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 def enjoyed this recipe and so did my coworkers. I popped the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes instead because I made them before work and I think I got the proper effect. They were so delicious though. I have a tendency to make large cookies so I got a yield of about 15 LOL. Sally, you rarely let me down with a good recipe making these again tonight! Love from Cali
This recipe worked beautifully for me. I let the dough chill in the fridge overnight and baked it at 350F for 8 minutes. The cookies are perfectly soft, so soft that I can’t even dip them in milk, which I love. I think next time I will experiment with some flaky salt sprinkled on before baking, and perhaps replacing part of the vanilla with maple extract. The base recipe is great as is, though.
These truly are the best PB cookies I’ve ever had! An absolutely fantastic recipe!! The cookies are crisp but then melt in your mouth. Delicious!
Hey I was wondering if melting the butter all the way will make a difference. I’ve done this recipe many times but this time when I melted the butter the texture was different, will that affect the way they cook?
Hi Josie, yes, using melted butter instead of softened butter will change the cookies. Best to stick with room temperature for this recipe.
Can self rising flour be used instead of all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt?
Hi Angela, we don’t recommend using self rising flour in this recipe. It would take additional recipe testing to ensure accurate results.
I have a question/comment. It’s been my observation that store bought peanut butter ie. JIF, SKIPPY can lose their peanutty taste, while not necessarily being spoiled. I wonder if this is the case with those who state the cookies don’t have enough peanut taste? Would you agree? Knowing you as a professional would not go to the trouble of homemade cookies if ingredients aren’t top notch!
Hi Kelly, the peanut butter used definitely makes a difference here!
this is stupidly so good
I use this recipe as my go to peanut butter cookie. I have done a little modification to the recipe but it’s outstanding either way.
Best ever Peanut Butter cookie.
Like others have said, good but not great. Not very peanut buttery, soft and crumbly (not chewy), seemingly blah.
I have made these twice. Second time adding chocolate chips. Best tasting peanut butter cookie recipe! Follow the instructions and tips. You can’t go wrong. I’ve learned so much from Sally! Room temperature butter!
If I prefer not to roll in sugar will it effect the baking process
Hi Anna, You can skip rolling the dough in cookies if you wish with no other changes.
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!❤️
Absolutely delicious, drizzled chocolate on top!
A little dry, not very peanut buttery but super easy to make
The cookie was delicious, but I could taste the flour, and sugar the same as the peanut butter. If you are looking for a peanut butter taste- you will need to go for a recipe that calls for more than 3/4 cup of peanut butter.
My teenage son and I made these cookies. ABSOLUTELY delicious. Sally has been our go to recipe box for several years. Her recipes never fail and always taste great!
I wonder if there is a special trick to these. Everything was room temp. I did use light brown sugar rather than dark… I chilled it for a couple hours which made it ok for rolling into balls so i suspect it was long enough. Mine were more on the dry side and not as flavorful as i would have preferred. I will try the double peanut-butter recipe.
I made this recipe this afternoon for family and they’re all gone! They asked me to promise to make them again. SOON I also added 1 cup of milk chocolate chips.
These cane out super
I used chocolate hazelnut almond butter and added crushed hazelnuts. Super
I made these tonight. They have a decent taste but are the driest cookies I have ever had.
I loved this recipe! Very easy and tastes delicious! 🙂
I love this recipe; it was so easy to make, and since I live at a high altitude, I made a few adjustments with flour, sugar, and baking soda. I was stumped on liquid since you need to add more at high altitude, but after some research, I added a ¼ cup more peanut butter. The cookies came out perfect!
I live at a decently high altitude (4,567ft), would love to know how high up you are to see if I need to make this adjustment too! Thanks!
Regarding the gran. sugar coating, I’d like to roll the P.B. dough in Turbanado sugar the next time for extra crunchiness. Your thoughts. Thanks for another delicious recipe.
Sounds delicious, though will be extra sweet and crunchy. Let us know if you try!
I’ve made these before and loved! The second time I made them, I forgot to add white sugar! BUT…they still turned out delicious So, if you’re looking for a little “healthier” cookie, give it a try. Still the soft cookie with that little crunch around the edges.
This is a question not a rating .. is it possible to roll this dough out to use a cookie cutter? If not do you suggest any modifications in order to do so? My goal is a peanut butter cookie that I can use a cookie cutter with instead of rolling dough balls.
Hi Lindsay, this dough is best as a drop-style cookie—it won’t hold its shape as a cutout. Unfortunately we do not have a peanut butter cutout recipe at this time, but let us know if you find one you love!
I want to start of with praise, as I really do appreciate all these recipes and your educating on the skills required for baking. These weren’t bad per say, but I wouldn’t make them again. The flavor was scant and the size of the cookie the same. I made them to donate for a homeless shelter and wish I had noticed the volume of the dough earlier, and the portion of each cookie. They were too small and delicate. That was an error on my end; when I read thick, I guess I assumed more substance and as the pictures are enlarged to show texture I didn’t realize they were so small. Truthfully I decided on this recipe because I needed the least amount of chill time. Next time I’ll try one of your other recipes. Thank you!
These are the best peanut butter cookies I ever had. I loved them.
Great recipe! Can I use Nutella in this recipe?
Hi Brenda, Nutella may not be a 1:1 swap here, but let us know if you try it. You may love our Nutella chocolate chip cookies recipe!
These were so cry and crumbly. Followed exactly, tried not chilling dough, tried chilling dough, tried less time, tried more time. They are so dry but the kid likes them. They might need 1/2 more sugar or something. Not trying again tho.
I love this recipe not overly sweet like store bought in my opinion.
i make my own butters, salted, unsalted as well as Peanut and Cashew butter to mention a few. i am about to try your peanut butter cookie recipe. I have tried some of your recipes and they are some of the best that i have tried. I especially like your Blueberry Scones recipe and Oatmeal Raisin cookie as do my Grandchildren, Grandpa likes to cook and now Baking has tweaked my interests. My question is can Cashew Butter be substituted for Peanut butter ?
So happy to hear that you’re enjoying our recipes! We haven’t tested it, but cashew butter should work well here. Note that if it is homemade and more oily, then the cookies may be on the crumblier side. Let us know how they turn out for you!