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
Did you make this?
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How long peanut butter cookies stay fresh?
I would say 5-7 days.
I have a great cookie recipe for a half brownie, half choc. chip cookie.
But I was trying to find a peanut butter cookie that could replace the choc.. chip side Yours recipe looks amazing. I don’t want the cookie to flatten to much..So I am going to give it a try. Thank You!!
I hope it worked out for you! Sounds delicious!
Has anyone tried this recipe using gluten free all purpose flour?
My friend Heather has and says it works great!
Hi, love this recipe, have used it several times now, can you elaborate on your instruction of using “good” butter?
thank you
Hi Pamela! Glad you are enjoying this recipe. I’ve found that a butter like Land o’Lakes has better results than a store-brand (i.e. Great Value, Member’s Mark, etc.) The quality definitely makes a difference in the spread of the cookie. The cheaper store name brands tend to spread more than the higher quality brands.
I have made these cookies a number of times and they are always great! I do have a question if you needed to bake a batch and didn’t have enough butter would the recipe work with margarine? Or half butter and half margarine? I always bake with butter but I have definitely run out and not noticed till I needed it and couldn’t get out.
I believe I got your question answered over on Facebook, but in case anyone else wants to know. You can use margarine, but you may need to flatten them slightly before baking. If you use shortening, you will definitely need to flatten the cookie prior to baking. Butter is preferred though.
Is the dough supposed to be light and whippy?
I guess you could say that’s what it’s like. I hope it worked out for you.
I just took a tray of these out of the oven. Are they going to flatten out to look like yours? Mine are still in a mounded scoop shape. I can’t wait until they cool enough for me to try one. I LOVE peanut butter cookies.
That’s strange. They should spread. Make sure that when you measure the flour, stir it up to incorporate air first, then spoon it into the cup and level it off. The only other thing it could be is the type of peanut butter. I use JIF creamy peanut butter. I hope they were tasty at least.
Yes, I do spoon the flour into the measuring cup. I use a smooth, no stir organic peanut butter. That could be the difference. It’s not quiet as ‘loose’ as non-organic. They were fantastic and my kids loved them. The loaded all of them up and took them back to Austin. Next time I will be dipping a glass in sugar and then giving them a little press before I cook them.
I make these quite often. A chewy center with a slight crisp outside?!?!? These are the BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES EVER!!!
Thanks for your comment Jay! I’m so glad to hear that you feel the same way I do about these cookies. 🙂
So good! I split my dough in half and added chocolate chips to one of the halves. So yummy
Awesome! We love adding chocolate chips sometimes too!
Best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made, and so easy. Turned out just like the picture and so soft and chewy! Thank you Amber for such a great recipe! Will be my new go to Peanut Butter cookie recipe!