Classic Peanut Butter Cookies {Thick + Chewy!}

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Our peanut butter cookies recipe is rich, nutty, and irresistibly chewy! There’s something undeniably nostalgic and completely comforting when you bite into these beauties. The perfect balance between sweet and salty!

This recipe has been in my family for decades. It’s tried, true, and foolproof. If you’re looking for the very best peanut butter cookie recipe, with a classic thick and chewy texture that melts in your mouth, complete with fork marks on top. This may be the one! I can tell you, it certainly is for me and everyone who’s tried it!

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.

I hope you’ll try our peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, no-bake peanut butter bars, peanut butter blossoms, or peanut butter pretzel bites next!

Let’s bake these cookies!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE

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

WHAT’S THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER FOR THESE COOKIES?

The best peanut butter for these cookies is a conventional, salted, creamy peanut butter to create a uniform texture in the cookies. According to America’s Test Kitchen, regular brands are best.. They claimed Skippy as their #1 choice, while another familiar brand, Jif scored very well. I always use Jif and do not care Skippy at all! Feel free to use any brand you like!

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.

DOES THE DOUGH NEED TO CHILL?

No! There’s no need to chill our peanut butter dough! That makes these cookies quicker and easier to bake!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES INGREDIENTS

Unsalted Butter: To make the best peanut butter cookies, you need to use butter. Margarine will not give you the same results.
Sugar: Granulated sugar.
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.)
Egg: A large egg, at room temperature.
Vanilla: I use real vanilla, not imitation.
Peanut Butter: I like Jif brand creamy peanut butter.
Flour: All-purpose flour. I use Gold Medal
Salt: Regular salt, not coarse.
Baking Soda: To give the cookies their rise.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES NOTES

Measure Flour Properly: It’s essential to measure flour correctly. Doing it incorrectly results in dry baked goods. Why do you ask? Because if you dip your measuring cup into the flour and scoop it out, you can easily add too much flour. Here’s a better way to measure flour:
- Fluff the flour either in your container or the flour bag. Stir it or whisk it to fluff it up. As flour sits and settles, it compacts. We want to aerate it.
- Once aerated, use a large spoon to spoon it into your dry measuring cup. Don’t use a liquid measuring cup.
- Use the straight edge of a knife or a spatula (I use a small offset spatula that I keep in my flour container; here’s the one I use), level off the measuring cup.
Avoid overmixing- Stop mixing the dry ingredients as soon as the last streaks of flour disappear. Overworking the dough develops gluten, making your cookies more challenging. You can mix the flour in by hand to be extra careful.
- The order of ingredients is more important than you may think! Overmixing baking soda will lessen its leavening properties. For this reason, it is typically added near the end of the blending process.
Which Mixer Do I use? I use a handheld electric mixer. You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment if you’d prefer.
Which Cookie Scoop do I use? A #50 cookie scoop is what I use. It measures out 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough.
Baking Sheet Preparations: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Rolling in extra sugar – “Rolling in sugar” just means dipping the cookie dough balls in a small bowl of additional sugar and rolling them once or twice to coat. This will give your homemade peanut butter cookies the characteristic sweet, slightly crunchy exterior.
A fork dipped in sugar – You may have trouble getting the sugar to stick to the fork if it’s 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 actually bakes, and also creates more surface area for browning.
How To Tell When They’re Done – 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 brown. The center should be slightly raw. These cookies, even more than most, harden as they cool.
Check the temperature – Remember, every oven cooks at a different temperature, so baking time may vary. Even if you have a thermometer in your oven, please don’t rely on the exact baking time; visually check the cookies to determine when they are done!
Use brown sugar – Another key factor is using brown sugar, which has a higher 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.
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.

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE AHEAD

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 it into the freezer bag. Baked cookies can be stored for 6-12 months in the freezer.
Make Ahead Tips: You can make the dough 2-3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. One-gallon resealable bags work great. Let the dough sit out of the fridge for 30-40 minutes before shaping the dough.
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. Be sure to store it in an airtight container.
Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

WHY DO PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES HAVE FORK MARKS?

Great question, right? The batter for peanut butter cookies is thicker and denser than most cookie batters, so they don’t spread as other cookies do when they bake. The fork marks slightly flatten, ensuring they bake evenly.

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CRISSCROSS PATTERN

When cookies are arranged on the baking sheet, dip a fork lightly in flour. Gently press down (don’t mash!) on the top of each cookie with the tines of a dinner fork, just enough to create the indentation. Rotate the fork 90 degrees and press again to make the crisscross.

HOW TO MAKE CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE

Preheat oven.
In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar using a hand-held electric mixer.
Add egg and vanilla and continue to beat until well mixed.
Add peanut butter to the mixture and mix until well mixed.
Stir in flour, salt, and baking soda until well combined.
Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls then roll in extra sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets; flatten balls in a criss-cross pattern with fork dipped in sugar.
Bake.

***See the full instructions below.

MORE PEANUT BUTTER YUMMINESS!

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