Incredibly thick and soft cookies loaded with peanut butter and rolled in sugar. My absolute favorite go-to recipe!
Peanut butter cookies. While my love for peanut butter doesn’t run very deep, I am completely obsessed with peanut butter cookies! Not just any peanut butter cookies though, I love mine soft and thick, no flat, crispy, pancake-y nonsense here. If that’s what you’re into, these are definitely not for you. These cookies are one of the many peanut butter things requested by Mike {some of his favorites are these bars or his birthday cake last year}, they’re his absolute favorite, and I realized this weekend that I have never shared my recipe with you guys! I don’t know how that happened because I make these ALL the time! They’re my go-to recipe when we need a peanut butter fix and I know you’ll love them!
These cookies are so versatile, you can stuff any thing you want into them, leave them plain, or roll them in sugar like I have pictured here. Other great options are: M&M’s, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, peanut butter cups or make peanut butter blossoms out of them with candy kisses. If you decide to make peanut butter blossoms (ya know, with a chocolate candy kiss on top), just bake these cookies and the second they come out of the oven, press the candy kiss on top. My favorite way to eat these is with chocolate chunks pressed into the top after baking – mmm! Though, I decided to make them plain – just rolled in sugar – for you guys just so you can see how amazingly thick and plump they are without anything in them!
I mean, just LOOK at those soft centers! Can you even stand it?!
If you are looking for a go-to peanut butter cookie recipe for your recipe archives for whenever you need a peanut butter fix, because surprisingly I even get those sometimes, look no further, these are it! They’re the most perfect peanut butter cookies EVER. End of story.
Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted half way
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- Cream butter and brown sugar together until smooth with no lumps. Beat in the egg,vanilla and peanut butter until completely combined. Pour in flour and baking soda and mix until just incorporated without over-mixing. Dough will be very soft and sticky. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes.
- Measure granulated sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Roll 1" rounded tablespoons of dough, roll in sugar and place about 1" apart on prepared baking sheet (they don't spread much). Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool for only 5 minutes on baking sheet and then move them to a wire rack to finish.
- These perfect peanut butter cookies will stay soft and fresh for up to 6 days stored in an airtight container.
Peanut butter cookies are my all time favorite. They sound awesome.
Omg these look so delicious!!!! Could go for one right now!! Definitely saving this recipe
These look like the best peanut butter cookies ever. I love soft and chewy instead of flat and crispy. I will be making these for sure.
These look really good. I love anything peanut butter. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Ooohh looks yummy! Now, I’m craving for those.
Oh great, your cookies are from heaven! Want some.
I love peanut butter cookies. These recipe is so easy and I am making these tonight. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the recipe. Those look really good. I will have to make these soon.
A nice and easy recipe for those cookie season. I will try them with gluten free flour this year, to make my 12 days of Christmas cookies. Thanks for the tip.
Do these work as bar cookies? Looking for a peanut butter cookie bar recipe
I haven’t tried making them into bars myself, but I don’t see why not! Let me know if you decide to try 🙂
I’m not a huge PB fan but they look so yummy and I love soft chewy cookies. I’m definitely going to try making them. Have you tried drizzling chocolate over them instead of sprinkling sugar on them?
No, I haven’t tried that but it sounds AMAZING! I have added chocolate chunks or chips pressed into the top after baking with great results though.
I have a problem with the baking time. I baked my first pan at 8 minutes and could tell they were not nearly done so I added another 2 minutes. After cooling and trying them the center was still not done.
I have not had any trouble with my oven with all the other things I have baked so I don’t really feel it is my oven.
Could there be a typo with the baking time?
Connie, I’m so sorry you had trouble! I double checked the recipe and the bake time is correct. These peanut butter cookies are meant to be under-baked because doing so lends a very soft-baked cookie. When they are taken out of the oven they will look very under-done (this is what makes them super soft) but by the time they cool completely to room temperature they should still be very soft, but definitely not under-done like dough. If they were still not done after cooling completely, then I fear it could possibly be 1. your oven temperature is incorrect or 2. could you possibly have misread ingredient measurements? I have made these cookies a billion times (it’s the only pb cookie recipe I use!) with the same, consistent results and they always look exactly like they are pictured here. Let me know if I can be anymore help!
I just made these and had the same problem, Connie. Put them in an extra 2 minutes. Next time, I think I’ll aim for 12 minutes. That said, even underdone (definitely still doughy in the middle) they’re delicious!!
Had the same problem.
They were basically still raw at 8 minutes. Had to put them in another 4-5 minutes.
There seems so be a few reviews like this on these cookies and I think it has something to do with the oven temperature. Everyone’s oven temperature varies from the next so that may be why that happened. Please keep in mind though that these are meant to be underdone because that gives them their super soft-baked texture once they are cool. I hope they were still great after the extra time in the oven! 🙂
Probably altitude variations
Did you use natural peanut butter or something like Jif? If I make them I want to be sure to do it right:).
I always use either Jif or Skippy, I’ve never tried natural because they tend to be thinner. If you try it, let me know how they come out 🙂
The recipe calls for 1 egg but in the directions it says “eggs”. Is the 1 egg correct? Thanks
Whoops! Sorry about that. One egg is correct 🙂
Late bloomer…
but just found this recipe and I don’t like writing reviews till I try it. ummm WOW! Thank you for a recipe that actually creates a soft cookie. I made these and took them out at the correct time, looked under done but went for it. After letting them cool they were the perfect soft pb cookie. My new go to recipe.
Thanks!
Made these last night and they are awesome!!!
Yay!! So happy you liked them.
I made these today and unfortunately the bottoms burnt on both of my batches. I rolled the first batch in sugar and thought that was the reason the bottoms burnt but my 2nd batch I didn’t roll them in sugar and they still burnt. Disappointing 🙁
I’m very sorry that the bottoms of your cookies burnt, that’s very frustrating! I’m unable to pin point why this could have happened, because it has never happened to me or any of my readers, that I know of. Did you possibly use dark cookie sheets? Sometimes the dark cause the bottoms of baked goods to brown very fast resulting in burnt bottoms. The only other thing I can think of is maybe your oven temperature is not accurate. Again, I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you!
Just made these , baked them 2 more minutes.Turned out as the picture .. yummy
Perfect! 🙂
these were honestly the best cookies I have ever eaten! They were so easy to make and I followed it exactly and they came out perfect! Thank you!
That’s great! I’m so happy you loved them, Casey! 🙂
Made these with natural pb (homemade–just ground salted peanuts, nothing else). Just added a tiny bit more flour (no more sugar–they def didn’t need it) & they came out perfect! So simple & SO GOOD.
That’s awesome! I’m happy to hear these come out great with homemade/natural pb as well! Thanks so much for sharing your results!
I’m gonna try this with Sunbutter since I’m becoming sensitive to PB.
I hope they turned out great!! That’s a great idea to use chunky & creamy.
I’m a huge peanut butter cookie fan. I baked these up and they are truly the perfect pb cookie. They are so soft and puffy and wonderful. My new go to cookie recipe. Thank you!
Yay! These are the only pb cookies I make too 🙂 So happy you loved them too, Karen!
Do you know how many calories are in these delicious pb cookies ?
I just found this recipe about a month ago. My older brothers are practically connoisseurs of peanut butter cookies these days, and I’ve always made them from the box (or bag) from the local grocery store. They were great but the brand recently changed their recipe! We were so disappointed (and I didn’t know what else to do since I always give my brothers a batch of peanut butter cookies for their birthdays). ANYWAYS, long story short, we did a taste test on June 13th (one of their birthdays), pitting this recipe against four others. This one won, and my god, it deserved it. Melt in your mouth goodness, and they come out perfect every single time.
Thank you for sharing a recipe that I’ll be using the rest of my life!!
Emily, you definitely made my day! Thanks so much for reporting back and you’re so very welcome for the recipe. I hope you and your brothers enjoy these cookies for years to come! 🙂
When the recipe calls for flour is it ok to use bread flour ?
That will alter the taste and texture greatly.
I am currently in the process of making these, I swapped out the peanut butter(not my fave), for Justin’s vanilla almond butter. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! How did you like them with the vanilla almond butter?
I love this recipe so much but I hate making them… half the dough gets eaten before we can get it on the baking trays…
Seriously though, I love how versatile this recipe can be and how easy it is to make.
I just made these and put a tiny dent in the top of the cookie and filled it with a small amount of strawberry jam. It worked really well.
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe.
Awesome cookies!
Mmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmmm
Made these for my wife’s birthday, everybody loved loved loved them! Very gooey at first but let them sit and they are perfect just as advertised.
Thanks for the recipe!
That’s awesome! I’m glad everyone enjoyed them, Cliff! Love these cookies!
