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
Used this recipe to make peanut butter stuffed peanut butter cookies – and they are exactly what any peanut butter lover could hope for. Even without the peanut butter filling, these cookies are terrific. With the filling (peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract) they are on a whole other level though, so I highly recommend. You get that soft peanut butter center without having to precisely time the cookies so that they’re slightly under baked when you take them out.
These were So bland. Followed the recipe to a t and no one in my family liked them at all.
Amazing and delicious recipe for classic soft PB cookies! I use 100% natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts) and up the salt to 1/2 tsp, also to get that classic soft PB cookie instead of a crumbly/shortbread one, I added 1 scant tbsp of Grandma’s brand molasses when mixing in the PB because ultra processed PB has it as one of its ingredients. I also found that these cookies ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED THE EXTRA COAT OF SUGAR! The first ones I baked up with the coating of sugar were way too sweet, and I have a sweet tooth. They were much more balanced without it. But anyway with these things in mind, this is my go-to soft PB cookie.
This is my go-to peanut butter cookie recipe. I skip the sugar roll at the end but otherwise follow the recipe exactly. It is my husband’s favorite! Thank you Sally!
Was good, but I added coconut, raisens,and butterscotch chips. Everyone loved them
This is my favorite recipe for peanut butter cookies. They are soft and the peanut butter taste is very pronounced. I think this is because the peanut butter to butter ratio is higher than in most recipes. My only complaint is that it makes a smaller batch than most recipes (and some of the reviewers have advised against doubling it). A smaller batch is fine when it’s just my husband and me, but I’d like to make more sometimes without making separate batches.
Delicious cookies, but I think I over baked them at 11mins. They are dry, delicious, but dry.
Hi Jed, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can significantly dry out cookies. So can over baking, as you mention. Did you use a natural-style peanut butter? That will lead to a slightly crumblier cookie, too. Hope this helps for next time!
I used these as a base for Muddy Buddy cookies- amazing!!!! I had people ask me if I bought them from a bakery!
I want to try muddy buddy cookies now!
I love this recipe! Some of the best peanut butter cookies I’ve had!! I am wondering if gluten-free flour can be used instead of regular flour?
Hi Rebekah, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour. However, you may enjoy this almond butter cookies recipe. Swap almond butter for peanut butter. There is no flour at all needed for that recipe.
Our turned out looking picture perfect thanks to all your tips. Downside is that they were a bit too sweet for us and dry. We like moist centers. I think I over baked by a couple of minutes looking for the slight brown edges. I would undercook next time.
I loooved this recipe!!! I had one question. When they finished baking they were super soft is that normal or do I need to bake them a bit more?
Hi Ariadne, these are a very soft cookie! They should have pillow-soft centers with slightly crisp exterior and crumbly edge. Hope they were a hit!
How many calories
Hi Lanie, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Sally, you knocked it out of the park with this recipe. I made them this morning. I had all the ingredients ready to go, except unsalted butter so I used Becel Unsalted Plant based “butter”. They turned out absolutely amazing. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. They will be a keeper in my recipe book.
I made these using salted butter. They were delicious. Unless you have a medical reason for reducing your salt intake, most of the time using salted butter in recipes has very little effect on the outcome.
Crunchy peanut butter is the best! Doesn’t make em more crumbly!
Best peanut butter cookie I have ever tasted! Thank you for the recipe. Not too sweet, full of flavor and fantastic texture!
I think I messed up when making this, I tried doubling the recipe to make double the amount. However, they came out extremely chalky and sandy. I think I might of added the peanut butter before the egg on accident but I’m not sure. Would that cause it to come out like chalk? The chalk melted like peanutbutter in our mouths, but extremely dry, not hard like rock on the plus side!
Hi Panda, was something mis-measured by chance when you doubled? And how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can significantly dry out cookies. So can over baking. Did you use a natural-style peanut butter? That will lead to a slightly crumblier cookie, too. Hope this helps for next time!
This recipe turned out so dry the moment I put the cookie on the cooling rack it fell through and crumbled.
Hi Cynthia, What type of peanut butter did you use? Natural-style peanut butters do make the cookies a bit more crumbly, while processed peanut butters will give you a softer, less crumbly cookie. Also, be careful not to overbake the cookies, as that can also contribute to dry and crumbly cookies. Finally, be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour so that it isn’t over measured, which can also cause dry and crumbly cookies. Thank you for giving these a try!
The taste is there but very crumbly. Yes, I used all natural PB what would you recommend adding to make it less crumbly?
Hi Lorena, all natural peanut butter will make the cookies a bit more crumbly. For a softer cookie, you can use processed peanut butter instead.
Delicious crumbly texture. Enough said!
They were very hard and gross. Why? How can I improve? :3
Hi Esen, hard cookies can often be from over baking (even by just a minute or two). For next time, you can reduce your bake time by just a minute or so. It sounds like your flour may have also been over measured. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured, which can lead the cookies to be hard and dry. Thank you for giving these a try!
I really love these cookies OMG!!! They were so good I felt like I went and purchased them at an expensive battery shop somewhere… Kudos!!!!!
My family loves these but I’m wanting to make them bigger. If I were to use a regular ice cream scooper (5tbsp?) how much longer do you suggest baking them for?
Hi Cheyenne, our peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are extra large and reminiscent of a bakery-style peanut butter cookie. You can leave the chocolate chips out or replace them with chopped peanuts. Hope they’re a hit!
Really like this recipe! The cookies turned out perfectly! I really enjoy trying your recipes, I make them just as written, and every time – perfection!
This is my go-to recipe now…sooo good but I add 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips…I started with 1c choc chips but it made the dough too hard to roll into balls without breaking up so 3/4 c works perfectly!
I loved this recipe so much
Oh my I’ve made a lot of cookies in my lifetime and I try a lot of new recipies on the internet, but I have never commented on anything. Today that all changed these are the best Peant Butter Cookies I have ever had.. Followed this recipie but doubled everything and WOW awesome and finally a cookie that’s Smooth and Peanutbuttery.. Excellent I will never make Peanut butter cookies any other way again.❤❤❤
Excellent recipe! I only use natural peanut butter and always crunchy, but I have a trick to make the cookies sturdier. I use bread flour for its high gluten content which provides better structure to your finished product. No need to chill the dough either which i never have patience for anyway. Win-win!
Also can I use salted butter?
Hi Caroline, You can use salted butter, just reduce the amount of salt you include–try using just a pinch.
Is softened butter necessary?
Hi Caroline, yes, you need the butter to be softened to room temperature so that it can properly be creamed with the sugar.
They are delish…but break sooo easily..why
Hi Debra, What type of peanut butter did you use? Natural-style peanut butters do make the cookies a bit more crumbly, while processed peanut butters will give you a softer, less crumbly cookie. Also, be careful not to overbake the cookies, as that can also contribute to dry and crumbly cookies. Thank you for giving these a try!
This recipe is awesome! Never fails and always gets rave reviews!