Cookies, Gemma's Best Recipes

Gemma’s Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

4.51 from 203 votes
The peanut butter flavor you love, in a perfectly soft cookie — this my Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies recipe!
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Hi Bold Bakers!

My Best-Ever recipes are all about taking the most classic sweets and making them Bigger, Bolder and the best they can be! Considering how many cookie recipes I’ve created, even I can’t believe this one didn’t come sooner. So, without any further ado, THIS is my BEST EVER PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES recipe!

Packed with that sweet and salty peanut flavor, a crunchy sugar-dusted outside, and buttery-soft inside, this cookie is sure to become one of your go-to favorites!

If you’re looking for more cookies, be sure to check out my Cookie Recipes page for 50+ cookie recipes — both classic and new — from Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies to Chocolate Brownie Cookies!

What Kind Of Peanut Butter Is Best For Peanut Butter Cookies?

The star of the show is the peanut butter! This recipe includes a whole cup of peanut butter, which might have you wondering what kind of peanut butter to use. The truth is — you can use a natural, more runny, peanut butter or good old Skippy and Jif. Both work really well, but a more natural nut butter may provide a softer cookie as those peanut butters can tend to be runnier.

What is important here is that you use smooth butter to create the right melt in your mouth texture for a soft peanut butter cookie!

Taste And Consistency

By the end of making your batch of cookies, each one should have the full flavor of creamy peanut butter, a balance of chewiness to softness in the texture of the cookie, and all the sweet savor from the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract.

What You’ll Need To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Thankfully, you only need a few tools of the trade to get started:

  • 2 cookie sheets and parchment paper
  • Medium and large bowl
  • Stand mixer
  • Whisk
  • Fork
  • Wire rack
  • Measuring cups

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

This is honestly the best peanut butter cookie recipe. Here’s how to make homemade peanut butter cookies that will soon become a staple in your house (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below).

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then butter and line 2 cookie sheets (or baking sheets) with parchment paper.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugars together in a large bowl using a stand mixer.
  4. After creaming to a light and fluffy state, add egg and vanilla extract and incorporate.
  5. Add the medium bowl into the large bowl, whisking until a thick dough is formed.
  6. Scoop dough into heaped tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar then place it on cookie sheets.
  7. Flatten cookies with a fork, and press down to create an X-shape and that criss-cross pattern.
  8. Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown.
  9. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies stacked next to a cold jar of milk.

If Peanut Butter Cookies Are Too Crumbly

If you find your homemade peanut butter cookies to be more on the dry or crumbly side it can be for a few reasons. The temperature of the ingredients counts! Starting with room temperature eggs and butter, and then creaming the butter with the sugar really well will ensure the cookie dough is nice and smooth, making for a softer cookie!

Making the Cross Marks In The Cookie

One of my favorite things about these cookies is the way they look. We all know and love the cross-hatch pattern on the top of a classic peanut butter cookie. To get this look you use a plain dinner fork!

After rolling your cookies into balls and tossing them in sugar, use the fork to press the cookies down into a disc. Then, press the fork across the cooking in the other direction, making an X shape. This not only looks super enticing but creates a texture on the top of the cookie making for the crispy parts and soft parts that I love.

How Many Calories In A Peanut Butter Cookie?

Each peanut butter cookie contains roughly 70 to 80 calories. As with all desserts, enjoy but with moderation.

Chilling Peanut Butter Cookie Dough — Is It Needed?

Since this dough is super thick and rich it does not spread as much as a chocolate chip cookie. This means you do not have to chill the dough — but it never hurts! As a rule of thumb, I actually chill all my cookie doughs for at least a few hours to overnight. Chilling is also aging, so this helps the flavors develop, too.

Storing Peanut Butter Cookies

My simple peanut butter cookies will keep for 3-4 days covered and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. These cookies are as good warm as they are cool. They stay crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle making them a great bake-ahead cookie or edible gift!

Tips and Tricks to Making Gemma’s Best Ever Peanut Butter Cookies:

  • When making cookies, always start with room temperature butter
  • Should you want a lot of texture to your cookie you can use crunchy peanut butter
  • If you’re allergic to peanuts you can use another nut or seed butter
  • If you don’t eat eggs they can be replaced with a flax egg
  • Instead of using brown & white sugar, you can use coconut sugar
  • After the cookies are baked dip 1/2 of them in chocolate for a chocolate peanut butter cookie
  • Use these cookies for ice cream cookie sandwiches!
  • Grind these cookies into a fine crumb and use like Graham Cracker crumbs in a pie or cheesecake crust
  • You can keep the unbaked dough in the fridge for up to 4 days
  • Freeze scooped dough for up to 8 weeks. Defrost and bake-off fresh.

