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Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

March 22, 2020

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A small stack of Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies.

Here’s the story behind these amazingly delicious Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. Making every effort here not to go to the grocery store unless absolutely necessary, and so I’m finding that I’m closely examining our pantry for ingredients that we have on hand to use.

I had two jars of natural peanut butter from Costco (the kind you have to stir) that I don’t usually buy, and no one around here really cared for. I think we rejected it because it has to be kept in the fridge, and it is a real hassle when trying to spread cold hard peanut butter on a soft piece of bread.

Close up view of Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies on a cake stand with a grey background.

I really wanted to use this annoyingly natural peanut butter up before we opened another kind, and so I thought baking it into cookies would be the perfect disguise. Sure enough, my first batch of these Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter cookies disappeared in one day!

Overhead view of the tops of Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies on a wooden cake stand.

The dough comes together really quickly, and you really don’t even need to mix up the dry ingredients separately like most cookie recipes. I’ve written the recipe with the option of making them huge (like in the photos here) or more like a typical sized cookie.

The recipe will make one dozen large cookies, and I do recommend baking six at a time if you do them this way.

Overhead view of Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.

I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the dough for these large and in charge cookies. There’s something about a really big cookie that makes me so happy!

That feeling of sinking your teeth into such a big, soft and chewy cookie is heaven. They stay soft for days, though I can’t promise they’ll last that long.

A close up view of the inside texture of a Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie.

You can use a fork to make a crisscross pattern on the cookies, but I love to use my cookie stamps for these. These stamps are really beautiful and well made if you don’t yet own any cookie stamps.

Just make sure the cookie dough is about 1/2 inch thick going into the oven. The dough will spread out a bit more as it bakes.

Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies spread out on a parchment paper baking sheet.

All this time at home is leaving us with plenty of time for baking. And maybe we are craving the comfort that comes with pulling something sweet and warm out of the oven, you too?

These Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies would make a great little treat to leave on a neighbor’s doorstep with a little note of encouragement. Sending hugs to you all!

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Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

★★★★★ 4.8 from 13 reviews
  • Author: Julie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 large cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These amazingly delicious Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect thing to make when you are craving something sweet and comforting!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup peanut butter ( I used natural, the kind that needs to be stirred)
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together peanut butter, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
  3. Add egg, vanilla extract, and milk, and mix together until creamy.
  4. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and mix on low speed until a dough forms.
  5. Depending on the size of cookie you’d like, scoop dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet according to the following measurements:  To make one dozen large cookies, use 1/4 cup of dough per cookie and bake six per baking sheet.  For 2 dozen smaller cookies, use 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and bake twelve on a baking sheet.
  6. Stamp each cookie or press a fork into the dough to make a criss cross pattern.  The dough should be pressed to about 1/2 inch thick.  It will spread some in the oven.
  7. Bake the larger sized cookies for 13-15 minutes.  The smaller sized cookies will only need to bake 8-10 minutes.
  8. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Cookie
  • Calories: 344
  • Sugar: 21g
  • Sodium: 323mg
  • Fat: 19g
  • Saturated Fat: 7.1g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 9.5g
  • Trans Fat: 0.3g
  • Carbohydrates: 39g
  • Fiber: 1.7g
  • Protein: 7.3g
  • Cholesterol: 36mg

Keywords: peanut butter cookies, soft cookies, chewy cookies, peanut butter, cookies

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Filed Under: Cookies, Dessert, Snacks

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Comments

  1. Karina Gutierrez says

    September 16, 2020 at 12:47 am

    Super good! I loved it delicious! Turned out amazinggg

    Reply
  2. Keri Stone says

    October 20, 2020 at 8:26 am

    Awesome and easy recipe! I didn t have parchment paper, so called my Gma. She said it s used so cookies don t brown too much on the bottom. She said cut and lay down a brown paper bag and it won t burn since cookies have quick baking time. Also, I like cookies to bake evenly, so I always use an icecream scooper with release handle so cookies bake evenly. I use my coveted icecream scooper also for mini meatloafs and to scoop out watermelon and cantaloupe easily and it looks pretty in the bowl! lol I also wasn t crazy about crisscross design. Sorry, but used a plastic tuna drainer to make tiny pop up designs on ookies. If had heart or Halloween shaped cookie cutters, I could ve done it up! Thank you for reading and putting recipe out her. Keri Stone. Ps, I do not use email.

    Reply
  3. katieonwhidebey says

    November 18, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    Just the cookie I was looking for! Used crunchy natural peanut butter from Trader Joe’s. Also added in about 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, a la Dorie Greenspan, and about 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chip morsels. Making two sizes — small for when we want a little nibble and 1/4 cup size for when we want a BIG COOKIE. Thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Julie says

      November 19, 2020 at 7:25 am

      Delicious! I like the idea of making two sizes, so all types of cookie needs are satisfied!

      Reply
      • Paul says

        June 12, 2022 at 10:44 pm

        Super delicious, I used a 1/2 cup wildflower honey instead of granulated sugar and added 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips . This is the second time making these and they always disappear pretty quick.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
    • tara says

      June 14, 2022 at 10:40 am

      I added nutmeg and I found it detracted from the peanut butter flavour. Unfortunately I made a double batch so hoping it’s just me. I love peanut butter so for me the flavours clashed.

