Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

This timeless Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe is a nutty and melt-in-your-mouth classic, which uses smooth peanut butter and vanilla to create that signature rich flavor. It’s a straightforward recipe, delivering the quintessential cross-hatched treat that has been a lunchbox staple for generations.

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Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients

The Wet Mix:

• 1 stick Butter, at room temperature: The creamy base that gives the cookies their tender crumb. Salted or unsalted works, but ensure it is soft to mix evenly.
• 1 cup Sugar: White granulated sugar provides the sweetness and helps create the crisp edges.
• 1 cup Smooth Peanut Butter: Standard commercial peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy) works best here. It acts as both a fat and a flavoring agent.
• 1 Egg: Adds structure and moisture to bind the heavy peanut butter dough.
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla: mellows the roasted peanut flavor with a hint of floral sweetness.

The Dry Mix:

• 1 1/2 cups Flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookie its structure.
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda: The leavening agent that helps the dense dough puff slightly.
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt: Essential for popping the nuttiness of the peanut butter.

The Finish:

• 1/4 cup Additional Sugar: For rolling the dough balls. This creates a sparkling, crunchy crust on the exterior.

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with butter or non-stick spray, or line it with parchment paper for easier cleanup.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the 1 cup of sugar and the room-temperature butter. Beat until the mixture is grainy but combined.
3. Add Binder: Beat the egg into the butter-sugar mixture until fully incorporated.
4. Flavor: Mix in the smooth peanut butter and vanilla extract. Stir until the mixture is uniform, creamy, and smooth.
5. Combine Dry Ingredients: Stir in the salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix until just combined and no streaks of white flour remain. The dough will be dense.
6. Roll: Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the additional 1/4 cup of sugar to coat completely.
7. Mark: Place the sugared balls on the baking sheet. Flatten each ball by pressing a fork down in a crisscross pattern (the classic hashtag shape).
8. Bake: Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies should look slightly dry on top and golden around the edges.

Recipe Tips

• The Fork Trick: If your fork sticks to the dough when making the cross-hatch pattern, dip the fork into the sugar or a little bit of flour before pressing down.
• Peanut Butter Choice: Stick to standard creamy peanut butter. “Natural” peanut butters (the kind where oil separates at the top) can cause the dough to spread unpredictably or become greasy because they lack the stabilizers of commercial brands.
• Freezing the Dough: This dough freezes exceptionally well. Roll the balls and press the fork marks, then freeze them raw. You can bake them straight from the freezer, just adding 2 minutes to the bake time.
• Texture Check: For a softer cookie, pull them out at 12 minutes. For a crunchier, dunkable cookie, let them go the full 15 minutes.

What To Serve With Peanut Butter Cookies

• Cold Milk: The thick peanut butter texture demands a cold drink.
• Banana Slices: Top a warm cookie with a slice of banana.
• Chocolate Ganache: Sandwich two cookies together with chocolate filling.
• Grape Jelly: Spread jelly on top for a “PB&J” dessert experience.

How To Store Peanut Butter Cookies

• Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container or cookie jar for up to a week. These cookies have a low moisture content, so they keep very well.
• Freezing: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Cookies Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 180 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 22g
• Fat: 10g
• Protein: 4g
• Sugar: 14g

Nutrition information is estimated per cookie.

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