These soft, thick, melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter cookies may be the only peanut butter cookie recipe you ever use again. Some readers say the cookies taste like the inside of a peanut butter cup—YUM! You need just 9 ingredients and the dough can be adapted in many ways to make different variations like peanut butter blossoms and peanut butter jam thumbprints.
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
Why hello there, peanut butter cookie lovers. You’ve come to the right place! This may look familiar, as I have shared a number of peanut butter cookie recipes over the years. But believe me when I say this one is the one to keep in the front of your recipe folder.
This go-to, flagship peanut butter cookies recipe is the same dough used to make these popular peanut butter blossoms among the other 6+ variations listed below. The recipe stands the test of time and even after publishing dozens of other peanut butter recipes online and in my cookbooks… THIS IS THE BEST ONE.
One reader, Joyce, commented: “I’ve been looking for the recipe like my mother used when I was growing up. Soft and chewy in the middle, crispy on the edges, and the perfect peanut butter taste. Takes me back to when I was 9 years old and learning how to make these standing on a chair. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Faith, commented: “Seriously the BEST peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had! So delicious. The recipe was very easy to follow while still including helpful tips and directions. Thank you! ★★★★★“
And another reader, Rita, commented: “I’ve been baking for my family for 50 years. This is the absolute best cookie recipe we have ever tried. Thanks, Sally. Outstanding! ★★★★★“
Why You’ll Love These Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Pillow-soft centers with slightly crisp exterior and crumbly edge
- No-fuss recipe with 9 ingredients
- Super simple to make
- Marked with a traditional criss-cross on top
- Major peanut butter flavor
- Versatile cookie dough—add mix-ins or turn the dough into pb&j thumbprints
Grab These 9 Ingredients:
You can find the full printable recipe below, but first let me tell you some of the keys to recipe success, starting with the ingredients.
Ingredient Success Tips
- A shockingly small amount of flour. You may look at the recipe below and wonder why there’s so little flour… has Sally completely lost her mind?! Ha! Well, peanut butter and other nut butters act as a binder and can actually replace some or all flour in recipes including these flourless almond butter cookies. Using more flour will dry out the cookies, so stick with the recipe below.
- More peanut butter than other recipes. Most recipes I’ve tried call for around 1/2 cup of peanut butter with similar amounts of other ingredients. We’re using more.
- Use creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy. Just like when making peanut butter snickerdoodles, big giant monster cookies, or white chocolate peanut butter cookies, creamy peanut butter is ideal because crunchy peanut butter creates an overly crumbly cookie. Crunchy peanut butter is typically thicker and, well, less creamy! For a soft cookie that stays mostly intact, use creamy peanut butter.
- A combination of brown sugar + white granulated sugar. Like when you make chocolate chip cookies, it’s ideal to use more brown sugar than white granulated sugar in this dough. Brown sugar lends a softer, moister, and thicker cookie, while white granulated sugar helps the cookies spread. Use both, but use more brown.
Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter in Peanut Butter Cookies?
Yes, you can use natural peanut butter in this dough! Over the past decade, I’ve made these exact cookies with processed peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy as well as natural-style where the ingredients are only peanuts and salt. Here are my notes:
- Processed: The cookies truly taste perfect with great texture. They spread less and aren’t as crumbly.
- Natural-Style: The cookies spread a bit more and are somewhat sandier/crumblier.
But, most importantly, both cookies have fantastic peanut butter flavor. Keeping the above notes in mind, you can use either kind, just like you can in flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
Another Success Tip: Chill the Cookie Dough
Chilling the cookie dough in the refrigerator before baking the cookies is crucial to this recipe’s success. The dough is incredibly creamy, almost like peanut butter frosting, and you’ll have a heck of a time trying to roll and bake such a soft dough. Set aside 1–2 hours for chilling, or do yourself a favor and make the dough the night before.
