The ULTIMATE, tested-to-perfection, soft and chewy PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES dipped in chocolate. Everyone goes crazy for these cookies! | chelseasmessyapron.com | #cookie #cookies #soft #chewy #peanutbutter #chocolate #easy #quick #christmas #holiday #dessert #best #kidfriendly #bestever #treat

These are our all-time favorite Peanut Butter Cookies — they’re thick, soft and chewy, and have a rich peanut butter flavor with plenty of sweetness. Jazz these cookies up even more if you’d like by dipping half in melted chocolate (optional).

Love peanut butter? Us too! Try some of our other favorite peanut butter treats like this no-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, this Buttercrunch Candy, or these Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins (which are secretly healthy!).

Image of Peanut Butter Cookies stacked on top of each other

The Creation Of Our Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies

When my older brother was 3, he was rushed to the emergency room from what we later learned was an intense peanut allergy. Peanuts and peanut butter were no longer allowed in our home growing up. So you can probably imagine my excitement of living in a peanut-allergy-free home when I moved out to college. I immediately filled my entire pantry shelf with peanut butter, and weekends consisted of me making peanut butter cookies like they were going out of style. (It also meant a never-ending stash of trail mix in my backpack and late-night spoonfuls of edible peanut butter cookie dough to “help” the studying along.)

While I might not be able to tell you much of what I learned my freshman year of college, I can tell you that I tried every single peanut butter cookie recipe on the internet, and these cookies are my homegrown creation from a mash-up of my favorites. Right in time for the holidays (and cookie baking season!), these easy Peanut Butter Cookies will be sure to please. I can’t wait for you all to try them. 

Process shots-- images of the butter being melted, white and brown sugar being added and mixed together, and then extracts and peanut butter being added

These cookies are big — three tablespoons of dough per cookie! They’re thick throughout with especially soft and satisfying chewy centers — think a big, soft sugar cookie, but peanut butter flavored.

The gooey, chewy texture is in part due to the ingredient ratios and in part to the method which (dual-purpose) actually makes these cookies quick, easy, and simple to prepare. The method? Melted butter. The melted butter gives these cookies the perfect texture and simplifies the process — no stand or hand mixer is needed for this recipe! Just grab a bowl and whisk and you’ll be well on your way to Peanut Butter Cookie heaven.

Why Do They Use Criss-Cross Patterns On Peanut Butter Cookies?

Typical peanut butter cookie dough is much denser than most other cookie doughs, so the criss-cross indentations are to help flatten the cookie. It also encourages even baking.

While you can’t beat three-ingredient peanut butter cookies in the department of short ingredient lists, they definitely leave me wanting more. Those types of peanut butter cookies (that are crisscrossed with a fork) aren’t my favorite. Any I’ve had are often dry, too crisp, and typically a bit lackluster in the flavor department. So, no fork marks are required for this recipe and get ready for the softest and chewiest Peanut Butter Cookies around.

Of course, you may prefer crisp and crunchy peanut butter cookies instead. And if that’s the case, I’d recommend this recipe!

Process shots of Peanut Butter Cookies-- images of the eggs being added andeverything being mixed together

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies

  1. To make a Peanut Butter Cookie soft and chewy (as opposed to crispy), the cookie needs to have a higher moisture content than typical. You achieve this by using two large eggs instead of just one, an entire cup of brown sugar (the added molasses has a 10% water composition), and overall less flour.
  2. To get the cookies even chewier, we melt the butter. When you mix room temperature (or cold) butter with sugar and other ingredients, you’re introducing air, which gets trapped in whatever you’re baking, and that results in a more cake-like texture. Melting the butter eliminates any air getting trapped inside and makes the cookies chewier.
  3. Finally, it helps to chill the dough. When you chill the dough, the butter solidifies, allowing it to melt slower when it’s baked. This creates a thicker cookie and prevents the cookie from going flat and becoming crispy. Chilling the dough also gives the sugar time to absorb more of the liquid and become more concentrated. Concentrated sugar is going to give you a chewier and sweeter cookie. The recommended chill time on these cookies is 30 minutes, so that’s not too bad!
  • If you’re wondering how to make peanut butter no-bake cookies, try these Avalanche Cookies or these Healthy No-bake Cookies.
  • Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with this recipe.
  • Make peanut butter cookies healthier by using honey and oats and reducing the sugar (which is what I do in these Healthy Breakfast Cookies!)
  • Try this recipe for peanut butter cookies vegan-style! (Replace the honey with agave, use a vegan rice crisp cereal, and vegan chocolate for the drizzle.)
  • To make peanut butter cookies without brown sugar, replace the brown sugar with white sugar. (The cookies will be crunchier and less chewy this way.)

