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 have been looking for the recipe like my mother used when I was growing. Soft and chewy in the middle, crispy on the edges and the perfect peanut nut butter taste. Takes me back to when I was 9 years old and learning to make these standing on a chair. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!!
I love this recipe. I have added peanut butter buttercream to the top and my family loves it. I wondered if you have ever added oatmeal to this recipe?
Hi Chelsea, for an oatmeal version, here are our peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead (feel free to omit the chocolate chips or swap with another add-in if desired).
I’ll never use another pb cookie recipe. It’s tops in my book!
I have have made these cookies several times in the last few months after discovering the recipe. They are absolutely delicious and are nice and soft and not dry at all! I am also not a peanut butter fan but these are awesome!
I made these for my family, as I do not usually like peanut butter deserts. But these are sooo good. They’re soft and not too sweet. Just perfect. Thank you for sharing.
Will it be okay to use lightly greased foil-lined trays?
Hi Elizabeth, lining your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats would be best if you have them.
i made these on Sunday afternoon, they did not last until Monday afternoon!
Terribly dry, worst peanut butter cookies we ever made. Also not enough sugar to flour ratio. Sorry but do not waste your time.
At what temperature should I cook these pb cookies? I see the 12 minutes/11 minutes in the recipe for cook time but see no temperature. I’m new to baking and don’t want to just guess.
Also, would it be alright to maybe add in a couple dark chocolate chips or a bit of Jelly on top before baking?
Hi Nathan, see step 4: “Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.” You can certainly add some chocolate chips to the dough. See recipe Notes for more details. See our PBJ thumbprint cookies for adding jelly.
I made these and they were amazing. I made your banana bread too and it too was fantastic.
Not chewy and soft. More airy and crumbly. Very disappointed!
Hi Kim, I’m sorry to hear this! This dough can be a little crumbly, but make sure not to over-measure your flour here. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. The peanut butter you’re using could also be the culprit here. While you CAN use natural-style peanut butters, processed peanut butters will give you a softer, less crumbly cookie. Finally, be careful not to overbake the cookies, as that can also contribute to dry and crumbly cookies. Thank you for giving these a try!
With chocolate chip as an add in these are DIVINE. I’m not a huge peanut butter only cookie fan usually but these are seriously almost better than normal chocolate chip cookies.
Flavor fine but the are excessively dry, I know it was not from over baking because I watched them like a hawk, also the dough itself was very dry and crumbly before even baking
Maybe you missed something, like an ingredient or didn’t measure an ingredient(s) correctly? I just made these cookies and they weren’t dry for me. Maybe also it had to do with the peanut that you used.
Cookie tastes great, but it is extremely dry. I was expecting a soft cookie. I weighed all of my ingredients so it was precise and used creamy (not natural peanut butter). Tips to make them soft?
Hi Sara, were the cookies over baked by chance? Even just a minute or two longer can dry out the cookies. You can always try reducing the bake time by just a bit if you wish to try these again. Thanks for giving it a go!
I sometimes add a little bit of cooking oil. It has to be on 350° and I usually cook till 9 min then take them out let them sit on the tray to finish. If you leave them to cool on the tray after 11-12 min of cooking they will crumble and fall apart. So I would check them at 9 min or just take them out completely and let them finish on a wire rack. I’ve even used two eggs before and still got a creamy outcome. I like adding a little vegetable oil when I combine the egg and peanut butter with vanilla. Make sure it’s real vanilla extract! I like Madagascar vanilla. It’s really the key to any cookie recipe. If you use natural peanut butter it’s a must with the oil. Just a 1/4 cup or even a couple tablespoons should work. 350° oven. All ovens are not the same and it also effects it at higher elevations. Been cooking cookies professionally for a long time and this recipe really is the best with the few short addins I do.
Can I use salted butter and not use the 1/4 teaspoon of salt?
Hi John, You can use salted butter, just reduce the amount of salt you include–try using just a pinch.
Really great recipe slightly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. I topped with a little bit of sea salt and the contrast from the sweet in the salty is delicious!
Am I able to mix by hand if I have no electric mixer?
Hi Trish, You can certainly mix it by hand if necessary, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. We find a sturdy wooden spoon works best. Let us know how it turns out for you.
Yum so good
This was a great cookie. I followed the recipe exactly…except that I forgot to roll the ball in sugar b4 baking but it still turned out yummy. I baked them for exactly 11mins and had them rest when i took them out of the oven so they could firm up.
I followed the recipe exactly and even weighed my ingredients instead of using measuring cups. The cookies are so crumbly that they don’t even hold together. Only thing I can think of is that I used No Added Sugar peanut butter. Or maybe I didn’t mix it long enough and the gluten needed to develop more? Either way, I may try one of your other recipes next time.
Hi Shane, the peanut butter could definitely be the culprit here. While you can use natural-style peanut butters, processed peanut butters will give you a softer, less crumbly cookie. Be careful not to overbake the cookies, as that can also contribute to dry and crumbly cookies. Thank you for giving these a try!
Oh yeah almost forgot! I use JIF always! And real butter! Not margarine! Margarine will not give enough fat to the recipe! Probably where everyone is going wrong. Real butter and real vanilla are the key to making the best cookies! And do chill them! Not really as important as using a 350° oven, real butter, and real vanilla. 9 min. Try that. You’ll be thanking me. Even ttle veg oil a couple tablespoons if u use natural peanut butter.
Thanks for the recipe!
Can I make these as a bar cookie? If so, do I chill the dough? Thanks!
Hi Jo Ann, we can’t see why not! You wouldn’t need to chill the dough. Or you may love these peanut butter blondies.
This is a wonderful recipe!! I decided to research peanut butter cookie recipes after paying $2 a cookie at our local Farmers Market. The cookies were wonderful but I decided it would be more fun to cook our own. This recipe was the answer. They are just as good or better than what we had purchased. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I made these tonight for the first time. I personally, prefer the conventional cookie. I take so many meds that I have dry mouth and can’t swallow these. My son and my neighbor loved them.
I followed the recipe, the dough is crumbly. Any suggestions?
Hi Julie! This dough can be a little crumbly, but make sure not to over-measure your flour here. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Oh thank you! I let the dough sit overnight and I’m baking cookies now. Perfect!
The bomb recipe! It’s hard to stop eating them.
I even made icing and drizzled it over the cookies and crushed some roasted macadamia nuts over them. Just fabulous!
Has anyone used this recipe and turned it into a peanut butter cookie cake?
Hi JT, 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.
Thank you!!
These cookies are SO delicious. I made a batch a few weeks ago and took some to work. My colleagues loved them and have been asking for more! Since it’s a Bank Holiday here in the UK today I am making more and I’m going to half dip them in dark chocolate for a bit more luxury
I loved this recipe
I love those cookies
I made these cookies for Mother’s Day, 12 May 2024 this year, in Australia. I always have a tendency of overtbaking my cookies and I did again for these cookies. The result was still really nice. Nice peanut butter flavour with crispy and crumbly texture. They looked also very cute. I will try not to overbake next time but there certainly will be next time for this recipe. Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!