Classic homemade Peanut Butter Cookies with a soft and chewy center, crisp edges and the signature criss-cross top. Easy to make with pantry staples and packed with rich peanut butter flavor!
My dad LOVES chewy peanut butter cookies, so whenever we have a family get together, someone will bake a batch for him. That someone is usually ME.
This recipe was originally published in February 2011. The photos and recipe notes were updated in May 2025.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
Taste & Texture: soft chewy peanut butter cookies with crisp edges from rolling in granulated sugar.
Ingredient Tip: Swap out creamy peanut butter for crunchy to change the texture.
Make ahead: Scoop and freeze cookie dough balls and bake straight from frozen. Add an extra minute or two to bake time.
Storage: Keep baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Top Tip: For uniform cookies, use a metal cookie scoop.
When I think back to childhood or a time when I’m truly happy, it usually results in a memory around food.
From learning how to make no bake cookies in grade school, to enjoying a chocolate chip cookie after my first day of high school, to being surprised with a batch Oatmeal Raisin cookies in college.
Today’s cookie recipe is no exception.
These peanut butter cookies are amazing!!! The perfect balance of peanut flavor with a soft middle and lightly crisp exterior.
– Valerie
Pantry Ingredients You Need
Unlike other cookie recipes, there’s a good chance you have everything you’ll need for these peanut butter cookies right in your pantry. Today.
- Peanut Butter. The type of peanut butter for perfect peanut butter cookies is important. This is not the time to be healthy and opt for a natural brand. Go ahead and be choosy, pick Jif or Skippy. The sugars in the peanut butter and the lack of oils (like you find in a natural brand) help create and perfect texture to these cookies!
- Sugar. Today’s easy peanut butter cookies will have a combination of white sugar (granulated sugar) and light brown sugar. This helps create that chewy texture you’re craving in peanut butter cookies!
- Unsalted Butter- Start by softening your butter (use my guide on how to soften butter quickly). Be sure to choose unsalted to make sure you can control the salt in the recipe.
Aimee’s Pro Tip
Today’s cookie dough recipe can be made 48 hours in advance. If chilling dough longer than one hour, let it warm up at room temperature until you can handle it without it sticking or crumbling!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
Make the cookie dough. Start by making the simple peanut butter cookie dough. Don’t overmix after adding the dry ingredients.
Shape. Roll cookie dough into peanut butter balls. Roll in sugar then press with a fork to create the classic criss-cross pattern.
Bake. Peanut butter cookies bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I prefer to under bake slightly for an even softer center!
More Cookie Recipes
- Love easy cookie recipes? Try my 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter cookies for a true 3 ingredient recipe.
- These Oreo Cheesecake cookies are soft and pillowy and loaded with Oreo cookies.
- This recipe for kolache cookies has been in my family for several generations. That is how amazing it is!
- My cut out sugar cookie recipe is one that is not only great for Christmas, but you can make a batch any holiday. If you love sugar cookie frosting, bake and frost a batch today.
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Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar divided
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with 1 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat until creamy.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter. Mix until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture, blending until combined (do not over beat). The crumbs will come together to form a dough, that's when you stop mixing!
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate cookie dough for one hour.
- When ready, add remaining 1/2 cup sugar to a small bowl. Using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, spoon dough and roll into a ball. Roll in sugar and place on parchment covered baking sheet.
- Use the tines of a fork to press criss-cross marks.
- Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. ENJOY.
Notes
- Use parchment paper or silpat when baking. The extra sugar on the cookie can stick to the pan.
- Wonder why fork marks are used? Peanut butter cookies are dense and don’t spread as much as most types. The fork marks help ensure even baking.
- Want to change up the flavor? Try mixing in some chocolate chips or M&M’S candies to the dough.
- Need something even easier? This 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie recipe is THE BOMB. No flour needed!
- Chilling the dough in this recipe is important! It helps the softened butter bind to the peanut butter creating the perfect texture!
- Dry dough? Be sure you use your hands to roll the cookie dough balls, the warmth will help dough form.
Video
Nutrition
More Cookie Recipes
Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies. Soft and chewy, easy to make, and topped with a sweet sugar coating. You’re going to love this delicious recipe!
Love love love ❤️ these cookies such wonderful flavor I use to use my Grandmas recipe sorry Grandma these are better! Thank you for my new peanut butter cookie recipe!
Grandma would want the best for you 🙂
Good cookies. I might try crunchy peanut butter next time. I had to be careful because they crumbled easily, but they taste great.
Yummiest!!! I halved the recipe because it’s just the two of us and it was fine. I also baked mine longer because I like them crunchy. (I also always use extra crunchy peanut butter)
This is my only recipe I will ever use. I was so happy to find it last Christmas to add to my holiday cookie gift boxes. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
So glad you love it!
So you block people who give bad reviews?
Um no?
No, you’re still here.
I love peanut butter cookies and I haven’t found a recipe that matched the ones my grandma used to make me until this recipe! Thank you for bringing back that memory for me and a new memory for my son. (I made half the dough after an hour of refrigeration and they were perfect; I made the other half the next morning and again the cookies turned out perfect.) Not dry or crumbly but soft and chewy just as you described 😍
Mine did not bind, and I followed the recipe to a T. Took the dough out of the fridge, and tried to roll them, but they crumbles. I used natural PB, and I’m wondering if the additional oil in it made it hard to bind. Gonna work another egg into the mixture by hand, and see if I can salvage.