      ★★★★

      Reply
  4. Patti says

    February 7, 2021 at 11:11 am

    I hate baking but these were stellar! I used half smoothy and half crunchy peanut butter. They were crunchy on the outside but just a bit chewy inside! These will be my go-to for gifting! Now I just need to find cookie tins large enough! Thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Becky Thatcher says

    March 9, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you for helping me find something yummy to do with the suckers all natural peanut butter no one would touch. Very good recipe. I added a couple tbsp of cream to loosen up the peanut butter. It was stellar

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Al says

    March 31, 2021 at 12:16 am

    Perfect soft peanut butter cookie recipe. Thank you very much this recipe is my new standard. I’ve now made close to a dozen batches (mostly for gifts but they keep disappearing in my house!). People love them.

    Notes:
    I use Trader Joe’s crunchy salted unblanched peanut butter stirred well and refrigerated.
    Kerrygold butter, salted, slightly cooler than room temp.
    organic cane sugar (slightly coarser)
    Regular dark brown sugar c&h
    Eggs and “milk” directly from refrigerator. (I use half and half.)
    Recipe doubles well but some of the dough may need to be slightly refrigerated while waiting to bake next batch.
    My oven has a 12 min bake time for the larger cookie size for the very soft almost under-baked texture I’m looking for.
    Follow existing directions exactly they are perfect. I happened to already have the same cookie stamp and my final cookies look exactly like the picture.

    This recipe seems fairly forgiving and I haven’t had any real fails.

    If I were to make one suggestion for improvement it would be for weight measurements for the butter, flour, sugar, and peanut butter in the recipe.

    Thanks again this one is a keeper!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Julie says

      April 1, 2021 at 12:25 pm

      Thank you so much for the detailed review. I’m so glad you like them!

      Reply
  7. Sophia says

    April 16, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    I really liked these cookies, however, I found them on the fluffy side rather than “fudgy”, you know? I think i will add more peanut butter next time, or perhaps I over mixed the batter or something.
    Otherwise, I would recommend them to a friend 🙂

    ★★★★

    Reply
  8. Gemma Barks says

    April 30, 2021 at 9:11 am

    Wow!! 10 out of 10 recipe!! First time trying and they came out delicious!! So easy to make even with just using a spoon to mix, I used natural peanut butter and even though it was quite a subtle taste all my family loved them!! Will defo be doing these again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Tabitha Huff says

    October 16, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    These were so good! I was worried using natural peanut butter when all the other recipes I’ve seen say don’t. This one definitely works!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Trish says

    October 26, 2021 at 11:27 am

    I have made these twice because we were given a large bag of sunflower seeds. Both times I have had them disappear quickly. I can’t get coconut oil so I use butter. They have crisp edges and chewy centers and the sunflower seeds add a nutty salty foil to the sweet cookie.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  11. Sita says

    November 18, 2021 at 10:23 pm

    Delicious! Thought you might not know that you don’t have to keep natural peanut butter in the fridge if you go through it fast. I have 2 teenagers so it goes quick. Love natural peanut butter but hate the cold, hardness. Look it up online if you like.

    Reply
  12. Afton says

    January 24, 2022 at 4:33 pm

    I tried these with Fatso crunch salted caramel peanut butter that family didn’t love as a spread. They turned out delicious. Reminiscent of the peanut butter marshmallow squares I used to get as a kid.

    Reply
  13. Cindy says

    February 10, 2022 at 11:31 am

    The dough never came together what did I do wrong. I had it on stir for 10 minutes and stayed grainy.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      February 10, 2022 at 11:40 am

      Sorry to hear this…Might have been a little too heavy on the flour. If you can, just add in some milk (2 tablespoons at a time) or an extra egg. This should bring the dough together, though the cookie might turn out differently, they should still be tasty!

      Reply
  14. Ashley says

    February 13, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    These turned out really great. I don’t have a hand mixer so I did all the mixing by hand. They turned out a bit crumbly in texture but once baked held together well. Saving this recipe to use up the rest of the natural peanut butter I keep buying thinking I like it.

    Also, if anyone is on weight watchers and are wondering the points on these, it’s 16 points per 1 cookie.

    ★★★★

    Reply
  15. Mary says

    July 18, 2022 at 8:55 pm

    I’m going to make these tomorrow! I was curious if you HAVE to use milk? Any substitute for this if possible?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 18, 2022 at 9:21 pm

      I hope you enjoy, Mary! Since it’s such a small amount, you could use any milk substitute (such as almond milk).

      Reply
  16. Eileen says

    October 24, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    Just made these and they are AWESOME! I doubled the recipe, which calls for 1-1/2 cups of brown sugar. I discovered I had less than 1 cup, but was able to use Splenda Brown Sugar for the rest. My natural peanut butter is Skippy, which doesn’t require stirring, but it didn’t seem to matter. I used my 3T cookie scoop (the 4T was just too much cookie for us), and since I didn’t have a cookie stamp but I liked your design, I used the textured end of my meat tenderizer – gently, lol – and they look just like yours! I baked them for 10 minutes. They were VERY tender when they came out of the oven, and I wasn’t sure how they’d hold up, but they firmed up beautifully. They’re slightly crispy on the outside, chewy inside, and they rock the peanut butter flavor. This will be my go-to recipe from now on!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  17. Amber says

    December 21, 2022 at 5:46 am

    Made these cookies last night with my kids. Very easy and VERY delicious! Used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer as we don’t eat eggs and they still came out perfect. Thank you for an amazing recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Hi I'm Julie, and I spend a lot of time in my lovely little kitchen. I love gathering my family around simple delicious food. This is how I do it. Learn more →

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