The BEST Peanut Butter Cookies (2023)

Buttery soft Peanut Butter Cookies! These are a classic cookie, but I’d bet that this recipe is a little different from the versions you’re used to. This recipe usesall butterandno shorteningfor the softest, best-tasting peanut butter cookie. I’ve also included a video so you can see exactly how I make them in my own kitchen.

Peanut butter cookies are one of my all-time favorites, right up there with other classics like my Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Oatmeal Cookies!

The Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Say hello to the softest, butteriest,bestpeanut butter cookies you’ve ever tried.

I’m not even exaggerating. With their slightly crisp, sugar-coated exteriors that give way to chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, peanut butter-y centers… I’m basically obsessed with them.

The dough freezes well, too, which I can attest to because I have (or, had, rather) a full bag of peanut butter cookie dough balls in my freezer that I’ve been baking my way through all too rapidly. As I’m writing this the oven is currently preheating so I can make myself even more. I’m not sure if it’s because these peanut butter cookies have become one of my top pregnancy cravings or just because they’re that good.

Key Ingredients for the Softest Peanut Butter Cookies

You’ll recognize most of the ingredients above as being pretty standard for peanut butter cookies, but there are a few key points I’d like to make about the following:

• Butter. As I mentioned, many,manypeanut butter cookies (including my favorite version growing up) use shortening, or a blend of butter and shortening. I developed this cookie recipe specifically to use butter, and only butter. The result is a cookie that’s soft and chewy with a tender, buttery crumb and a flavor like no other.
• Sugar. We’re using a blend of light brown and granulated sugar. The brown sugar imparts moisture and a touch of extra flavor into the cookies.
• Cornstarch. Ilove using cornstarch in my cookie recipes. The cornstarch acts in much the same way flour does and helps keep the cookies from spreading too much without making them cakey or dry (the way flour might). It’s key for the soft texture of these peanut butter cookies.

Once Baby Boy is born the first thing I’m doing is diving head-first into a bowl of peanut butter cookie dough. Avoiding raw dough and batter has been one of the toughest things about this pregnancy (thank goodness for edible cookie dough!)!

What’s With the Fork Marks?

Peanut butter cookie dough is typically quite dense and traditionally the dough needs to be pressed down to encourage the cookies to spread properly and bake evenly. Typically this is done with the tines of a fork. With my recipe, the fork marks are largely unnecessary as these cookies spread pretty well on their own, but a peanut butter cookie without the grid-design on top just doesn’t seem like a peanut butter cookie to me, so we keep it classic here!

Tips for Making Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

• I recommend using creamy peanut butter, but chunky peanut butter will also work well if you want a little extra texture! However, I donot recommend using a natural peanut butter (the kind where the oil separates and it needs to be stirred).
• As with many of my recipes, this recipe uses unsalted butter and then we add ¾ teaspoon of salt. If you only have salted butter on hand you can use that and reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon. Here’s more information on why I use unsalted butter and then add salt, if you’re interested.
• The peanut butter cookie doughwill need to be chilled. Cover the dough and chill it for at least 30 minutes. That’s usually enough chilling for my cookie dough, but if yours is still too sticky, return it to the fridge and chill another 15 minutes or so. This dough can also be made a day or two in advance, just make sure you cover it well while it is chilling.
• Rolling your peanut butter cookie dough balls in sugar is optional, but I think it gives these cookies a nice slightly crisp exterior and super soft and chewy interiors. Plus, what’s an extra teaspoon of sugar? 😉
• Donot over-bake these cookies, that’s the surest way to get dry cookies. The centers should actually seem justslightly under-baked when they come out of the oven. they will finish baking as they cool on the cookie sheet (let them cool completely on the cookie sheet).

I’m so obsessed with how soft and buttery and chewy these cookies are that I’ve used this same base for my peanut butter blossoms!

Enjoy!

More Classic Cookies to Try:

• Sugar Cookies
• Thumbprint Cookies
• No-Bake Cookies
• Snowball Cookies

This recipe was originally published 05/09/2018. The recipe remains the same but more notes, photos and information have been added to the post with the hope to make it as helpful as possible!