This classic peanut butter cookies recipe is the king of all cookies! It is the quintessential peanut butter cookies recipe with tons of nutty flavor and the classic texture- complete with the fork marks on the top!

Beyond that, it makes perfect cookies time after time. With a slight adjustment in baking time, you can control the chewiness, and they’re made with simple pantry ingredients. These classic peanut butter cookies are just like Grandma used to make.

Turn on the oven, and let’s get baking!

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Why It’s Great!

Recipe Notes

Recipe Variations

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What I Love This Recipe

You simply can’t go wrong with this classic peanut butter cookies recipe, but here are my top favorites things!

Simple, quick prep
Uses simple pantry ingredients
Makes a big batch
Can be as crisp or chewy as you like

How To Make Classic Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

To make this classic peanut butter cookies recipe, begin by creaming the butter and sugars together. Add the egg and vanilla, followed by the peanut butter. Stir into the dry ingredients.

Roll the dough into balls and coat in sugar. Flatten slightly with a fork and bake.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is super easy to make, but here are a few pointers to make it even better.

Order of mixing – The order of ingredients is more important than you may think! Over mixing baking soda will lessen its leavening properties. For this reason, it is typically added near the end of the blending process.

Avoid overmixing- Stop mixing the dry ingredients as soon as the last streaks of flour disappear. Overworking the dough develops gluten and makes your cookies tough. You can mix the flour in by hand to be extra careful.

Peanut butter selection – While this recipe calls for smooth peanut butter, feel free to experiment with your household favorite! Some prefer a crunchy blend for an extra nutty result, and others swear by all-natural varieties with minimal additives.

Rolling in extra sugar –“Rolling in sugar” just means giving the cookie dough balls a dip in a small bowl of extra sugar and rolling them once or twice around to coat. This will give your homemade peanut butter cookies the characteristic sweet, slightly crunchy exterior.

Fork dipped in sugar – You may have trouble getting the sugar to stick to the fork if it is dry. Dampen the fork before coating, and the sugar should transfer to the dough when you make the crisscross pattern. The crosshatch ensures that the center of the cookie, in fact, bakes, and also generates more surface area for browning.

Tips For Making The Perfect Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

What makes these perfect classic peanut butter cookies recipe soft and chewy? A number of factors contribute to the cookies’ delicate and delicious texture.

Baking time – To keep them soft and chewy, they must be slightly underbaked when you pull them out of the oven. Their edges are of course set, but they don’t really brown. The center should be slightly raw. These cookies, even more than most, harden as they cool.
Check the temperature – Remember every oven bakes at different temperatures. Even if you have a thermometer in your oven, please don’t rely on exact baking time, visually check the cookies to determine when they are done!
Use brown sugar – Another key factor is the use of brown sugar, which has a high moisture content. (Granulated white sugar, on the other hand, typically makes cookies crispier by absorbing moisture.)

Crunchy peanut butter cookies – If you or your family prefers cookies with a bit more crunch, simply leave them in the oven until the edges are a little darker brown and the center is not over soft. Remember that they will harden further during the cooling process, so don’t overbake!

Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredient Notes

Butter – To make the best peanut butter cookies, you need to use butter. Margarine will not give you the same results.

Substitutes – If you don’t want to use eggs, substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce. A pinch of baking powder will give the applesauce the additional properties it needs to stand in for the egg. To make without butter, substitute coconut oil, olive oil, or dairy-free yogurt.

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies Storing Tips

Store this recipe like you would chewy chocolate peanut butter cookies. Be sure you have a well-sealed container and keep them in a cool place.

Can You Freeze Them?

Absolutely! You can freeze the dough or the baked cookies.

For the dough, roll into balls, put on a cookie sheet, and flatten with a fork. Freeze on the sheet for 2 hours and put the dough balls in a freezer bag.

To bake, defrost for 5 minutes and roll them in sugar before putting them in the oven. The cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

For baked cookies, allow them to cool completely. Put the cookies in a freezer bag. For maximum freshness, wrap the cookies in cling wrap before putting in the freezer bag. Baked cookies can be stored for 6-12 months in the freezer.

Make Ahead Tips

The cookie dough of this classic peanut butter cookies recipe will hold in the fridge for 2 days. You can make it ahead of time and bake them fresh when you’re ready!

How Long Can You Keep This?

According to food handling guidelines, this classic peanut butter cookies recipe will hold for about 2-3 weeks in the pantry and 6-12 months in the freezer.

Recipe Variations

This classic peanut butter cookies recipe has been around for ages, but if you have a mind to experiment, here are some suggestions!

Can I Add Chocolate Chips?

I love adding chocolate chips and making these into peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! Add in a cup or two of milk or dark chocolate chips!

But why stop with chocolate chips? Add some oats to make peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or M&M’s to make monster cookies! They’re all delicious!

Can I Turn These Into Cookie Bars?

You could press the dough into a pan to make these into peanut butter bars. You’ll have to monitor them closely in the over to get them done without overcooking them.

Monster cookie bars and peanut butter oatmeal bars are similar in nature but have added body thanks to the oats. They’re super moist and chewy!

Can I Add Chocolate To This Recipe?

You could add a bit of cocoa to the mix to make chocolate peanut butter cookies. One of my favorite peanut butter and chocolate cookie combos is no bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

I also love the simplicity of chocolate peanut butter bars. So many great confections… So little time!

What Other Peanut Butter Cookies Can I Make?

You can never have enough peanut butter cookies. I love peanut butter blossoms and no bake peanut butter bars for quick and simple cookies with big peanut butter taste.

For a fun twist on the classic, consider peanut butter and jelly cookies! You’ll swear you’re back at Grandma’s table with a PBJ!

More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes…

Want more peanut butter cookies recipes? Well, who can blame you! Here are some of my favorites.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Brittle
Nutter Butter
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

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