Best Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Feb 19, 2026 
I’ve made a lot of peanut butter cookies over the years, but this easy recipe is truly my favorite. My secret ingredient makes them incredibly soft, rich, and irresistible every time I bake them. I love how simple they are to make, and they always turn out perfect when I’m craving a classic homemade dessert.
Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies To Brag About
Peanut Butter Cookies are probably my all-time favorite cookie variety. (I feel like I’ve said this before, about my sugar cookie recipe, but I really mean it this time!) When I take the time to make cookies from scratch, I don’t want them to just be good. I want them to be awesome. Mind-blowing. Impossibly ethereal. That is how I feel about my best peanut butter cookies recipe. They are not just good… They are borderline narcotic. If you love soft chewy cookies and (like any true American) you love peanut butter, then this just might be your new favorite cookie recipe as well.
Anna – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Far and away the best pb cookies I’ve had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into. Followed the recipe exactly other than cut back white sugar by a quarter cup. My kid had a blast doing the fork presses. 13/10 will scarf again.
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
I’ve waited ten years to share my classic chewy peanut butter cookie recipe with you. Not because it’s complicated or full of hard-to-find ingredients. Like my pb spider cookies, I’ve just been tweaking it for years, and finally, I feel like it’s exactly right.
Ok, in order for you to agree with me that these are the best PB cookies of all time, we first have to agree on two other statements…
- Sometimes soft, fluffy peanut butter cookies (with the perfect cookie texture) do not have a strong enough peanut butter flavor. They lack peanuttiness, which is the whole point of peanut butter cookies.
- When you add enough peanut butter to give said cookies the peanutty essence we crave, the texture can tend to become dense or clay-like.
Raise your hand if you’re with me.
So to create the best possible flavor and texture, I had to find a way to enhance the peanut flavor, without adding more creamy peanut butter. Do you know what can do that? Peanuts.
By simply adding ground dry roasted peanuts to the cookie dough, you can give the cookies intense peanut flavor, while protecting the delicate cookie texture. Yes, this does mean you need one extra ingredient for this recipe. But don’t we all usually have a jar of cocktail peanuts tucked away in the cabinet?
My homemade peanut butter cookie recipe is still an easy pantry go-to recipe…. Yet it’s so much more!
It’s bold and nutty, soft and chewy, crispy around the edges, kissed with salt, with sweet vanilla undertones, and they keep their fabulous texture for days! You’re welcome. *wink*
Key Ingredients and Tips
- All-Purpose Flour – Make sure to measure well. The most common baking mishap is mis-measuring flour. Stir it in the bag, spoon into the measuring cups, and level the cups.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Double the lift for this dense dough.
- Butter – Always go with unsalted butter for baking. This ensures freshness and quality control.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar – I like to use both because white offers an excellent crisp exterior texture, and brown provides depth of flavor.
- Extra-Crunchy Peanut Butter – Use something classic for cookies like Jif or Peter Pan. Save the expensive natural peanut butter for spreading on toast.
- Vanilla Extract – Or vanilla bean paste. I’m using a good dose to accentuate the peanut flavor.
- Dry Roasted Peanuts – I always use salted peanuts, but unsalted are fine too. Just add another 1/4 teaspoon salt to the recipe.
How To Make
Cream – I start by beating the butter and sugars together on high speed, and I don’t rush this step. I let it go for a full 3–5 minutes until the mixture looks lighter in color and fluffy. This breaks down the sugar crystals and creates that perfect cookie texture—soft in the middle with just the right amount of chew. Tip: If it still looks dense and grainy, keep going. This step makes or breaks great cookies.
Mix – In a separate bowl, I whisk together all the dry ingredients. This helps distribute everything evenly so I don’t end up with salty spots or uneven texture later. Bonus tip: Whisking also adds a little air, which helps keep the cookies tender.
Grind – I toss the peanuts into my food processor or blender and pulse until they turn into a fine powder. This gives the cookies intense peanut flavor in every bite. Tip: Don’t over-process or you’ll accidentally make peanut butter!
Combine – Then I add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat everything together just until combined. I stop as soon as the dough comes together—overmixing can make cookies tough, and nobody wants that.
Roll – I scoop the dough into even mounds or roll it into balls. Keeping them the same size helps them bake evenly. Tip: A cookie scoop is my secret weapon for perfectly uniform cookies.
Press – Using a fork, I press that classic criss-cross pattern on top. Not only does it look nostalgic and beautiful, but it also helps the cookies bake evenly. Pro tip: If the fork sticks, I dip it in a little sugar first.
