Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
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If you're looking for chewy peanut butter cookies, this is your recipe. They're a tiny bit crisp on the outside, deliciously soft and chewy in the middle, and full of peanut flavor. You will LOVE them!
If you love peanut butter cookies, also try our gluten-free peanut butter cookies, chickpea peanut butter cookies, and bacon bourbon peanut butter cookies!
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
These peanut butter cookies are just like the ones that granny used to make. They're incredibly chewy and have a strong peanut butter flavor.
The soft, chewy, and extra peanut buttery morsels are as good as it gets. But to take things just a tad further, we like to add a tiny sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top, just because sweet and salty belong together.
If you're craving peanut butter cookies, you have to try this recipe!
We've made A LOT of peanut butter cookies, and know that they're not all equal. We have two tricks we use that make these peanut butter cookies the best we've tried.
- Cornstarch – Just a tiny little bit transforms these cookies. Often, PB cookies can be a little dry. But a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch makes them deliciously chewy.
- Lots of peanut butter. We use more peanut butter and less butter than most peanut butter cookie recipes. That's because we want to really taste the peanut butter. (Should be obvious, right?)
- A little sugar. Rolling the dough in sugar makes the cookies subtly crisp on the outside. It's the ideal contrast to the chewy centers.
- A little salt. If you love that sweet-salty thing like us, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on top. You won't regret it!
What type of peanut butter works best
We always use natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt!) and it works perfectly. Natural peanut butter has a stronger peanut flavor so it makes the cookies much tastier.
These cookies will keep well for 5-7 days in a sealed container at room temperature.
Yes! These cookies freeze very well. Store them in a freezer-safe bag (we love these ) for up to 3 months.
Warning: these cookies are dangerously delicious straight out of the freezer. It makes snacking hard to resist!
We love this recipe the best when it's exactly as written. But sometimes it's fun to switch it up a little.
- Add chopped peanuts.
- Or use chunky peanut butter.
- Add some chocolate chips.
- Or dip the baked cookies in a little chocolate.
- Try using almond butter instead of peanut butter.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon EACH: baking soda and baking powder
- ½ cup butter (at room temperature – we like salted – see notes)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar (firmly packed )
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup peanut butter (we like salted natural peanut butter – see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: granulated sugar for dusting the cookies
- Optional: flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder.1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon EACH: baking soda and baking powder
- Using electric beaters or a stand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix to combine. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat until the batter is soft and smooth.½ cup butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix only until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Scoop the cookie dough using a medium-sized cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons) and roll into balls. If you'd like, roll the balls in some sugar then place them on baking sheets.Optional: granulated sugar for dusting the cookies
- Use a fork to make a crosshatch pattern on top of the cookies, pressing the fork down gently on the cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. If you'd like, sprinkle the tops with a little salt when they come out of the oven. Let them cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.Optional: flaky sea salt
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
If you love cookies as much as we do, make sure to check out all of our cookie recipes!
This is my first go at these cookies. I had an unwanted jar of natural unsalted PB (mis-delivered) so I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients. And for good measure I added 3 Tbs of cocoa powder as well, then dusted with sea salt when taking the baked cookies from the oven. Perfection!
This seems a tremendously flexible recipe (as the comments imply). I will definitely try adding maple syrup; perhaps raisins. Thanks for those ideas.
Amazing recipe!! I added 1 tblsp of vanilla and maple extract, as well as 1tblsp of cinnamon in the flour mixture. I added a brown sugar & cinnamon topping before they went into the oven. Top that off with a drizzle of maple syrup when completely cooled… AND THEY CAME OUT BEAUTIFULLY!! They filled the house with a spicy aroma that had us all mouth watering and wanting more.
I’ve made these cookies dozens of times. Why did the recipe change? The ingredients section is like the original recipe but when you go into the directions the ingredients are different. Luckily I’ve made these so many times that I knew how I originally made them. I’ll stick to the original, best peanut butter cookies ever!
Hi Carla! We have a new recipe card so the layout is different, but the ingredients are the same. 🙂
I just finished making these! The constancy was perfect but a tad too sweet for my taste. I would reduce the sugar!
They are a bit on the sweet side!
How many cookies should a batch make?
How big should the dough balls be?
Thanks.
To be totally honest, I haven’t made this recipe in quite a while. You’ve reminded me that I need to! The recipe makes 30 cookies. I would recommend dividing the dough into 3 then make 10 cookies out of each third. Breaking the dough into thirds will make it easier for you to see how big to make them.
When I make the recipe again I will update it!