I make about 12 different cookies for Christmas. Every year I try a few new ones. I made these and they were the ABSOLUTE favorite. They are now in permanent rotation. Thank you!!
Yay! You’re very welcome, Barbara!
Can u use salted butter for peanut butter cookies?
Yes, it shouldn’t make too much of a difference.
I tried a few with a thumbprint and put Nutella in the middle. This was a good idea. 🙂
That sounds amazing!
Could you use dark brown sugar instead of light?
Yes!
I have made this recipe several times. These are by far my favorite cookies!!
I made these these cookies for my peanut butter loving husband and children, pb has never been a personal favorite of mine, and I ended up loving them. I also had cookies that were not cooked at eight minutes, so I extended the time to ten minutes. After letting them cool in the pan for a while (longer than five minutes) and then in onacooking rack, the center eventually set. I wonder if higher elevation could be a contributing factor for myself and other’s who found the center gooey. I am tempted to add a tablespoon or two of flour to see if that helps, but I don’t want to mess with a good thing, because once these cookies set, they were delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I made these last night. I added Resee’s peanut butter chips and skipped rolling them in sugar. OMG They really were the perfect peanut butter cookie! Thank you for sharing the recipe
Ahh, yum! Thanks Janice, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I just made these, used a scoop to ensure my cookies were of uniform size. Baked at 350 for 7 minutes they are amazing! I already baked 20 cookies and still have quite a bit of dough left, so I’m going to get a yield greater than the 24-25 stated in the recipe.
I just made these and they are delicious! I did 1 cup peanut butter because I really love peanut butter. I also forgot to chill the dough – oops. They turned out perfectly – super soft texture.
I was just wondering if you used an electronic mixer or mixed by hand. I’m about to make these right now! 🙂
I usually use my stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment but you can totally just use a bowl and spoon! 🙂
These look incedible. Getting ready to make a batch. These would be even more delicious with Reese pieces mixed in . Yum
Yum! Sounds delicious. Sometimes I like to stuff them with reese’s cups.. 🙂
Hi Abby, you definitely cannot skip the butter. You’ll need it for this recipe. I’m sorry 🙁
Lovely cookies. I used vegan egg replacer, so they stayed in perfect ball shapes, which was actually kind of fun, but they turned out scrumptious despite not flattening even a tiny bit. I also used olive oil as the fat. I sprinkled them with pink salt because I realized after rolling them into balls that I used unsalted PB, and I’m all about that salt 😉 I may reduce the sugar by a couple tablespoons next time I make them because they were a *tad* too sweet sweet for me. Thank you for the recipe!! I cannot wait to make them again!
These PB cookies are a perfect 10! I’ve never left a recipe review in my life, but these are so deserving! I will forever use this recipe! I doubled the recipe, and still flawless! My goodness, so good!
Delicious! Five Star Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks!!
– Jessica
My kids (2 and 4 years old) and I had a blast making these! Instead of regular peanut butter we used goober (pb and j mix) instead, added m and m’s, and blue and white sprinkles. They look like someone mixed confetti and mud but came out extremely good. Thank you so much for this recipe and a new family moment with my baby boys!
Awww, I love this! <3
- Jessica
I made the peanut butter cookies and it came out so good. I left in the oven for 10 min and it still came out moist.. Thank You if I need to make these cookies this is the recipe I would go for…
I didn’t have flour, used pancake mix instead and they were amazing texture !
Very interesting! Lol – glad they turned out!
Awful cookies. Save yourself time and simply warm up some peanut butter and add sugar, then use a spoon to eat sweet, warm peanut butter. That’s what these taste like. I advice first making a very small batch before spending too much time on this. Unless, you are a huge fan of peanut butter, these cookies are awful. If you like cookies with a subtle peanut butter taste, skip this recipe!!!
Hi Jessica, this recipe is just AWESOME! The soft, chewy texture is incredible and definitely addictive …
I’m sure the recipe would also work great with other flavors, such as Nutella – it could probably be substituted for the peanut butter 1:1 without any problems. But what I would really like to find is a recipe for a lemon cookie
with the same soft, chewy consistency. Any ideas? I can’t figure out what to use as a subsitute for the peanut butter.
I tried using cream cheese, but the texture didn’t even come close. 🙁 I’d love your advice!
Can I freeze these?
Yes. You can also freeze the dough into balls and bake straight from the freezer for fresh peanut butter cookies. 🙂