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 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
Rich and loaded with peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts, these peanut butter cookies are loved by kids and grown-ups alike.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with knife
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature (I like Skippy No Need To Stir)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 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. Using a 1½-inch scooper with a wire scraper (if you don’t have one, use a spoon and your hands), form the dough into 1½-inch 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 11-13 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.)
- Note: It's not absolutely necessary to chill the dough, however, 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.
- Freezer-Friendly 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
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 173
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5g
- Sodium: 13mg
- Cholesterol: 78mg
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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How long do you think the dough could be left in the refrigerator? Could I bake half of the cookies and wait a few days to bake the rest? Thank you in advance; I’m excited to make these!
Hi Ally, I think the refrigerated dough would be okay for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze it. Hope you enjoy!
I made one batch of cookies without refrigerating, one batch after refrigerating one hour, and one batch after refrigerating two days. All three batches were amazing and called “the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had” by the recipients. I didn’t change a single thing. Thank you so much!
I see you have already answered my question earlier posts. Thanks.
THE ABSOLUTE BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE!
I was a little worried that Jenn threw chips and nuts into the cookie because it wasn’t good enough by itself, but that’s not the case at all.
The most peanut buttery tasting cookie I’ve ever eaten and I didn’t put in PB chips as I didn’t have any (used choc. chips instead) nor peanuts, again, didn’t have any (but used sunflower seeds)!
Thanks for all the details in you provide in your recipes and being able to see the ingredients in metric and imperial!
Delicious! This recipe was my first attempt at peanut butter cookies, and it was highly satisfying. Normally I follow Jenn’s recipes exactly, but I was short on a few ingredients (light brown sugar, peanuts and PB chips) this time around so I made a few adjustments. I used Trader Joe’s crunchy salted PB and all dark brown sugar. I baked half of the batch plain and half with Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips. Cooking time was closer to 14 minutes, plus 10-15 minutes to cool on the pan. The cookies were delightful warm, and surprisingly even better once they’d completely cooled about an hour later. I would agree that for a more intense PB flavor, PB chips would be the way to go! If you just want something indulgently rich, chocolate chips will hit the spot.
Fabulous recipe!! Made a double batch last night and my family all gave this a big yummy thumbs up!!! ( Great for breakfast with a cup of coffee the next morning too !! 😉
I’m not a fan of peanut butter cookies in general but for whatever reason I wanted to make this recipe for a long time. Amazingly delicious! My oven sucks and the first batch had brown bottoms but even slightly burnt they were so very tasty. I modified the temp to 300 because my oven runs hot, & took them out after 12 minutes.
These are the best cookies! I’m sure they are really great the way the recipe calls, but I didn’t have peanut butter chips or peanuts, so I added chocolate chips and no peanuts. They were excellent! My family loved them!
I made these one Sunday, I had to hide cookies in order to pack them into empty PB jars to send them to my daughter’s boyfriend at Prescott College in Arizona. they were a huge hit- at home and in AZ! Great mouth feel and taste! It’s a keeper!!
I’ve made these a few times and they came out great each time. Since I’m a vegetarian I substituted a flax egg for the real egg. I also used chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips because that was what I had on hand. This has become a new favorite staple in my household. They are substantial yet crisp, and deliciously flavored. Oh yeah, I added extra vanilla just because I like the taste of that.
Hi Jen,
I’ve just made them today and they cooled down totally but they are still very crumbly…:((
I’m wondering why, since I respected the recipe exactly, even chilled the dough.
I’ve made many of your recipes and never had a problem. I’m disappointed…
What can I do?!
Hi Ildi, So sorry you had trouble with this one. They shouldn’t be crumbly. What type of peanut butter did you use?
I just made the dough and it is very crumbly as well. Definitely not wet. I used the Costco natural – no sugar, not salt peanut butter.
Hi Joanne, Sorry to hear you found the dough to be dry — how did the cookies come out? If you weren’t happy with the results, I suggest using a peanut butter like the one I used (I like Skippy No Need To Stir).
Absolute perfection!! I doubled the recipe and everything turned out great. My colleagues have requested more. 🙂
Thank you for an awesome recipe!