Looking for the perfect chewy peanut butter cookie recipe? Look no further. These chewy peanut butter cookies have a tender and soft center with a chewy, crisp exterior and, obviously, they’re packed full of nutty flavor.
Looking for the perfect chewy peanut butter cookie recipe? Look no further. These chewy peanut butter cookies have a tender and soft center with a chewy, crisp exterior and, obviously, they’re packed full of nutty flavor.
The Best Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
I think we can all agree that peanut butter cookies are one of the most classic dessert recipes you can serve up. If I had to pick one dessert category to eat forever it would easily be cookies. Brown butter chocolate chip cookies, cut out sugar cookies, crinkle cookies, oatmeal cookies…they’re versatile, flavorful, and super easy to make. And peanut butter cookies are undeniably one of the absolute best cookies you can make.
But there is one caveat: peanut butter cookie recipes are allllll over the place. I have made SO many subpar peanut butter cookies on the hunt for the pb cookie of my dreams. You know the type: thick (not too thick), chewy on the edges with a sugar coated exterior, soft in the middle, crackled top, NOT dry, and full of peanut butter flavor. So many recipes end up crumbly, dry and tasting like a sugar cookie with just a hint of peanut butter flavor. But say goodbye to the sad cookies of your past because these soft peanut butter cookies are perfect.
Ingredients for Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Like most cookie recipes, these soft peanut butter cookies require minimal ingredients and come together in a pinch. Cookies are one of the best things to make because they’re versatile, easily shared, freezer friendly, and super easy to make.
Butter
Peanut Butter
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla
Flour
Baking Soda
What kind of peanut butter should you use to make peanut butter cookies
We tested this recipe with a few different types of peanut butter, and we found a natural creamy peanut butter produced the best results! Some peanut butters have tons of additives and filler which can lead to a dry cookie. Go for one that’s just peanuts and salt to make sure you get the right consistency. If all you have is a thicker, less natural peanut butter you can add an additional Tablespoon of milk to thin out the batter a little bit!
Tips for the best soft peanut butter cookies
Make sure every single ingredient is at room temperature: When baking and mixing fats (peanut butter and butter in this case), it’s important to keep everything at the same temperature to make sure that no splitting or curdling occurs. This will ensure a smooth batter that beats together seamlessly.
Don’t forget to coat them in sugar: I know this seems like an unimportant step, but a light sugar exterior will give you the perfect crunchy edge and a little extra sweetness to this perfectly salty-sweet recipe.
Do NOT over bake the cookies: Under absolutely no circumstances should you ever over bake a peanut butter cookie. When you take the cookies out of the oven, the middles should still be raw. The cookies will continue to bake as they cool and settle into that perfectly chewy in the center texture.
Mix it up this week and swap out those chocolate chip cookies and milk for chewy peanut butter cookies and milk! Happy baking 🙂
1 teaspoon sea salt (plus more for sprinkling the tops)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, white sugar and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Pour some extra granulated sugar into a small bowl. Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into 1 inch balls, rolling them in the granulated sugar first before dropping them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up and are set on the edges, but are still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool completley before eating!
It’s possible that you over measured your baking soda or another one of your ingredients was more acidic thank usual (sometimes this can happen with the type of peanut butter you use). I like them with the big crackly tops 🙂
Hi Sam! Regular peanut butter will dry the cookies out a little bit, so I would probably go down on both the sugar and the flour. Use 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup brown sugar instead. If your batter is dry, add in 1 Tablespoon of milk at at time.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
I can’t wait to try these with your pb frosting filling! I buy Jiff and Laura Scudders. Both creamy. Which is best? What do you use? 😊. Thank you.
Hi Deedee! We love making this with Jiff 🙂
Wow, these were so good! I do have a question- my cookies had bigger cracks than the ones in the pictures shown- do you know why this happened?
★★★★★
It’s possible that you over measured your baking soda or another one of your ingredients was more acidic thank usual (sometimes this can happen with the type of peanut butter you use). I like them with the big crackly tops 🙂
Quick Question, will this cookie recipe hold its shape if you do the classic fork press, or a cookie stamp?
Hi Ashely! It should 🙂
Hi, really want to make this but only have supermarket peanut butter. Could I use that? It is Skippy’s and has added sugar. Thanks!
Hi Sam! Regular peanut butter will dry the cookies out a little bit, so I would probably go down on both the sugar and the flour. Use 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup brown sugar instead. If your batter is dry, add in 1 Tablespoon of milk at at time.
Have the same question as raquel- can i use skippy’s PB that’s already sweetened?