For those who said that they are crumbly, wondering what type of PB you used.
I do advise in the blog post to avoid natural peanut butters. They don’t have the same texture.
Aimee u done it again.
Peanut butter cookies.. etc…all 5/5
Everyone loves….this again
So glad you loved this one too!!
Love every recipe I have tried,everyone has been a success.Thanks
These were delicious! Very soft and great peanut butter flavour. My family loved them.
I know right.
Very tasty but a little dry. Also, the cookies turned out huge! I make cookies all the time but this was my first time making peanut butter cookies. I measured properly so I’m not sure why they didn’t turn out soft and chewy. But they are delicious!
Delicious! They turned out perfect! Thank you for the recipe!
Delicious! These came out perfect! My whole family loved them! I would like to try them next time with mini chocolate chips. Wonder if that would work?
Yes, Connie! I use regular chocolate chips in mine all the time. A really fun thing to do is buy those really little peanut butter cups that come in the bag unwrapped and cut them in half and use those!
Aimee, your recipe is confusing. In the verbage it says 1C sugar and brown sugar. And in the actual recipe it says 1 1/2 Cups divided. Which is it? How can people use the correct measurements? Please consider corrections.
Also, in your bullet points you use the word unsure and I believe you mean ensure. (It’s the 2nd bullet point.)
I’ll try the recipe when it’s more clear.
If you read the directions, it says 1 1/2 cups, divided for the granulated sugar. If you read further, it says you take that 1/2 cup remaining and use it to roll the cookies in. Please consider reading the entire recipe before being rude.
Great recipe loved all the details!
I meant , good answer Aimee!
Good on ya Aimee. I hate rude people.
Good answer 🤣
great recipe !! Anything I make with a flour dough I let rest for at least an hour. My hands don’t work like they used to so I shape the dough into logs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Set out about 15-20 minutes then cut into 1/4 inch slices. Have a shallow bowl with white sugar in it. place the cut dough into the sugar. Press lightly then flip over. Bake as instructed but may take less time. I use this method for all my cookies now. I didn’t bake for a long time and I missed it. You have a wonderful site and I will be back…Often
yep. read, and read again
Yes, I had to read the recipe twice, to understand it. But that’s definitely MY fault. I only skimmed it the first time, then got confused on the sugar stuff. But I went back and read the whole recipe, and yes it is super clear WHAT you should do and HOW to do it all.
This was a fantastic recipe!!…. some of the people who are saying it’s dry,it’s probably because they didn’t measure their flour correctly, or over mixing the cookie dough, that will make it very dry. .
I loved this recipe. I am saving it for sure!. Now I’m going to check out your other ones. Thanks!
You obviously didn’t read the entire recipe. Maybe learn to follow directions before making rude comments.
You need to read the directions of the recipes you
Are going to be trying out ( Especially if it’s a new recipe) before starting off . You’ll save yourself a lot
Of wasted good ingredients & not be so embarrassed
That you made a mistake by rushing through an unfamiliar recipe. We’ve all been there when we are
In a rush .
My cookies also seem crumbly and I did measure exactly. These make GIGANTIC cookies using 2 Tbsp of dough. I cut it down the size after the first tray.
My husband’s favorite cookie….I’ll be making them later today! Our daughter invited us to dinner tomorrow, & I’ll be taking some to them.
These are the best!! My family loves them. So easy to make.
Hi, Using my own GF blend, I used your recipe verbatim and the cookies were delicious. They weren’t chewy, had a delicate texture, I did sift my flour before making and used xanthan gum, next time I’ll use guar gum as it has a tendency to leave a moist texture. Still delicious, we loved them.
I made these cookies for my mom and friends and everyone loves, but me. They weren’t soft nor chewy. I love my cookies soft and chewy. I followed the recipe exactly. What did I do wrong? Thanks
Hi,
Mine was extremely crumbly, I used caster sugar, can that be the reason why?
Thank you!
Caster sugar is more fine than granulated, so it could be, because you’d be using MORE sugar than needed.
You go girl!!! My favorite peeps in the world LOVED these cookies!
I am diabetic any cookie recipes i could eat
I’m am too, I would suggest oatmeal cookies. if you find the right recipes, the carb count is very low 🙂
AP flour is tough to come by right now. Could I use self-rising flour and just eliminate the baking soda and baking powder? Also, does the salt necessarily need to be kosher salt?
Can anyone tell me why my cookies did NOT turn out right? They are dry, cake-y and crumbly. Did I mention they’re dry?!
Oh, sounds like maybe your measurements were off? Be sure to double check my article on how to measure flour properly https://www.shugarysweets.com/how-to-measure-flour/
Flour can change moisture level depending on the humidity where you live. I always hold bake the last 1/4 cup and only add if the dough is sticky. Same with adding a little more if its sticky after adding the amount called for. I learned this from a baker after moving from the PNW to Texas. Suddenly my favorite recipes weren’t working!