Expect a VERY creamy cookie dough:
After chilling, the cookie dough solidifies and it’s easier to roll into balls:
After chilling, roll the dough into balls and then generously roll in granulated sugar. Sugar gives these cookies a sparkly sweet exterior with a touch of crunch before giving way to soft, melt-in-your-mouth bliss. Don’t forget the classic criss-cross on top of each cookie, just press with a fork!
Another success tip: After flattening the balls with a fork, use your fingers to reshape the edges into thicker/taller discs, because the thicker the disc, the thicker the baked cookie.
Welcome to the Peanut Butter Cookie Headquarters
Today’s cookies have been my go-to for a decade. If you want to compare, here are 2 other peanut butter cookie doughs and how they differ:
- Crisp/Old-Fashioned Version: Crispier with less peanut butter punch.
- Very Peanut Butter Cookies: Bigger and crumblier with EXTRA peanut butter flavor. It’s practically today’s recipe, only doubled. This is the same dough we use for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
The following recipes use today’s dough. (Note that the plain cookies have an extra Tablespoon of flour to retain shape because we’re flattening with a fork.)
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Cookies (pictured)
- Peanut Butter Blossoms (pictured)
- PB Cookie Cups on page 138 in Sally’s Cookie Addiction
- Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
- Peanut Butter Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Reese’s Cup Stuffed Cookies
So whether you’re looking for a classic criss-cross cookie or want to add some flair, this soft-baked peanut butter cookie is the ideal base recipe for many variations.
Print
Soft & Thick Peanut Butter Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are the softest, thickest peanut butter cookies! You need just 9 ingredients for the base recipe, and it can be adapted in so many ways to make different variations (see post above). Do not skip chilling the dough.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (170g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup (100g) for rolling
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (about 185g) creamy peanut butter (see note)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on high speed until creamy. Switch to medium-high speed and beat in the brown sugar and 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar until completely creamed and smooth, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The dough will be very creamy and soft. Cover and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 1–2 hours, and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Roll & coat the dough: Place remaining 1/2 cup (100g) of sugar into a bowl. Roll chilled cookie dough into balls, about 1 scant Tablespoon (5/8 ounce or 18g) of dough each. Roll each ball in the sugar and arrange on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Use a fork to make a criss-cross indent on top of each. To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, after indenting the cookies, use your fingers to reshape into a thicker disc (since indenting the balls flattened them out).
- Bake for 11–12 minutes or until the edges appear set and are very lightly browned. The centers will still look very soft.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make-ahead instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls, without sugar coating, freeze well for up to 3 months. Let frozen cookie dough balls sit on the counter for 30 minutes, roll in sugar, indent a crisscross pattern with a fork, then bake for an extra minute. No need to completely thaw. See How to Freeze Cookie Dough for more success tips.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Stand Mixer or Handheld) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter is ideal for this recipe because crunchy peanut butter creates an overly crumbly cookie. You can use processed peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy, or natural-style peanut butter. If using natural peanut butter, make sure it’s at room temperature, stirred well, and expect a slightly crumblier cookie. 3/4 cup of peanut butter weighs anywhere between 185–195g.
- Can I use almond butter? Yes, you can use almond butter in this cookie recipe; however, expect a crumblier cookie. You may enjoy these flourless almond butter cookies more, though!
- Can I add chocolate chips or other add-ins? Yes, in step 3 after the dry and wet ingredients come together, you can fold in 1 cup add-ins like chocolate chips (180g), peanut butter chips (180g), or chopped salted or unsalted peanuts (150g). Skip indenting the cookies with a fork.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I love recipes very much.
Thank you for sharing.
Can I double this recipe?
Shouldn’t be a problem, Jean!
Do you have to refrigerate the cookie or can you just cook it like it is? I don’t really like waiting for the dough to be ready…I kinda like jumping straight into baking and eating the delicious cookies.
Hi Novella, chilling the dough deepens the flavor and prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
Perfect it is my one and only peanut butter cookie done with searching these are amazing thank you for sharing
My new go-to peanut butter cookie recipe! Wow! I love how you break down the steps in your recipes…..I’m really trying to up my game with baking and you are totally helping me….thank you!!