Get All Of My Peanut Butter Cookies!

As it turns out, you don’t have to make just peanut butter cookies. You can make them in all kinds of ways. Try these variations and let me know which are your favorites!

And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!

Full (and printable) recipe below!

Watch The Recipe Video!

Gemma's Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

4.51 from 203 votes
The peanut butter flavor you love, in a perfectly soft cookie — this my Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies recipe!
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 32 Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
The peanut butter flavor you love, in a perfectly soft cookie — this my Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies recipe!
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 32 Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2oz/213g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (8oz/225g) peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup (4oz/115g) butter (at room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup (4 ½oz/128g) brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (4oz/115g) sugar
  • 1 large egg (at room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • First, pre-heat to 350°F (180°C), then butter and line 2 large cookie sheets. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars together. 
  • Once the peanut butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy, add the egg and vanilla extract. 
  • After the egg and vanilla are fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients. Whisk just until the flour mixture is combined and a thick dough is formed (If chilling the dough, do so at this point for a minimum of 30 minutes). 
  • Scoop the dough into heaped tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in sugar then place on your prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. 
  • Using a fork,  flatten the cookies and press down creating an x shape and that classic cross-hatch pattern across the top of each cookie. 
  • Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. 
  • Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool and enjoy!
  • Once the cookies are fully cooled they can be covered and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. 

 

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Drucylla
3 years ago

These were wonderful! Thank you for the recipe. My husband wishes they were chewier though. Do you have any tips I can try and experiment with? Like would subbing some of the white sugar for more brown sugar work? Or another egg?

baazil_zubair
3 years ago

This is one of the best recipes i have ever tried. I am very glad i follow your recipes gemma. You really are the best bold baker and i m you biggest fan

Lynn
Lynn
2 years ago

Oh my goodness, the best ever cookies I’ve made! Whipped them up on Tuesday, put them in the fridge to cool until the next day. My 2 granddaughters came over for the day & they helped me roll & put them in the oven. Of course as soon as they came out of the oven they wanted to taste them so after 5 min. I let them. I am now the best peanut butter cookie Nana. They went home with all but 2💕
going to be doing the same with 2 grandsons tomorrow 🙏
Ty Gemma

Martha
Martha
3 years ago

Hi! can I store some of the dough in the fridge/freezer to bake off at a later day? Thanks!

Junette Hamkhab Ladia Amit

ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ɪᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ʀᴀᴍᴀᴅᴀɴ, ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ғᴏʀ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴏғ 5 ᴏɴʟʏ ᴄᴏᴢ ᴏғ sᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴅɪsᴛᴀɴᴄɪɴɢ 😄 ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ɪᴛ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋs ɢᴇᴍᴍᴀ ғᴏʀ sʜᴀʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴄɪᴘᴇs, ɪ’ᴍ ᴀ ғᴀɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʏᴜᴍᴍʏʟɪᴄɪᴏᴜs ғᴏᴏᴅɪᴇs.

cdg
cdg
4 years ago

I just baked this in the airfryer.

Had to dial down the temperature a bit.

Also, I added about 15 chopped up dates to this and it was really good.

You might have to reduce the sugar then cos the dates are already sweet.

But ones without me freestyling was really good as well. 🙂

And thanks.

Barbara
Barbara
1 year ago

Hi Gemma. My husband loves peanut butter cookies with a Hersheys kiss on top (peanut butter blossoms). Every recipe I try does not have enough peanut butter taste to it. Would I be able to use this recipe and just add the kisses when they are finished cooking? Should I still make the fork cross cross, or bake them as balls?
I have just recently discovered your page. I have already made the best ever chocolate chip cookies and they were a big hit! Have the sugar cookie dough chilling now. Thank you so much!

Katherine Hennig
Katherine Hennig
3 years ago

Just made these, best ever for sure!!!

Sheila
Sheila
21 days ago

These are exceptional, would not change a thing. Thanks so much for the recipe.

Chubby137
5 months ago

I would love to dip these in chocolate like in the suggestions. What type of chocolate is best for this? Will melted chocolate chips work? Thanks!

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About Us

Meet Gemma

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

 

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