Peanut Butter Cookies
Soft, classic peanut butter cookies with crisp edges and fork-marked centers.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- The fork marks are not decoration — this dough does not spread much, and flattening it is what lets the cookies bake evenly.
- Crisp at the edge, soft in the middle, and twenty-four from one batch.
- Nothing needs chilling or resting.
Recipe
Peanut Butter Cookies
Classic peanut butter cookies with fork-marked tops.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 2. Beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
- Step 3. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Step 4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Step 5. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix just until a soft dough forms.
- Step 6. Roll the dough into 30 g (about 1 1/2 tbsp) balls and place them on the prepared sheets.
- Step 7. Flatten each ball gently with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
- Step 8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.
Notes
- Dip the fork in sugar between cookies. It stops the dough sticking and leaves the marks crisp rather than dragged.
- The dough will look stiffer than a normal cookie dough. That is correct — peanut butter is largely fat and protein and it firms the dough up.
- Pull them when the edges are just golden. The centres look underdone and finish on the hot tray.
Peanut Butter Cookies — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/peanut-butter-cookies/
Ingredient Notes
- Creamy peanut butter
- Standard commercial peanut butter, the shelf-stable kind. Natural peanut butter that separates has a different fat and sugar balance and produces a drier, more crumbly cookie unless it is very well stirred.
- Brown sugar
- Three times as much brown as white, which is what keeps these soft rather than sandy. Brown sugar holds moisture.
- Baking soda and baking powder together
- Soda reacts with the brown sugar for spread and colour, powder gives a little lift. Using only one gives either a flat cookie or a puffy one.
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer or sturdy spoon
- Fork
Substitutions
- Creamy peanut butter
- Crunchy peanut butter works in the same quantity and adds texture. Almond butter also works, though the cookies spread slightly more.
- Unsalted butter
- Salted butter is fine — reduce the added salt to about 1 g.
- Chocolate
- Press a chocolate kiss into each cookie the moment they come out of the oven, or fold 100 g chocolate chips into the dough.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They stay soft longer than most cookies because of the fat in the peanut butter.
Freezing: Freeze rolled dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes. Baked cookies freeze well too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you press peanut butter cookies with a fork?
The dough is stiff and barely spreads in the oven, so a ball of it would bake unevenly — cooked at the edge and raw in the middle. Flattening solves that, and the criss-cross is simply how it has been done for a century.
Can I use natural peanut butter?
It works but changes the result. Natural peanut butter has more oil and less sugar, giving a drier, more crumbly cookie. Stir it thoroughly first, and expect to need a little less flour.
Why are my peanut butter cookies dry?
Overbaking, or too much flour. Nine to eleven minutes is enough and they should come out with the centres still looking soft. Weighing the flour rather than scooping it solves the other half.
Why are my cookies crumbly?
Usually natural peanut butter, or too much flour worked in. The dough should hold together when squeezed. If it does not, a teaspoon of milk brings it back.
Do I need to chill peanut butter cookie dough?
No. This dough is already firm enough to roll straight away. Chilling would only make it harder to shape.
How do I make them chewier?
Pull them a minute earlier and let them finish on the hot tray. You can also increase the brown sugar slightly at the expense of the white.
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