Process shots-- images of the baking soda, salt, and flour being added and mixed together and then rolling the dough into a ball to be baked

Peanut Butter Cookies Tips

  • Use room-temperature eggs. This ensures the eggs disperse more evenly into the batter, giving these cookies a lighter texture (the eggs trap in the air). Soaking refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes is a quick way to do this. Otherwise, pull the eggs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before use.
  • Add eggs one at a time. Each egg should be thoroughly mixed in before adding the next egg. This allows the eggs to be evenly mixed in AND allows the eggs to emulsify with the fats (that’s the butter in this recipe).
  • Bake on a Silpat liner. These cookies come out best when baked on a silicone liner — they bake evenly and the bottoms won’t get too crispy. (Parchment paper is the next best thing!)
  • Use a food scale if you have one. A food scale ensures the right amount of flour (measuring flour can vary wildly from person to person!). It also makes sure you’ve got even-sized cookie dough balls (and evenly baked cookies). If you’re simply eyeballing portions, you may end up with some over-baked cookies while other cookies aren’t fully baked through because of inconsistent cookie dough ball sizes.
  • Roll large cookie dough balls. We have made this recipe dozens of times and experimented quite a bit with the size of the cookie dough balls. While you may want smaller cookies, the texture is not the same. The “sweet spot” for this recipe is exactly 3 tablespoons (60 grams) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect!

Overhead image of the freshly baked cookie

Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs

Why are my Peanut Butter Cookies dry and crumbly?

Too much flour can make peanut butter cookies dry, crumbly, and flavorless. Overbaking also dries them out.

How do you make Peanut Butter Cookies turn out well?

Here are my top tips for baking the best peanut butter cookies:

  1. Follow the recipe carefully.
  2. Bake at 325°F instead of the typical 350°F.
  3. Roll even-sized large cookie dough balls.
  4. Use a food scale for perfect measurements every time.
  5. Dip in chocolate! For a fun flavor enhancement, dip half of the cookie in chocolate or drizzle melted chocolate on top.

What happens if you don’t flatten Peanut Butter Cookies?

Peanut butter cookies are dense and don’t spread much. Flatten the dough balls a bit before baking for even cooking.

Image of a Peanut Butter Cookie split in half

Storage

Storage And Freezing

The yield from this Peanut Butter Cookie recipe stores well at room temperature (in an airtight container) for 3-4 days. Baked cookies freeze okay, but it’s even better to freeze the dough!

To do so: Place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until hard. Then, move them to an airtight container and keep frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, put them directly in the oven from the freezer—no need to thaw. Just bake a little longer until the edges are firm but the middle stays soft.

Use Leftover Peanut Butter In One Of These Recipes

4.86 from 41 votes

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are our all-time favorite Peanut Butter Cookies -- they're thick, soft & chewy, and have a rich peanut butter flavor with plenty of sweetness. Jazz these cookies up even more if you'd like, by dipping half in melted chocolate (optional).
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Chilling Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 1 minute
Servings: 24 large cookies

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (this is 16 tbsp.)
  • 1 cup (light or dark) brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling (optional)
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter Note 1
  • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract, optional! Note 2
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2-2/3 cups white all-purpose flour Note 3

OPTIONAL: Chocolate Dip

  • 4 ounces milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate baking bar

