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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 large cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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
- 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
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together peanut butter, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and milk, and mix together until creamy.
- Add flour, salt, and baking soda and mix on low speed until a dough forms.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake the larger sized cookies for 13-15 minutes. The smaller sized cookies will only need to bake 8-10 minutes.
- 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
Karina Gutierrez says
Super good! I loved it delicious! Turned out amazinggg
Keri Stone says
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.
katieonwhidebey says
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!
Julie says
Delicious! I like the idea of making two sizes, so all types of cookie needs are satisfied!
Paul says
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.
tara says
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.
Patti says
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!
Becky Thatcher says
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
Al says
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!
Julie says
Thank you so much for the detailed review. I’m so glad you like them!
Sophia says
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 🙂
Gemma Barks says
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!
Tabitha Huff says
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!
Trish says
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.
Sita says
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.
Afton says
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.
Cindy says
The dough never came together what did I do wrong. I had it on stir for 10 minutes and stayed grainy.
Julie says
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!
Ashley says
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.
Mary says
I’m going to make these tomorrow! I was curious if you HAVE to use milk? Any substitute for this if possible?
Thanks!
Julie says
I hope you enjoy, Mary! Since it’s such a small amount, you could use any milk substitute (such as almond milk).
Eileen says
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!
Amber says
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.
Chelsea says
Wow! These are amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made half as written and added mini marshmallows to the other half and both versions are spectacular. I used a drink muddler to make the pattern on top and it worked so well. Thank you again! I’ll be keeping this recipe for sure.
Lynda says
Just made a double batch and I used up the natural peanut butter I had in the fridge. Finally it’s gone ! & my daughter absolutely loved these cookies.l I also don’t have a cookie press so used the end of my big wooden meat tenderizer was perfect it look the same as the photo 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe. I made these for my daughter who has been bugging me for PB cookies & son when he comes home this weekend I’m getting tired of making chocolate chip cookies. I always put together a foodie care package for him to take back . 🙂
Theo says
My neighbor gave me the jar of natural PB & I had no idea that it didn’t suit the standard PB cookie recipes.
I thought that Julie’s LLK recipe looked the best from my web search & it would not be a huge waste of ingredients if the cookies didn’t turn out or taste good. My neighbor also gave me a bag of rolled oats so I wanted to incorporate them into the recipe.
We are a crispy & nutty cookie loving family. I tweaked this recipe to make a crispy cookie with a pea- nutty crunch.
Add 1/2 cup of canola oil with the vanilla, egg, & milk.
Reduce the flour to 1 1/4 cups
Add 3/4 cup rolled oats
Add 1/2 cup chopped salted cocktail peanuts.
After baking all of the cookies & place them back flat on the cookie sheets (crowding & touching is ok because the cookies are not going to expand anymore) and re-baked them on 175 degrees for 2 hours.
Once they were cool you could not tell that this was not made with regular Skippy or Jiff PB.