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 up 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 winner hands down. 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. Normally, I’m not a big fan of peanut butter chips, but they add really nice texture and flavor here.
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 offers a delightful twist on this classic favorite.
“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
- 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 and become fluffy and soft.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Begin by whisking together the dry ingredients.
Next, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer.
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.
Form the dough into 1-1/2-inch balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, and then use a fork to make a crisscross pattern and push the cookies down.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.
Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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 add 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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I had a limited supply of peanut butter chips, so the first batch was cooked per the recipe — and they were fantastic! The second batch was a mix of 1/2 peanut butter chips, 1/4 milk chocolate chips, 1/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips — also yummy! I’m going to try a third round with the caramel chips that I have in abundance. About 18 months ago, I could only get some things in bulk, so I have a lot of baking chips that are nearing their expiration dates and a crazy supply of smooth peanut butter, lol. This recipe seems like a super versatile peanut butter cookie base that a person can have a lot of fun with. P.S., I had a longer baking time (20 mins), but that’s often the case with my older oven (clearly time for me to buy an oven thermometer). I have no doubt that I will make this recipe many times through the coming years.
Hi Jenn,
I’ve made these cookies several times and everyone loves them! I’d like to bake some today, but for some reason, none of the 3 grocery stores that I went to had peanut butter chips. I would guess that something needs to be substituted for the chips. Would you recommend more chopped peanuts, milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chips or dark chocolate chunks?
Thank you!
Hi Donna! I’d probably go with milk chocolate, Reese’s pieces or chopped Reese’s PB cups. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for your quick reply! I didn’t think to use Reese’s Pieces, I think I’ll do that. Have a great weekend 🙂
I bake all the time, but the recipe I am most often asked for is this one. Everyone (even avowed non peanut butter lovers) love this recipe. The peanuts add the perfect amount of crunch. Just know they’re hard to stop eating!
Hi Karen, sorry for the confusion. The peanut butter I use is marked as natural but if you look at it closely, it’s the commercially processed kind that doesn’t have any graininess. I checked out the one that she was asking about. It’s not completely smooth. Hope that clarifies.
I only have organic chunky peanut butter and there is a layer of oil on the top. If I mixed it in well will that be ok to use?
I am making them for a family reunion with my sons and their GF’s to I want them to be awesome (perfect) when I see them all over Labor Day.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Beth
PS do you have also a notable chocolate chip cookie recipe?
Hi Beth, I wouldn’t recommend that peanut butter. You’ll have the best results with creamy peanut butter. And I have a chocolate chunk cookie recipe that you can check out here. Hope you enjoy if you make them!
Love all your recipes and appreciate your responses to questions!
When putting cookie dough (in balls) on cookie sheets to freeze before placing them in freezer bags should those sheets be covered – in plastic wrap, foil, etc?
So glad you like the recipes! You certainly can but don’t need to cover the dough balls when you put them in the freezer as you should only need to freeze them for about an hour before putting them into a freezer bag. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn, So I added a second egg to the batter because others commented how dry it was using the Costco 100% natural peanut butter. I found my dough to be very moist, actually oily from the peanut butter. The peanuts and chips didn’t mix in well to the dough and I had about half sink to the bottom of the bowl and would not mix in no matter how hard I tried even with my hands. They baked in my oven for about 14 minutes and came out a beautiful golden brown. After the inconsistencies that I had compared to yours, they still tasted fantastic.
Wish I read about the extra egg after using Costco PB. Mine were quite dry
They don’t sell peanut butter chips here in Sweden. What can I replace them with?
Thanks
Hi Andrea, You could use chocolate chips instead. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I plan on making these with the Costco Natural no sugar added peanut butter. I noticed someone said the batter was crumbly. Would it help if I added another egg?
Hi Sheree, I don’t recommend natural peanut butter here. That said, you could try including another egg; it may help but I’m not 100 percent sure. Please LMK how they turn out if you try it!
Can is recipe be doubled?
Sure!
Hi can I use canola oil instead of butter? We can’t have butter>
Hi Victoria, Canola oil won’t work here but you could use coconut oil. Please LMK how they turn out if you try it!