Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies + Video
These Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies are slightly crisp on the outside, tender and soft on the inside, plus you just scoop and bake them! No rolling in sugar and pressing with a fork required!
I have been working hard to bring you the best classic cookie recipes, or at least what I consider the best. It started off on Wednesday with my Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies, and now we are moving on to these Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. If you like a crisp, crunchy, “forked” peanut butter cookie, then you might want to go somewhere else. If you like a peanut butter cookie that is soft on the inside and lightly crisp on the outside, without having to roll the dough in sugar or fork the tops, then you’ve come to the right place!
Baking Tips
As with all cookies, it’s best to:
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- – Use quality ingredients – a good butter can make a huge difference!
- – Use a cookie scoop (warm hands make cookies spread).
- – Start with a little less flour, bake a test cookie, then add more flour if needed. (We don’t want flat cookies, or dry cookies.)
- – Consider your environment: altitude, weather, if your oven is calibrated correctly, etc. and make adjustments as necessary.
*Read my Soft Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies post for in-depth tips and techniques for baking great cookies!
The best part about these cookies is that they are what I call, “scoop and bake cookies.” I LOVE SCOOP AND BAKE COOKIES! Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all kinds of cookies: cut-out cookies, sugar coated cookies, etc., but sometimes, a cookie is just as good, scooped and baked plain. Plus, it’s less work! These peanut butter cookies are just that kind of cookie. Scoop, bake, enjoy!
I also love the little wrinkles the cookie scoop leaves behind on the top. It’s almost like a crackle cookie. 😀 Y’all are going to love these Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies!!! Grab your glass of milk and enjoy!
Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, gently packed
- ½ cup (132 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
- Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix well and scrape the bowl.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture all at once and mix until just incorporated.
- Scoop dough onto silicone lined baking sheets. Bake at 350˚F for 10 to 12 minutes or until just set. Allow cookies to cool slightly on the tray before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ve made these a bunch of times, but I use chunky peanut butter and I double the amount of peanut butter! So good!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe Jana!
Do you have a recommendation or link for a cookie scoop? The ones we’ve bought in the past always break!
Yes, the Vollrath brand is what we used in the bakeries that I worked in. I prefer the #30 scoop for cookies. Here is a direct link to it on Amazon (affiliate): https://amzn.to/4fmKWao
How did you get them so flat and round?
These cookies spread naturally and using a trigger scoop to portion them helps keep them round and uniform. If yours didn’t spread, you may have over-measured the flour. Make sure you stir it up, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it with the back of a knife. If you have a kitchen scale weighing the flour is going to be the most accurate. Also, make sure you are using a creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butters won’t spread as well.
Can I freeze the peanut butter dough?
YES! We do this all the time. You may need to bake it 2-3 minutes or so longer from frozen.
Do you use all 1 1/2 cups Or 1 cup all-purpose flour?
The recipe states 1 1/2 cups. Everything you need to know is in the recipe card.
Hom much all-purpose flour?
The full amounts are in the printable recipe card. It says 1 1/2 cups.
You just cannot mess these up! The 1st time I made them, I forgot white sugar & quicklyy added it at the end, mixed, scooped, baked & prayed like crazy. They came out perfectly! The next time I made them, I forgot the PEANUT. BUTTER!!! I began to wonder who even ties my shoes but as I wondered, I looked down to see I was wearing my favorite pair of slide mules. Sooo, this is the kind of day it’s going to be. I quickly measured out the PB, mixed it in with my hand mixer & once again, perfect cookies. If I, in all my tired genius can mess these up & they come out A-ok, you too can definitely make the best cookies ever. I’ve never told my ever patient husband how I’ve forgotten some ingredients here or there but someone, most of the time, recipes manage to come out just right. I call this one no fail PB cookies. Thank you for sharing this tsasty treat with the world. Happy New Year from Redding, CA. USA Welcome 2024!
That’s awesome! Glad it’s been such a great recipe for you!
These are by far the best PB cookies ever! Plus, the recipe is soooo easy. I love that it’s fairly small as well so I can get the whole batch done quickly. I ended up making 6 huge bistro size cookies (used a muffin scoop) and then 12 “normal” size cookies out of this recipe. It can be easily doubled if needed though. My hubby loved them too. So far, it’s just us in the house so we haven’t had to share them with anyone else yet. LOL!
I’m so glad you and your hubby are enjoying these peanut butter cookies Beth! We think they are the best as well.
These cookies…chefs kiss!!…I wanted some PB cookies and I’m happy I made them. I don’t think here going to last long..now to the sugar cookie recipe..hint…hint..Thanks
I’m so glad you liked these! They are our favorite pb cookie! Hope you enjoy the sugar cookies too!