Best Ever Soft Peanut Butter Cookies are a classic. Soft & chewy, these peanut butter cookies have quickly become our favorite sweet treat.
My family can’t keep their hands off these easy peanut butter cookies. This peanut butter cookie recipe is not your traditional crunchy peanut butter cookie, but there isn’t a better recipe. Trust me, we’ve tried them all.
Now, I have made this recipe in two different ways: one with baking soda and the other with baking powder. This was all an accident, and while I originally posted the recipe with the baking soda, after making it over a hundred times, we all agreed that the best cookie results from baking powder. But if you make the same “mistake” I did, these cookies will still knock it out of the park.
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
What peanut butter cookie recipe is the best?
While I love making homemade peanut butter cookies with just 3 ingredients, they are not as soft and chewy as these. I love three-ingredient peanut butter cookies, but I am just not as satisfied.
These cookies go right in line with my love for creamy peanut butter. Peanut butter is my go-to snack anytime I am hungry.
Whether it’s by the spoonful, with pretzels, on a sandwich or paired with some Nutella, I really could eat peanut butter in any way, shape, or form. Because I have a sweet tooth, cookies are among my favorite foods. This makes soft peanut butter cookies an obvious hit.
Should I use crunchy or creamy peanut butter to make peanut butter cookies?
While I typically love creamy peanut butter for cookies, there are moments—like when I eat my morning breakfast toast with bananas—when I reach for the crunchy peanut butter.
We are a house divided between creamy and crunchy peanut butter. My son, Aiden, and I are more in the middle and could eat either. My husband and daughter, Jersey, love crunchy, and my other three kids, Jojo, Cannon, and Madden, will only eat creamy. If I accidentally pack them crunchy, the sandwich will still be in their lunchbox when they get home, making you wonder what they ate for lunch.
We also have extreme opinions on whether soft or crunchy peanut butter cookies are the best.
I tend to lean towards chewy, soft cookies. The best cookie recipe I’ve ever had is my Best Ever Monster Cookies. But most classic peanut butter cookie recipes I’ve had are too crunchy, leaving a crumbly mess. So, I have been on a mission to find the best peanut butter cookie recipe, and finally… finally… I found it.
Everyone except for Aiden, peanut butter cookies are best when soft and chewy. Aiden loves a good crunchy cookie you can dip in milk. However, he won’t decline these Best Ever Soft Peanut Butter Cookies.
What could you add to peanut butter cookies?
Why do peanut butter cookies have fork marks?
When peanut butter is added to the batter, it densifies it. Putting fork marks in the dough makes it easier for the cookie to bake evenly. This will help keep them soft, so don’t forget this step.
How long do cookies last?
These cookies are kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.
If desired, freeze the cookies in an airtight freezer bag. They can last for 1-2 months.
If you love cookies, try these:
I can’t wait for you to get your hands on a dozen or two of these. They are easy and simply the Best Soft Peanut Butter Cookies you’ll try.
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Best Ever Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter use Jif or Skippy type peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper, if desired.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat together until smooth & creamy best if using a stand mixer or hand mixer.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to mix until well combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until well combined.
- Use a cookie dough scoop, or spoon the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in white granulated sugar if you desire and place onto baking sheet.
- Using a fork, press down on each ball of dough to flatten, creating a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
- These keep well for a couple of days in an airtight container.
The dough was dry and would not stay together when I made it following the recipe. Yes, my butter was softened. I added another egg like a commenter suggested and the dough stayed together.
Best peanut butter cookies ever! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So glad to hear that!
Nice job , keep it up
Thank you!
I like your recipe. I made this dish yesterday, my son likes it. Delicious and healthy. I followed your recipe. It is simple and effective. Hope you will have many good articles. The taste of this dish is delicious and unique. Great and tasty.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
Made these the other day and I added chocolate chips and rolled them in cinnamon sugar before baking them and they were amazing! I baked them for 8 minutes as you said and once cooked they were soft and crumbly with a slight chew. I’m not a peanut butter fan but these were so good!
That sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that!
I added some choco chips and my kids ate them all, thanks for your sharing.
This recipe is quite simple and easy to make, highly recommend for everyone.
Chocolate chips are a delicious addition! So glad you enjoyed them!
Wow, your recipe is so amazing. I have never known this recipe. Thank for sharing. I will share this recipe for my friends and my family. I think they love it too.
I’m so glad you enjoy it!
That’s so great!!! Your share is very awesome. I really love cooking. I hope you will share more recipe like these. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
You’re so right! Add ins are fun but these cookies are absolutely perfect as they are. So delicious!
Thank you!
Baked a batch of these bites of heaven this afternoon and they did not disappoint! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth! Yum!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!
This looks so delicious and yummy! My husband is going to love this recipe!
Thank you! I hope you both enjoy it!
These are my favorite cookies! I need to make them this weekend!
Enjoy!
My kids loved every bite of it! So good and delicious!
So glad to hear that!
Everyone at my house loved it!
So glad to hear that!
Looks yummy. I’ve tried to make this for my family, and my family really love it. I will introduce your recipe for my friends. Thank you so much. I love it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better!
Reading through this post reminds me of my good old roommate!
He always kept talking about this. I will forward this page to him.
Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
Merry Christmas everyone! Yesterday my family had a small party so I made alot of cookies, your peanut butter cookies recipe is one of our family’s favourite.
Thank you! So glad to hear that it’s a favorite. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
These are the BEST peanut butter cookies!!
Thank you!
Looks yummy. I’ve tried to make this for my family, and my family really love it. I will introduce your recipe for my friends. Thank you so much. I love it.
So glad to hear that, thank you!
The best peanut butter cookie I have ever eaten/made. Pretty proud that I can call these homemade and share them with family and friends! The recipe was so clear and easy to follow (and I already had all of the ingredients, SCORE!). Thank you so much for sharing <3
I did adjust my cooking time to 5 minutes per batch, that was the sweet spot for my oven. It has a mind of its own so I have to adjust the cooking times for almost every recipe so that was no surprise. 🙂
Thank you for sharing awesome recipe! They turned out delicious and house smells divine!!! The 8 minute baking time is spot on with my oven. The only thing I changed was replacing the egg with a large tablespoon of Greek yogurt (only because I was out of eggs!). I let them cool completely before handling them. So soft and chewy….! Thanks again!!
This makes me incredibly happy, we love them too and I love your addition of the Greek yogurt, I will be trying that sometime. xo San
Great recipe! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe!!!
Your share is very awesome. I really love cooking. I hope you will share more recipe like these. Thank you for sharing.
Your share is very awesome. I really love cooking. I hope you will share more recipe like these. Baked a batch of these bites of heaven this afternoon and they did not disappoint! Thank you for sharing.