Bake – I bake the cookies just until the edges are set. The centers might look slightly soft—that’s exactly what I want. They’ll continue to set as they cool, giving me that perfect soft, chewy texture instead of dry, overbaked cookies.
Find the full ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Expert Tips
As mentioned above, most baking errors occur in measuring or due to faulty oven thermostats. When measuring, stay focused. Like with my oatmeal raisin cookies, always level the tops of your measuring cups and spoons. And make sure to fluff your flour and spoon it into the cups so it’s light, not packed down.
It’s very normal for ovens to run too hot or cool up to 50 degrees! Consider buying a new oven thermometer once a year, to better regulate your oven temperature. I do!
Storage
These little beauties go fast, so you may not have many to store. However, place the leftovers in an airtight container and leave at room temerature for up to two weeks. You can even store baked cookies in the freezer for up to 2 months and then leave them at room temperature to thaw.
Frequently Asked Questions
Historically, peanut butter cookie dough is much denser than most cookie doughs. Therefore, if left in dough balls (or mounds) the cookies would not spread and bake evenly. Home bakers found that if they used a fork (a tool we all have) to press the cookies into disks with a crisscross pattern, they would bake evenly. It also creates the nostalgic pattern we love! Although this particular peanut butter cookie dough is less dense than most, it’s still a good idea to press the cookies into even disks before baking. Just don’t press them too much, or the cookies will be flat.
You could use an electric mixer or a stand mixer with a medium mixing bowl & paddle attachment to create the dough. Or you can use the classic bowl and spoon. Use a cookie scoop to keep the dough balls equal in size, cookie sheets to bake with, and a wire rack to cool on.
Yes, you can use a good Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour Mix, in place of wheat flour to make GF cookies. The cookie texture is remarkably close to the original! Also, try this 3-ingredient Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe with no flour at all!
More Top Cookie Recipes
Best Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In an electric stand mixer, add the softened butter and both sugars. Beat on high to cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, set out another mixing bowl. Measure and dump in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. *When measuring flour, stir to fluff the flour in the bag, scoop or spoon it into measuring cups, then level each cup.
- Place the dry roasted peanuts in the blender (or food processor) and pulse to grind them into fine powder. Do not pulse them so long that they turn into natural peanut butter. You want fine peanut crumbs!
- Once the butter mixture is fluffy, scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Then beat in the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla until very smooth.
- Turn the mixer on low and add in the flour mixture, one scoop at a time. Once incorporated, scrape the bowl again. Then beat in the ground peanut crumbs, and immediately turn off the mixer. (It's important to not overmix the dough, or it will become tough.)
- Portion out even 2-tablespoon balls of dough. Place the balls (or mounds) on the baking sheets 2 1/2 inches apart. They do not have to be perfect balls, but you do want them to be the exact same size/weight.
- Set out a glass of water. Dip a large table fork in the water. Then press the cookie tops with the fork to create a criss-cross pattern. Press the cookies just enough that they are flat and crossed on top, but do not let them get thinner than 3/4 inch.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes per batch. The cookies will look a little under-baked when you take them out of the oven, but the edges should be firm and crisp. Let the cookies cool on the warm baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving.
Can u use creamy peanut butter instead of the nutty kind? But still put the ground dry roasted nuts in.
Hi Tracy,
Yes, you can! The cookies will be ever so slightly softer, but shouldn’t spread too much.
Love the extra nutty flavor the ground roasted peanuts bring to this cookie. Not sure if that along with the entire cup of pb & TABESPOON of vanilla gave these pb cookies so much more flavor than other pb cookie recipes.
My only question is I know I let them cool long enough before packing in containers. They seemed to break apart more than I would like. I actually ended up cooking each batch (after the 1st) 11 minutes.
This might be a silly question, but the cup of ground peanuts, is that a cup before you ground them or a cup total of ground peanuts? 🤔
Hi Wayne,
Not silly at all. Measure whole peanuts first, then crush them. I do with with a food processor, but you can also crush them with a meat mallet or chef’s knife.
Far and away the best pb cookies I’ve had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into. Followed the recipe exactly other than cut back white sugar by a quarter cup. My kid had a blast doing the fork presses. 13/10 will scarf again.
The secret ingredient you added is very helpful! I love how soft and chewy they are. I also achieved the texture I like! Highly recommended.
Wow! These cookies were so good. I just could not stop eating them. I am definitely going to make these at least twice next month.