The Best Peanut Butter Cookies
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Thick and soft with a rich peanut butter flavor and slightly sandy texture, these are the best peanut butter cookies.
In search of the ultimate peanut butter cookies, I gathered the best-looking recipes from the internet and my cookbook collection, and I baked them all. Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe, published in her cookbook My Father’s Daughter, was the clear winner. The cookies are thick and soft with a rich peanut butter flavor and slightly sandy texture, and they are chockfull of Reese’s peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts. I should note that I’m not usually a big fan of peanut butter chips, but they add a wonderful texture and flavor here.
P.S. If you happen to be on a gluten-free diet (or are baking for someone who is), I’ve also got a fabulous flourless peanut butter cookie recipe that’s just as delicious.
“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 The Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the base for the cookies. To ensure you’re using the correct amount of flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Act as leavening agents, helping the cookies rise.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor to the cookies.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Not only adds deep peanut butter flavor but also contributes to the moist and chewy texture. For best results, do not use natural peanut butter; it doesn’t contain stabilizers and is prone to separating (I like Skippy No Need To Stir).
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture to the cookies, while also contributing to their chewiness.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor of the cookies with its aromatic richness.
- Large Egg: Provides structure and helps bind the ingredients together.
- Peanut Butter Chips: Intensify the peanut butter flavor and add bursts of sweetness throughout the cookies.
- Salted Peanuts: Provide extra crunch and a hint of saltiness, complementing the sweetness of the cookies. These are optional, but I highly encourage them.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Next, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer (either a hand-held or stand mixer will work).
Beat until smooth and creamy, about a minute.
Add the egg.
Mix to combine, then add the dry ingredients.
Add the peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts (if using).
Mix until just combined.
Chill the dough for 1 hour. (This step is not absolutely necessary, however, the dough is quite sticky and difficult to handle if you don’t have a “cookie scooper.” Chilling the dough makes it much easier to handle.)
Form the cookie dough into 1-1/2-inch balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, and then use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern and push the cookies down.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.
Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make-Ahead, Freezing & Storage 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.
Note: This recipe is modestly adapted from Grandad Danner’s Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies in My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow. I replaced the dark brown sugar with light brown sugar, omitted the additional sugar for rolling, and added chopped peanuts for texture and more peanut flavor. I also made a few tweaks to the method. To see the original recipe and read the rave reviews, click here.
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The Best Peanut Butter Cookies
Thick and soft with a rich peanut butter flavor and slightly sandy texture, these are the best peanut butter cookies.
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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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!