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I absolutely LOVE peanut butter cookies and wanted to share this recipe with the world. The biggest factor to these cookies standing out over others is the peanut butter. The brand I like the most is Spread The Love (see below) which is owned by a friend of mine. Their peanut butter is very straight forward and has only one ingredient: peanuts.
When I baked these the first time, I actually thought I had overbaked them because the edges were crispy and I LOVE soft cookies. However after biting into one, I found a soft center and I think crispy edges compliment the flavor and texture of the middle very well.
So try these out yourself and I’m sure you’ll find you love them almost as much as Doug does!
Why You’ll Love This Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Peanut butter cookies are pretty easy to make with a quick prep time (approx. 15 minutes with a stand mixer) and no chilling required.
The ingredients are easy to find and there’s a good chance you already have them in your pantry!
If you follow this recipe closely, you should end up with cookies like I did: just a tiny bit crispy at the edges and fully soft in the middle.
Naturally, this is just a base recipe and you can add in all the goodies you like!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Peanut butter cookies are a relatively simple recipe with not too many ingredients:
- unsalted peanut butter ( I prefer crunchy peanut butter)
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- koser salt
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- vanilla extract
- 1 egg
This recipe only calls for granulated sugar whereas others call for brown sugar or both. I like mine with just plain sugar because it lets the taste of peanut butter shine.
I also want to note that if you use salted butter and/or salted peanut butter, you should omit the salt that this recipe includes.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
For full list of ingredients and detailed steps, check out the bottom of this page.
Peanut Butter Cookies are super easy to make: Make the cookie dough by mixing all the ingredients then shaping and baking! Use these process photos as a guide
First cream the butter and sugar together. Then add peanut butter, vanilla extract, and egg. Mix these all up. Then add the sifted dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
Using a cookie scooper, portion out the dough on a baking sheet and then press with a fork to get the cross hatch pattern
Bake and then enjoy after it cools!
Expert Tips for Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
Chill vs no chill
Chilling cookie dough after shaping but before baking is a very common technique when baking cookies. It prevents the cookies from spreading too much during the bake. However, in this recipe, I don’t call for chilling the dough unlike some of my other recipes such as the Ube Crinkle Cookies. Chilling is always optional.
Why Fork Marks Matter
Peanut Butter cookies traditionally have a criss-cross pattern that is easily made pressing a fork into the batter. Outside of tradition, this helps the peanut butter cookies spread out a little bit.
Serving & Storage
If you want to save baked cookies, make sure to store in an airtight container. They can be left sealed at room temp for up to 5 days. You can save them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and in the freezer for 3 months.
You should reheat any day-old cookies. If you use a microwave, they will “melt” a little more and become chewier. You could also reheat in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for a couple minutes or stick in the toaster oven. This will dry them out and return the crispy edges but don’t over bake them!
FAQs
The best kind of peanut butter is the one you already have! Hahah but really it is just personal preference. I like crunchy peanut butter because of the texture of the peanuts but some prefer creamy peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter will yield softer cookies.
If you happen to use natural peanut butter or one that separates, be sure to stir it in the jar to integrate all the oils.
Dry cookies in any situation usually means it is overbaked or the cookie dough is too dry. Double check that your ingredients are accurately measured. I recommend using a scale when baking as it is the most accurate!
Freezing cookie dough of any kind is a great way to preserve and save it for baking at a later date. There are even some recipes that recommend baking straight from the freezer as it prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
The wet-dry scale depends most on the bake time and moisture content of the dough. Keep in mind any wet ingredient you add will push the dough, however slightly, towards being soft and chewy after the bake. Even in this recipe, if your peanut butter is “wetter”, it may lead to softer cookies. However, a good recipe won’t lead you astray.
You can also take the cookies out of the oven sooner than a recipe instructs. Of course, not every oven is accurate or the same.
You can store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Putting them in the refrigerator can extend this to 2 weeks and freezer up to 3 months.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- A lot of people have told me they love my ube crinkle cookies and if you’re feeling green, try my pandan crinkle cookies.
- My most recent popular cookie recipe: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
- Every winter holiday I do a 12-part series called Cookiemas. You can see what I did in 2024.
- Check out all my cookie recipes
Equipment and Ingredient Links
Spread The Love Crunchy Peanut Butter
Use code JEANELLE15 for 15% off your entire order!
I think Spread The Love makes the BEST peanut butter with only one ingredient: peanuts. For this recipe I prefer crunchy peanut butter but you can use whatever you like!
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
I absolutely LOVE my tilt head stand mixer. I can’t imagine baking without it.
Ozeri Food Scale
Especially with baking, a food scale is extremely helpful as it measures weight, not volume, which is more accurate. You should use weight measurements if a recipe provides them.
Cookie Scooper (Vollrath #24 – 1 1/3 ounce)
The red Vollrath #24 scooper yields 1 1/3 ounce cookie dough balls. Vollrath has a few different sizes for different uses.
Recipe
Last updated October 2025
Chewy & Crispy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (omit salt if using salted peanut butter). This will ensure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or alternative, cream together the butter and granulated sugar.
- Add peanut butter to the creamed mixture and mix a little before adding the vanilla extract and egg. Mix these all until well combined.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix for about 8 minutes or until there are no more lumps in the batter.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ if you want to bake right away.
- On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop out even-sized balls of cookie dough. I recommend at 1⅓ ounce cookie scooper (Size 24). Once they are portioned out, use a fork to press down and make the classic cross hatch pattern.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350℉ for 12 – 15 minutes. No pre-chilling is required but you can if you want to pre-make the dough!
- Remove the cookies from the oven when done baking! You can adjust the bake time to achieve your desired texture. The longer you bake the crispier and crumblier the cookie will turn starting with the edges. I recommend baking until the edges are crumbly but the center is still soft!