Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
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Looking for the perfect peanut butter cookie? This easy recipe delivers rich, nostalgic flavor with just the right balance of sweet and salty.
When I set out to find the best peanut butter cookie recipe, I tested dozens—from favorite cookbooks to popular online versions. The standout was Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe from My Father’s Daughter. With a few small tweaks, it’s become my go-to. These cookies have a rich peanut buttery flavor, a sandy texture, a hint of crunch from chopped peanuts—and they’re loaded with Reese’s peanut butter chips.
I should mention: I’m not usually a fan of peanut butter chips, but they add great texture and flavor here. These are everything you love about an old-school peanut butter cookie, with a sweet-salty edge that makes them hard to resist.
For more peanutty goodness, try my peanut butter blossoms and peanut butter pie next! Or give my flourless peanut butter cookies a go—they’re naturally gluten-free and as delicious as any good peanut butter cookie.
“Wow Wow wow!!! My 7-year-old said it best after trying one: It’s like I’m having a party in my mouth eating this cookie.”
What You’ll Need To Make Peanut Butter Cookies
- Flour, baking powder, and baking soda: These give the cookies structure and lift. Just make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh—expired leaveners won’t do you any favors!
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and flavor. I like using unsalted butter so I can better control the salt, but if you only have salted, just cut back on the added salt by ¼ teaspoon.
- Creamy peanut butter: Brings deep peanut flavor and helps create that sandy-chewy texture. For best results, don’t use natural peanut butter—it tends to separate. I like Skippy No Need to Stir best here. (And if you’ve got extra, make a batch of my buckeyes while you’re at it.)
- Light brown sugar: Sweetens the cookies and adds moisture, which helps with chew.
- Vanilla extract: Just a little boosts the overall flavor.
- Large egg: Binds everything together and gives the cookies structure.
- Peanut butter chips and salted peanuts: These boost the peanut flavor and add just the right mix of sweetness and crunch. I love using Virginia peanuts for baking (and snacking!)—they’re extra big and flavorful.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make homemade peanut butter cookies
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg.
Step 3: Combine the two mixtures. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture. Mix, scraping the bowl as needed, until the dough is just combined.
Step 4: Add the chips and peanuts. Add the peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts and mix on low speed—that’s your cookie dough! Chill the dough for an hour so it’s easy to work with.
Step 5: Shape the cookies. Form the cookie dough into 1½-inch balls on parchment-lined baking sheets. Use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern and push the cookies down—this not only gives the cookies their classic look but also helps flatten them for even baking.
Step 6: Bake. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until perfectly golden.
Step 7: Cool. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days; you can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Jenn’s Pro Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Measure properly. Always measure flour using the spoon and level method. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour, which can make the cookies dry or dense. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off for the most accurate measurement and the best texture.
- Avoid natural peanut butter. This is important! For the best cookies, you want to use a creamy, shelf-stable peanut butter—the kind you’d find in most supermarket brands. It shouldn’t separate or require stirring.
- Skip the chill. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip chilling the dough—but just know it’ll be stickier to work with and the cookies may spread more. Chilling firms up the dough, helps control the spread, and gives the cookies better flavor, too.
More Classic Cookie Recipes to Try
Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature (I like Skippy No Need To Stir)
- 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
- ½ cup very finely chopped salted peanuts (optional)
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds more. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in the peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts (if using).
- Chill the dough for 1 hour (see note below). Set racks in the middle and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Using a 1½-in scooper with a wire scraper (if you don’t have one, use a spoon and your hands), form the dough into 1½-in (4-cm) balls on the prepared baking sheets. Using the tines of a fork, mark a crisscross pattern on the cookies, pressing them down slightly. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until puffed and golden on the bottom. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. (Note: the cookies are very fragile when hot, so take care not to break them. They’ll firm up nicely as they cool.)
Notes
- It's not absolutely necessary to chill the dough, but it is quite sticky and difficult to handle if you don't have a cookie scooper. Chilling the dough makes it much easier to handle, but feel free to skip this step if you like.
- Freezing Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These did not turn out well at all. The dough was dry and crumbly, and hard to flatten with a fork. Would not recommend.
They were delicious!!! I love peanut butter so that made even better, like six stars. (Review written by a nine year old baker, whose mom agrees. 🙂
💗
These are definitely the best PB cookies…. but the last time I made them, I got interrupted after the first batch so put half the dough wrapped in a baggie in the fridge, which promptly got lost in there. So the raw dough has been chilling for about two weeks now….. Any chance the dough would still be good to use, or best to toss out? Ugh.
Hi Irene, so glad you like them! As disappointing as it is, I’d probably toss the dough; two weeks would definitely be pushing it. Sorry!
This is a follow-up to a previous comment/3-star review. There is something oddly addicting about these cookies even though they are not my preferred texture. I retract my previous 3 stars and change to 5 stars! This is a delicious pb cookie in its own right.
These are exactly as described, soft and slightly sandy. Very peanut buttery. Three stars because the texture just wasn’t right for me since I prefer a chewy cookie, but if you’re not a chewy cookie person this recipe is for you!
These are the best cookies. I hate to say it but I’ve never put anything in my peanut butter cookies before. Boy, have I been missing out. I made them exactly as you wrote and they’re so good. Now to try and keep my husband out of them or I’ll never have enough to give the neighbors.
These are the best!! I made the recipe exactly as written. The cookies are for our youngish son to take back to his apartment. I cooked four for us and put the rest into frozen balls. My husband is begging me to make another batch for us. Thank you Jenn for this fabulous recipe!
can this recipe be doubled?
Sure!
WOAH, these are wonderful! Since I didn’t have peanut butter chips, I used chocolate chips and it came out just as I had hoped! I also forgot to do the fork-thing, and will next time, but they still came out so good that I need to put them away from sight ASAP so that I don’t keep eating them. 🙂 Your site is my favorite of all, because I just know that you present such quality recipes and ideas. Thank you Jenn Segal!
OMG! These cookies are SO good! Thank you Jenn for sharing. I was wondering if I could use the same recipe for almond cookies as well. What do you think?
By the way, my cookie dough was not sticky. I think it is the peanut butter that I used. I used the Justin’s organic peanut butter. And it was not sticky and messy.
The cookies were SO delicious. Thank you.
Hi Lucy, So glad you enjoyed them! Although I’ve never tried it, I think it would work with almond butter. (I’d try to find one that doesn’t need to be stirred.) I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it!