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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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!