Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies
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Basic peanut butter cookies made with crunchy peanut butter and filled with peanut butter chips. Perfect for the peanut butter lovers in your life!
Ok, peanut butter lovers. Where are you? Because this ultimate peanut butter cookie recipe is all about you. ALLLL about you.
But first, are you team creamy or team crunchy when it comes to peanut butter? I am totally a crunchy girl at heart, always loving chunks in things (hello, applesauce and mashed potatoes), so when it comes to a really good peanut butter cookie, I am so all about the texture.
This recipe has lived on my site since 2017 and has been a hit ever since. The idea stemmed from the CEO from my former job who absolutely adored peanut butter treats. He asked me to make some homemade peanut butter cookies for his birthday one year, but he had a few requests.
He wanted peanut butter everywhere. And he wanted chunks of peanuts. He then asked me if I could make that happen, and I looked at him and said “dude, that’s what I do.” Enter: the perfect peanut butter cookie.
INGREDIENTS
I modeled these cookies after my peanut butter blossoms which are essentially classic peanut butter cookies under that adorable Hershey’s Kiss.
I simply swapped the regular creamy peanut butter for chunky peanut butter and added peanut butter chips. Easy!
This means that your peanut butter cookie dough simply involves flour, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, crunchy peanut butter, an egg, and vanilla extract.
There’s actually one special ingredient I use in these soft peanut butter cookies, and that’s ground cinnamon.
Cinnamon? What? Yes. It’s true.
Adding cinnamon to this recipe yields, in my opinion, the best peanut butter cookies to ever exist. The cinnamon complements the peanut flavor so nicely, and while you barely notice it’s there and can’t necessarily say “there’s cinnamon in these cookies,” you will find a little *something extra* that will make your tastebuds go “woahhhh, this cookie is GOOD.”
Love the idea of peanut butter and cinnamon? Try your hand at my homemade cinnamon raisin peanut butter. You won’t regret it.
HOW TO MAKE ULTIMATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
What I think makes this the best peanut butter cookie recipe is that the process is really simple. Dry team, wet team, chill, shape, bake.
Bing, bang, boom. Let’s get this peanut butter party started!
STEP #1
Start by combining all of the dry ingredients. Again, don’t leave out that cinnamon! If you have some sort of allergy or intolerance, of course, please don’t include it. You won’t need to replace it with anything– just omit it.
STEP #2
Next, cream the butter and both sugars, then finally adding the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract.
Here’s the most important tip, though: do not use natural peanut butter. The consistency of natural butters is too oily and will turn your chewy peanut butter cookies into hard cookies in a hurry. For best results, use the natural peanut butter for my almond flour peanut butter cookies instead.
STEP #3
Once your batter comes together, you’ll add the finishing touch: the peanut butter chips.
STEP #4
Next, chill the dough. You can do this for up to 3 days if you want to make them heavily in advance.
STEP #5
Lastly, roll the peanut cookies into balls and bake them.
WHY IS THERE NO CRISS-CROSS PATTERN?
While traditionally, peanut butter cookies get a crisscross pattern on top, this is not totally necessary.
Since peanut butter cookie dough can sometimes be a little more dense than other cookie doughs, the crisscross pattern is there to help flatten the dough before it goes into the oven to insure the cookie bakes evenly.
While you’re welcome to add fork marks to your cookies, it’s not totally necessary for this recipe. You’ll still wind up with a tender cookie that will absolutely melt in your mouth and you’ll be tracking down all of the peanut butter cookie lovers you know so they can try these cookies.
If you find that your cookies are too puffy for your liking, you can always press on them gently when they come out of the oven.
What to Add to Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Feel free to use any chips you want in these cookies! I have used a mixture of semi-sweet and white chocolate chips as well as cinnamon chips.
Tips For Making The Best Peanut Butter Cookies?
Do not use natural style peanut butter unless it is the no-stir kind. Natural style is much too oily for this cookie dough and your cookies will spread too much in the oven.
Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips storage
Store these cookies at room temperature, covered tightly, for up to 5 days. I like to warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the chips a bit before eating!
