These classic, soft peanut butter cookies are easy to make, loaded with peanut butter, and will definitely become your new favorite peanut butter cookie recipe! Learn how to make peanut butter cookies by following our step-by-step instructions and watching the video! 

If you’ve been searching for the best peanut butter cookie recipe, then look no further. With twice the amount of peanut butter as butter, these soft peanut butter cookies have a rich peanut butter taste and irresistibly soft texture! 

I take both cookies and peanut butter very seriously. I created this recipe for the absolute best peanut butter cookies 15 years ago and have been baking it ever since.

Truth be told, due to the popularity of our famous Chocolate Chip Cookies, I receive many requests for a classic peanut butter cookie recipe and all who try it agree it’s the best.

These will not disappoint, they are soft, buttery sweet and salty cookie perfection. They’re easy to make and even easier to eat! Plus they have a secret ingredient that sets them apart from the rest.

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe: Ingredients

Make sure all ingredients are room temperature for best results.

• Salted Butter. Unsalted butter also works well, you may just need to increase the amount of sea salt. 
• Peanut Butter. I recommend using a variety of peanut butter that is solid at room temperature (Jif, Skippy, Skippy Natural, etc.). You can use natural peanut butter, but the cookies may spread more and be more on the crispy side than the soft side. Also, many natural peanut butters are unsalted, so you may need to increase the amount of salt int he recipe by ¼ tsp. 
• Eggs. Check out my eggless chocolate chip cookies for possible egg substitutions.
• Whole Milk. you can use 2%, heavy cream, and half-and-half in place of whole milk..
• Light Brown Sugar. If you like a little bolder, molasses taste use dark brown sugar.
• Granulated Sugar. White sugar or organic cane sugar are both great options.
• Cinnamon (the secret ingredient)!  I truly believe the touch of cinnamon sets these peanut butter cookies apart from the rest. I do not recommend leaving it out, as it greatly enhances the flavor.
• Sea salt. I only ever bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half. 

How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Let’s walk through how to make peanut butter cookies, and don’t forget to watch the video.

Make the dough

Begin by beating the softened butter and peanut butter together until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.

Then, beat in the brown and granulated sugars until they dissolve and the mixture is light and fluffy. You may need to scrape down the sides 

Next, add milk, egg and vanilla and beat again until the mixture is light and fluffy and homogenous (uniform throughout).

Then, add the dry ingredients. You can either mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl before you begin the rest of the recipe – which I recommend to ensure even distribution.

Or you can put them into the mixer on top of the beaten wet ingredients. Either way, beat them in until they are just combined and the dough is uniform throughout. 

If you want to add some mix-ins (to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies), now is the time to do it! Stir about 1 cup of mix-ins into the dough until combined. Here are some suggestions:

• chocolate chips
• peanut butter chips
• cinnamon chips
• chopped peanuts
• mini peanut butter cups
• Reese’s pieces 

Chill the Dough

I tried making a peanut butter cookie recipe that didn’t require chilling. However I found that in order to achieve the best peanut butter flavor and texture, chilling is necessary. 

Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the dough to an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes (or overnight). 

Bake & Cool

Once the dough is chilled, Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop and measure out the dough.

I recommend using a cookie scoop because it ensures all the peanut butter cookies are the same size and bake evenly!

Then, roll each portion of dough into a smooth ball and place them evenly spaced on a large cookie sheet. 

Use a fork to make a criss cross pattern on the top of each peanut butter cookie, gently pressing it down! 

Place the cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. 

If using a convection oven, decrease the baking temperature by 25 degrees F.

Serve

For the best texture, let these soft peanut butter cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I find these are even better the second day, because they have had a chance to firm up. However, I am weak, and can never resist a warm peanut butter cookie fresh from the oven! 

Store

Store these peanut butter cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

You can also put them on a plate wrapped with plastic wrap or in a gift box to give to friends as a gift for the holidays.

Freeze

You can freeze baked peanut butter cookies for up to 1 month in an airtight container in the freezer.

Freeze the cookie dough by rolling it into balls and placing it in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.

To bake, thaw cookie dough to room temperature and follow recipe instructions on pressing the tops with a fork and baking.

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe FAQs

Here are my answers to a few frequently ask questions about how to make peanut butter cookies!

If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!

Try these Recipes

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies