These easy peanut butter cookies call for under 10 ingredients and the results are moist, chewy cookies loaded with peanut butter flavor. Rolling the cookies in sugar before baking gives them a crisp crust and tender interior. Use the tongs of a fork to create the signature crisscross pattern seen on soft peanut butter cookie recipes.
The peanut butter cookie dough may feel soft after mixing. Chilling the dough for at least one hour ensures it's easy to handle and firm enough to roll into balls. Our Test Kitchen prefers to use a measuring spoon or ice cream scoop to help uniformly create each ball. The cookies will spread a little during baking, so be sure to space them at least 2 inches apart on your baking sheet.
If you love the combination of peanut butter, chocolate, and toffee, try our toffee cookie variation. You can find toffee chips in the baking aisle of your grocery store. If you can't find toffee chips, use a chopped up candy bar. If that's still not enough chocolate for you, sandwich a couple of peanut butter cookies together with a bit of chocolate frosting. To store any leftover peanut butter cookies, place them in an air tight container or bag for up to three days.
Ingredients
-
½ cup peanut butter
-
½ cup butter, softened
-
½ cup granulated sugar
-
½ cup packed brown sugar
-
½ teaspoon baking soda
-
¼ teaspoon salt
-
1 egg
-
½ teaspoon vanilla
-
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Directions
-
In a large mixing bowl beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
-
Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until completely combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
-
Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
-
Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour or until easy to handle.
-
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
-
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-
Flatten the cookies by making crisscross marks with fork tines, dipping the fork in granulated sugar between flattening each cookie.
-
Bake for about 8 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to wire racks. Cool completely. As written, this recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies. Double this recipe to make 6 dozen cookies.
Peanut Butter-Toffee Cookie Variation
To create our best peanut butter cookies with toffee, stir 1 cup of toffee pieces, chocolate-covered toffee pieces, or a coarsely chopped chocolate-covered English toffee bar into the cookie dough with the flour. Ensure the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Continue with the rest of the recipe as written.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 82 | Calories |
| 4g | Fat |
| 9g | Carbs |
| 2g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 1 | |
| Calories 82 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 4g | 5% |
| Saturated Fat 2g | 10% |
| Cholesterol 13mg | 4% |
| Total Carbohydrate 9g | 3% |
| Protein 2g | 4% |
| Calcium 10.1mg | 1% |
| Iron 0.4mg | 2% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.