Instructions 

  • PREP: Line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner (or parchment paper) and set aside.
  • COOKIE DOUGH: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter until itโ€™s melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature (hot butter will melt sugars and cause greasy cookies). Once at room temperature, use a spatula to scrape every bit of butter into a large bowl and add in the brown sugar and white sugar. Mix with a large whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
  • COOKIE DOUGH, CONT.: Add in the peanut butter, almond extract (if using), and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add in one egg. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated and then add in the second egg. Again, mix until the ingredients are just incorporated. Add in the baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated. Add in the flour and mix again, until just incorporated. Don't over-mix.
  • CHILL: Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, up to 1 hour -- See Note 4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into large balls that are each 3 packed tablespoons (60 grams) in size (See Note 5) and if desired (optional) roll cookie dough balls in some extra granulated sugar. Place dough balls on a lined cookie sheet -- 6 cookies at a time-- leaving ample room (2-inches) between cookies.
  • BAKE: Bake for 8-14 minutes. Ever so slightly under-baking the cookies will keep them soft and chewy. (They also bake a bit more on the cookie sheet when removed from the oven.) Be careful to not over-bake these cookies!
  • COOL: Remove the cookies (if any edges are going wayward, working quickly, press the edges inwards with a metal spatula) and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Cool completely before dipping in chocolate (optional step).
  • OPTIONAL DIPPING IN CHOCOLATE: Coarsely chop the chocolate bar into evenly sized pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. See Note 6. Microwave in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring in between each burst for 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip one half of each cookie into the melted chocolate, scrape the bottom of the cookie on the bowl of the melted chocolate and transfer it to a sheet of parchment paper. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Peanut butter: We love and highly recommend Skippyยฎ Creamy Peanut Butter in these cookies (not sponsored). We don't recommend a natural peanut butter that needs stirring.
Note 2: Almond extract: Completely optional, but it adds an additional nutty flavor to the cookies if you'd like that. If you have some, add it in, but don't go purchase just for these cookies!
Note 3: Flour: Measuring flour can vary from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. If you have a food scale, use that instead of measuring cups. 385 grams is perfect for this recipe!
Note 4: Chilling: The dough is best chilled for 30 minutes to an hour and after that, it begins to dry out and become crumbly so it is hard to roll into balls. If you need to chill longer, just roll out the cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-covered plate. Cover tightly and chill for up to 24 hours.
Note 5: Cookie dough ball size: Cookies work best at this size. While you may want smaller cookies, know that the texture is not the same. The "sweet spot" for this recipe is exactly 3 tablespoons (60 grams) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect!
Note 6: Chocolate: Use good, high-quality chocolate melting wafers/baking bars for best results. Melt in the microwave very slowly, stirring A LOT in between microwave bursts. If you'd like more tips on melting chocolate in the microwave, check out our peppermint bark post. If the chocolate is too thick and not dipping well, thin with 1 up to 2 teaspoons coconut or vegetable oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.3g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 13.7g | Cholesterol: 35.8mg | Sodium: 55.4mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 17.6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

 

Meet Chelsea


Hi there! Iโ€™m Chelseaโ€“the recipe developer, photographer, writer, and taste tester behind Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron (although my little ones help me out quite a bit with the taste testing part!). I LOVE getting creative in the kitchen and then posting my creations here for you to enjoy.

Thanks again for stopping by!

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4.86 from 41 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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116 Comments

  1. Theresa says:

    I know that peanut butter often contains icing sugar. Does that affect the recipe at all? Does the brand you recommend contain sugar? I buy the natural peanut but will get the other kind for the recipe as you suggest. Just wondered about the sugar issue. Thanks!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      If you use a natural peanut butter I’d just make sure it’s really well mixed and not too wet/oily or it will affect the cookies!

  2. Heather Pizzuto says:

    I have made these once before and they were delicious – I am not even a peanut butter cookie fan. Whenever possible I try to include some whole grain flour to improve nutrition. Do you have any suggestions for what alternative flour would complement this cookie, and the ratio of substitution? Some possibilities I’m considering are whole wheat pastry flour, oat, buckwheat or sorghum flours. Thank you.

  3. Anne says:

    5 stars
    These are THE BEST peanut butter cookies Iโ€™ve ever made. Outstanding recipe!!!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Anne! ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Latoya says:

    5 stars
    I made half the recipe for the sake of my waistline. They came out perfectly! Thank you!!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Hahaha I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Latoya! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Sandy says:

    Will it work the same if I add peanut butter chips?

  6. Val says:

    I’m wondering if I could roll the cookie batter in balls and use a fork to implant like # ?