Peanut Butter Cookies
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This easy peanut butter cookie recipe is packed with peanutty flavor and has just the right balance of salty and sweet.
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.
What sets these cookies apart are the salted peanuts and peanut butter chips scattered throughout. The peanuts add a satisfying crunch and a salty edge, while the chips melt into little pockets of peanut butter goodness. I’m not usually a fan of peanut butter chips, but they really work here. If you love a classic peanut butter cookie, this one is hard to beat.
“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
- All-purpose flour: Provides the structure for the cookies. For the best texture, measure it using the spoon-and-level method rather than scooping directly from the bag; too much flour can make the cookies dry.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Give the cookies just enough lift and help them brown. Make sure they’re fresh for the best results.
- Unsalted butter: I prefer unsalted butter so I can control the salt. If you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt by ¼ teaspoon.
- Creamy peanut butter: For the best texture, use a creamy, shelf-stable peanut butter rather than natural peanut butter, which can separate. Skippy No Need to Stir is my favorite here.
- Light brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture and complements the peanut butter’s rich flavor.
- Egg and vanilla: The egg binds the dough together, while vanilla rounds out the flavor.
- Peanut butter chips and salted peanuts: Double down on the peanut flavor while adding little pockets of sweetness and crunch. I love Virginia peanuts here—they’re extra big, crunchy, and flavorful.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make peanut butter cookies
Make the dough: Start by whisking the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the dry ingredients, then mix in the peanut butter chips and salted peanuts. The dough will be thick.
Pro tip: Give the dough some time to chill before shaping; it makes it easier to handle and helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
Shape the cookies: Roll the dough into balls and arrange them on the baking sheets. Use a fork to make the classic crisscross pattern on top, which also helps flatten the cookies so they bake evenly.
Bake and cool: Bake until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges. They’ll still be tender when they first come out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a rack.
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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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After doing the fork cross-cross, I sprinkled a light sprinkling of granulated sugar crystals for baking on them. Then baked them! Just an extra pro touch!
Wow … perfect! I didn’t use the peanut butter chips, but didn’t need to!
These are ‘Melt in the Mouth Peanut Butter Cookies’. I’ve gotten so many nice compliments with this recipe. Thanks so much!
I made these GREAT peanut butter cookies! Thanks for sharing this terrific recipe Jenn. It was the best peanut butter cookie I ever had. My family loved them! Actually every recipe I’ve made from OUAC has been Outstanding.
Wow Wow wow!!! My 7 year old said it best after trying one:
“It’s like I’m having a party in my mouth by eating this cookie”
Will definitely make these again.
Sidney from Wisconsin
I made these today. My husband said “well, these are not going to last long!”. These are the very best peanut butter cookies I have ever made and I have been making peanut butter cookies literally for 60 years!! Followed the recipe to the letter. Another great recipe from Jenn!
Great recipe! Very tasty and moist. I was having trouble with the baking time. The cookies didn’t seem done after 10-12 minutes or even 14 minutes at 325 degrees F. I noticed the original recipe you linked says bake at 350 degrees F. Is that intentionally adjusted to 325 or a transcription error?
Hi Christina, glad you enjoyed these but sorry you found the bake time to be off. I’m going to have another look at the recipe. Stay tuned!
Hi Jenn. What would be the impact if I simply don’t have the chips and don’t substitute any other “chip” etc? I suppose it would just make a smaller quantity of dough and therefore, fewer cookies. Do you see a problem if I just make them plain/no chips? Thanks, from France (where these kinds of chips don’t exist!)
Hi Jennifer, I think you’re right, that you would just have less dough. If you’re not using chips, you may want to consider this cookie also. It’s a bit different than this one, but also delish!
Is the 1/2 teaspoon salt a correct measure?
Yes, that’s correct. Enjoy!
hi Jenn..
let me tell you about my ‘nut butter’ cookies. i have been happy with your other cookie recipes & wanted to make your chunky peanut butter cookies but only had trader joes’ almond butter.
that & dark brwn sugar were my only changes. they were very good! the batter was never oily & not sticky..instead it was kind of like modeling clay, very easy to roll in a ball. one batch i baked longer & they came out crisp. the other batch i took out at about 13 min or so. that is when the center of the cookie was ‘moist’ w/the butter..delicious! forgot to add the ‘butter’ was chunky, no salt. thank you..
Glad they came out nicely with your tweaks!
Hello Jenn,
I have a friend whose favourite dessert is chocolate peanut butter cookies — can I make those for her using this recipe and sub the peanut butter chips for chocolate chips (or add the chocolate chips in addition to peanut butter chips?). Would you recommend milk chocolate chips or semi sweet ?
Hi Mlak, I haven’t used chocolate chips in place of the peanut butter, but I think it would work (and milk or semi-sweet is really just a preference but if you want something similar to the flavor in Reeses candy, then I’d go with milk). Hope your friend enjoys!