Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

The Recipe Rebel / Desserts

written by Ashley Fehr

4.90 from 93 votes

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 24 minutes mins

Servings 36 cookies

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Last updated on May 26, 2020

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These easy Peanut Butter Cookies come together in just one bowl with simple ingredients! They’re soft and chewy and freezer friendly!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (2)

Table of Contents

  • How to make easy Peanut Butter Cookies:
  • Variations on these Peanut Butter Cookies:
  • How to store peanut butter cookies:
  • Tools you’ll need to make this easy cookie recipe:
  • Easy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

I shared this recipe first on Spend With Pennies.

I don’t know about you, but around here we love peanut butter.

We love it in our oatmeal, on our toast, in our desserts (any and all of them, please!), our Banana Cream Pie, and these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

But these easy Peanut Butter Cookies?

They’re some of our favorites.

These cookies are so easy to throw together, and you can mix them up in a variety of different ways to make them more exciting (but really, who needs to detract from that glorious peanut butter?!)

How to make easy Peanut Butter Cookies:

  1. Combine your butters: cream your butter and peanut butter together until smooth.
  2. Add your sugars: be sure you whip your sugar in until it’s light and fluffy! It will become noticeably lighter in color and texture.
  3. Beat in your eggs and vanilla — just until smooth and combined.
  4. Add your dry ingredients — Don’t pack your flour in the cup! Be sure to fluff and level your flour to avoid dry, crumbly cookies! Mix until the dough comes together.
  5. Bake — but don’t overbake! Overbaked cookies are dry and hard and not soft and chewy like they should be. Make sure you bake until they appear just set, even a little glossiness in the center is okay. They will continue setting up on the hot pan out of the oven. I find 9 minutes is perfect for 1″ dough balls.
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (3)

Variations on these Peanut Butter Cookies:

  • Can’t resist the urge to add chocolate to peanut butter? How about a chocolate drizzle! Simply melt some chocolate carefully, then pour it into a ziploc bag, snip the end and drizzle over cooled cookies.
  • Stir in some chopped peanuts for a double whammy peanut butter cookie.
  • Add some chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, M&Ms (oh my word, how amazing would those be??), or butterscotch chips for a new spin your family will go crazy for!

How to store peanut butter cookies:

There are two ways to store these peanut butter cookies if you happen to have leftovers that last beyond the first couple hours on the counter 😉

  • Room temperature: You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-6 days (they will last past that point, they just won’t be as good). The only problem with storing them at room temperature is you know they’re not going to last long! The freezer is a much safer option 😉
  • In the freezer: these cookies can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag up to 3 months. This means you always have something delicious on hand if surprise guests drop in or you need an after school snack!
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (4)

I promise, you don’t need much! Here’s what I use to make this recipe the best it can be:

  • A mixer: cookie dough is a tough thing to mix by hand! I use either my KitchenAid hand mixer or KitchenAid stand mixer (what can I say, I’m loyal!) — it makes the dough come together so quickly and easily!
  • Good baking sheets: dark non stick baking sheets will make your cookies brown faster, so I like to use a light or medium colored baking sheet — you can choose what you like depending on how brown you like your cookies to be on the bottom.
  • Parchment sheets: Once I started using parchment paper for cookies I never went back. There’s no worrying about sticking, no scrubbing pans, and – bonus! – you can reuse parchment paper for all the cookies. Just brush it off, fold it up and stash it in a cupboard for next time.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (5)

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Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

written by Ashley Fehr

4.90 from 93 votes

These easy Peanut Butter Cookies come together in just one bowl with simple ingredients! They’re soft and chewy and freezer friendly!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (7)

Save

Review

Print

Cuisine American

Course Dessert

Servings 36 cookies

Calories 148cal

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter 240g — not natural
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar 200g
  • 1 cup brown sugar 205g packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all purpose flour 390g
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer (a paddle attachment on a stand mixer works best for this recipe), beat peanut butter and butter until smooth.

  • Add sugars and beat on high speed until light and fluffy – 2-3 minutes.

  • Add eggs and vanilla and beat on low speed until combined.

  • Add flour (fluffed and levelled!), baking soda and salt and beat on low speed just until cookie dough comes together.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  • Roll into 1″ balls and place 2″ apart on baking sheets.

  • Press down slightly with fork.

  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until set (a slight glossy sheen in the very center is okay). Remove and let cool on baking sheets before moving to an air tight container to store.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 148cal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Keywords peanut butter cookies

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Soft Peanut Butter Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (8)

Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

Read More

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melissa Stewart says

    Great recipe and if you want to really take it to the stars use Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips and 1-2 tbsp of raw honey . I have a following in my town over these cookies!!!

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Yum! Thanks Melissa!

      Reply

    • Tina says

      Searched long and hard to find the perfect pb cookie and this IS IT!!!

      Reply

  2. Britt says

    This is my go-to peanut butter cookie recipe!! It is such a bit, every single time!

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Great to hear, thanky you Britt!

      Reply

  3. Traci Samaya Hill says

    How does this turn out if using gluten free flour? I’ve never tried pb cookies with gf flour

    Reply

    • Nona says

      Great, gf flour is what I use.

      Reply

      • The Recipe Rebel says

        Wonderful to hear, thank you Nona!

  4. Gretchen says

    Can you make the dough ahead of time and freeze it?

    Reply

    • Liz says

      I do all the time. Turns out great

      Reply

  5. Naomi H. says

    Super quick to make! Easy and yummy. Mine came out perfect, thank you🥰

    Reply

  6. Victoria G. says

    Love it! I didn’t use all the cookie dough, can I freeze that? Thanks!

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Glad you enjoyed it Victoria. I would bake the cookies, then freeze them.

      Reply

  7. Darla says

    The cookies taste great, but they are too pale in color. I even used dark brown sugar, but they look more like a sugar cookie. Lovely flavor, but I think I need to keep looking.

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Darla! It’s pretty typical in a peanut butter cookie for it to be lighter in color. You could try using a different rack in your oven if you are looking for a darker color.

      Reply

  8. Rachel says

    Great recipe! This is the best peanut butter cookie recipe!!!

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Rachel! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!

      Reply

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