Can you freeze Peanut Butter Cookies?
These cookies do freeze well, up to 3 months. You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or bake frozen.
I think you’re going to love this cookie recipe so much for its rich peanut butter flavor, salty peanut texture, and creamy peanut butter chip surprises in every bite (and don’t forget about that awesome and unexpected cinnamon!).
When you’re done eating them, try some of my other favorite peanut butter recipes: monster cookies, fluffernutter bars, peanut butter cookie brownies, and no bake peanut butter pie.
Peanut Butter Cookies With Peanut Butter Chips
Ingredients
- 1 and ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (180g) crunchy peanut butter1
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (85g) peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the peanut butter and beat again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until completely combined.
- Turn the speed down to low and slowly add the flour mixture until dough forms. Add the chips and mix on low again until evenly dispersed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), roll chilled dough into balls with your hands and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the sides begin to form slight cracks. Cookies will look under-baked. For crunchier cookies, bake for 12 minutes. If the cookies are too puffy for you, press down on them gently when they come out of the oven. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container up to 1 week. Cookies may be frozen, up to 3 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen, up to 3 months. Roll into balls, freeze on a plate, then place in a large zip-top bag. Do not thaw, place on baking sheet, and add 1 minute to bake time.
Notes
- Peanut butter: do not use natural peanut butter for these cookies.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Oh Lynn, you know the way to this girl’s heart! You know I’m all about living my best PB life. I cannot wait to fill my cookie jar with these beauties!
Hahahaha, I am actually LOLing at “living my best PB life.” That is a wonderful way to live, my friend!!
Ultimate indeed! These were really good. SO peanut buttery and I loved all the texture!
Thanks so much, Monica!
Really really good. The crunchy peanut bits were the best!
I agree!!
Hi Lynn, I have a quick question. I’ve been making classic peanut butter cookies since I was 9 years old (actually used crunchy peanut butter in one of my first batches; it was all we had at the time). The recipe I use has equal parts peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. These ingredients are a bit different including a net of 1/2 c more PB & butter than sugars. Do you know how this difference affects the outcome of the cookie? I am definitely open to any ideas to improve upon my basic peanut butter cookie.
Hi, Jane! This cookie is soft and chewy. I find sometimes peanut butter cookies to be a little more dense than these, but I love these because they are on the softer side. I hope that answers your question! I’m actually remaking/rephotographing these next month so I’d love for you to try them out 🙂
Holy PB, Batman! These are such a great texture (I’m a soft cookie lover) and really full of PB flavor. If you love PB, these are a must.
I love that you love these! Thanks, Brooke!
These. THESE.
Easy, rich and full of peanut butter. Sounds like the perfect cookie to me!
Thanks so much, Allie! 🙂
Can you use creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy?
Of course! Enjoy 🙂
These are so yummy! They came out of the oven still round but I smushed them with my spatula. I also used chocolate chips because that was all I had, and it was really good. I imagine with pb chips even better. Thank you!!
Hi can I use oat instead flour thankyou and if yes same quantity as the flour
Hi, John– I would not recommend that swap. If you’re looking for a gluten free peanut butter cookie, I have one here: https://freshaprilflours.com/flourless-crunchy-peanut-butter-cookies/
The greatest peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. The recipe was super easy to follow and it was a hit at the event I took them to. Highly recommend this recipe.
Wow, Stephanie! Thank you so much 🙂
Yes, these are it! I was generous with the PB and chips, so they had to bake a tad longer. Excellent.
Thanks so much, Kim!
This is THE best peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had. True perfection. And a genius idea to use crunch peanut butter! They were so soft and peanut butter-y and didn’t have that thick, dry texture a lot of peanut butter cookies have.
I’m so glad you liked it, Tanisha! These are one of my favorites. If you love this one, check out the frosted version!
These cookies are dynamite. All I had was natural peanut butter but I had some Nutella so I did half and half. Thank you ! These are Definitely going to be my go to!
Sounds delish! Thanks for your review, Diana 🙂