Long to Bake Peanut Butter Cookies?
At 350F, your peanut butter cookies should bake for approximately 8 minutes. Keep in mind, they will continue cooking as you take them out of the oven and you don’t want rock-like cookies.
How to Store Peanut Butter Cookies?
Peanut butter cookies are best kept in an airtight container on the kitchen counter. There’s no need to refrigerate them. Keeping the air out is key to preventing them from drying out.
How Long Do Peanut Butter Cookies Last?
In that airtight container on your counter, you can keep them for up to 6 days. We have never made it that long with these…we eat them all!
Can You Freeze Peanut Butter Cookies?
Freezing peanut butter cookies is the best way to keep them if you’ve made a ton and can’t feasibly eat them all within 6 days. Same rules apply here – keep them in an airtight container or a freezer bag with the air squeezed out and they will be good for about 3 months.
How to Thaw Peanut Butter Cookies?
Take them out of the freezer and put them on the counter. Soon, your precious peanut butter cookies will be ready to devour again!
Watch How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies (Video)
Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl and whisk together evenly.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars together, then add the peanut butter. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the in the dry ingredients and beat on low.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the baking sheet. Flatten the dough with a fork in a criss cross pattern.
- Bake for about 8 minutes, until cookies are just finished baking, they will continue baking on the cooling rack. Allow to cool before serving.