Outstanding taste I make a double batch as a single batch makes only about 18 cookies
Just love your chocolate chip cookie recipe
Well, I’m not impressed, the cookies are falling apart, no chewiness at all. Did not over bake them, they were still very soft but turned into more like sand. Very disappointed.
Another fantastic recipe from Sally! First time making these and they turned out so delicious and perfect. Great taste and texture and cookies did not spread at all. Adding these to the regular cookie rotation!
Very easy and soooo good! Soft and chewy and amazing peanut butter taste!
Even though i’m New to cooking more Now as a Kid, this recipe was amazing and Easy.
at first i thought the cookies would not taste as good because i feared maybe i got my measurements wrong, but that all proved wrong when i took the first bite into these amazing rich cookies! Wow!
Now i can Share these cookies with my Grandma & Aunt & cousins, which i’m sure will make them really happy & Proud!
Thanks Sally for reliable and easily read instructions!!!
I made this recipe and didn’t chill the dough and the cookies turned out delicious
This was the worst peanut butter cookie recipe I have made. I love the chocolate chip cookie recipe so I thought I would try this. No peanut butter taste. I now have no peanut butter cookies for christmas.
Add peanut butter on top!
Love this recipe used it my whole life had forgotten it tho glad to find it!
I loved this recipe, so easy to make. Didn’t take no time at all.
My favorite pb cookie recipe. They don’t last long around my family!
Sally has the best recipes, I’m always coming to this website for the best recipe there is out there. Thank you Sally for being so creative
Can I use shortening instead of butter?
We don’t recommend shortening here, Laurie.
I rely on your website for my baking inspiration. Year after year I’d google recipes and try things and I constantly found myself back on your website.
Your guidance with the recipie is un matched and I don’t think I have done one fail without my own “rushing” or impatience being the primary cause/
My advice is to READ HER BLOGS with her recipie. Anything you’d want to know before committing to baking your treats is already in there, I promise.
In the world of rising food costs, it’s important to have a consistent place as a guide before taking risks in new treats. This is my safe place 🙂
They came out really good. I had tried a different recipe didn’t come out good
I made thousands of cookies with my mom….she truly was an angel but this cookie was fantastic!!! And I loved you could save the dough in fridge!!!! ❤️
These sound delicious! Can I make them ahead and freeze them in balls? Do I roll them in sugar before I freeze them or before I cook them? Thank you!
Hi Julianne! Roll in sugar after freezing – see recipe Notes for details.
My family loves these!! Perfect
I am planning on adding chopped up mini chocolate peanut butter cups to the recipe. Do you think it will be good?
That should be fine!
Followed this recipe down to the gram and they are fantastic! I think I liked them better the following day. Goes great with a cup of coffee.
Hi Sally! You are my favorite cookbook!This cookie is great! Soft in the middle and crisp on the bottom. I do have a question. Some recipes you cannot double the recipe because it just doesn’t taste the same. Can this be doubled? Thanks
Hi Jean, these cookies should double well, so long as your mixer can handle the added volume. Hope they’re a hit!
I loved this recipe so much!
Can I add extra peanut butter if I want a more peanut-buttery taste?
Hi Wanda, peanut butter can be a drying ingredient, so we don’t recommend adding more to this recipe. It would require additional testing and tweaking of the other ingredients.
Oh my God, these cookies are so good. I literally followed the recipe to the letter! Amazing!
I want to use this recipe for a Halloween treat that needs a flat top, not the criss-cross pattern. Should I just leave them as rounded balls or flatten them slightly before baking? Thank you
Hi Heidi! We would flatten them slightly so they aren’t too round when baked.
Could this recipe be made into a cookie cake? Would I need to alter the baking time or temp?
Hi Jessica, you could certainly use this dough for a cookie cake instead. Follow the baking times and instructions from our chocolate chip cookie cake as a guide. If you have any leftover dough, you can make a few cookies on the side.
These cookies are just as you say. Thank you for the recipe.