Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
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Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies – super easy, but still extra delicious. Perfectly sweet, extra peanutty, and made only in ONE BOWl. Oh, yes. These are some of the best cookies. Made with only 7 super simple ingredients, flour, baking soda, melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, lots of peanut butter, and finally a splash of vanilla. Every bite is thick and chewy, while also having the perfect balance between peanut butter and delicious brown sugar. They are seriously SO. GOOD.
About The Recipe
Let’s be honest. Everyone loves to start their day with a cookie! And, let me tell you, these are the perfect cookie to start your Wednesday with. They’re chewy, soft, and seriously a new family favorite!
I mean, my mom loves them, my brother loves them, we even gave some to my uncle for him to bake! They are the quintessential, and dare I say, best ever peanut butter cookie.
I can hear you, “peanut butter cookies are crunchy and extra sweet! They can’t be made any better than they already are”. Well, I would’ve agreed with you other day…because that was before I had these peanut butter cookies.
I honestly like a good peanut butter cookie. I mean, I much prefer chocolate chip cookies, but I’ll happily eat a peanut butter cookie if it’s sitting there.
Though, I think I might’ve just changed my mind.
Forget everything you know about a classic peanut butter cookie because these little cuties and the exact opposite! They’re chewy, soft, not overly sweet, and extra peanutty.
I mean, it really doesn’t get any better!
But my favorite part might just be how easy these cookies are to make. My mom and I were determined to make this recipe tasty and SUPER simple, as well as extra chewy!
The way we achieved this was actually all complimentary to each other. Using melted butter and only brown sugar.
These two super simple ingredients create a not too sweet, delicious, nutty, and extremely crave-able cookie that you’ll be wanting to bake all year long!
Reasons You Will Love These Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Made in ONE BOWL!
- Uses only 7 ingredients.
- No electric mixers required.
- Comes together in about 30 minutes.
- Extra peanutty!
- Can be made in-advance.
- Perfect for any time of year.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
- Sheet Pans
- 1½ Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Smooth Peanut Butter – For this recipe, we opted to use smooth/creamy peanut butter to really keep these cookies as soft and chewy as possible! Though, if you’d like a little added crunch, you can use crunchy peanut butter.
- Salted Butter – Not only does using melted butter make this recipe super simple to mix, but it also helps keep your cookies soft and chewy!
- Brown Sugar – By using brown sugar, this not only enhances the flavor of the peanut butter, but it also is the main reason these cookies are so soft and chewy.
- Large Eggs – You will need one large egg and an egg yolk for these cookies. Using that extra yolk adds some extra richness to these delicious cookies!
- Vanilla Extract – Gives these cookies a delicious undertone, complimenting the peanut butter.
- All-Purpose Flour – Provides the perfect structure and texture for these cookies.
- Baking Soda – Using baking soda over baking powder in these cookies yields in a chewier (aka more delicious!) cookie. It also helps promote spread, which gives you the gorgeous wrinkles on top of each cookie.
Step 1: Prepare dough
Place peanut butter in a small, microwave proof bowl. Melt peanut butter.
Combine melted butter, melted peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Mix in flour and baking soda.
Step 2: Bake
Use a 1½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough on prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are starting to brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best peanut butter to use?
For this recipe, we highly recommend using your favorite brand of smooth peanut butter! Every single brand tastes different. Though, if using a natural peanut butter for this recipe, make sure that it is well mixed!
Can I add chocolate chips to these cookies?
YES! I am an advocate for adding chocolate chips to everything (well, almost everything!). If your heart says to add some choc chips, add as many as you want! You can even top them with a little bit of salt after baking to get a delicious salt/sweet/chocolate-y combo.
How To Get a Perfectly Round Cookie
The best way to achieve this is using a cookie scoop, as the dough balls will already be in close-to-perfect round. As they bake, the cookies will spread into a perfect round shape!
Though, sometimes the cookies can get a little wonky-shaped while spreading, but no worries! You can still fix it.
Using a biscuit cutter that’s larger than the cookie, bump the cookies while they’re still very hot to fit inside the cutter and circle around them to create the perfect round shape!
Mix-in Ideas
The great thing about these cookies is that they taste just like peanut butter! Which means…they will go with literally anything and everything! Though, here are a few of our favorite things to toss into a batch of these chewy cookies.
- Chocolate chips
- M&M’s
- Roasted Peanuts
- Marshmallows
- Caramel Chunks
How To Store
The best part about these cookies? They can be frozen for up to 3 months! Oh, yes, that’s right. After baking and cooling, you can place the baked cookies in an airtight freezer safe zip top bag and put in the freezer.
Though, if you’d like fresh baked cookies, you can actually freeze the cookie dough itself! Follow the directions all the way to portioning out the dough. From there, place a few inches apart on a lined sheet pan and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until the cookie dough is frozen solid. From there, place the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip top bag and keep in the freezer for 1-2 months.
You can also keep these cookies in an airtight container or zip top bag on the counter for about a week!
Substitutions
- Any nut butter can actually be used for this recipe.
- Looking for some crunch? Try using crunchy peanut butter!
- This recipe can be made gluten-free if you use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour.
- These cookies can also be made vegan if plant-based butter and your favorite vegan egg substitute are used.
Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like:
Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies
Expert Tips
- The amount of time required to melt the peanut butter will depend on the strength of your microwave! Ours took about 25 seconds.
- Be careful to not over-mix the cookie dough! Just stir the flour in until there are no more pockets of flour.
- It’s best to use light colored sheet pans for these cookies.
- Don’t forget to line your sheet pans.
- It’s best to use a cookie scoop to ensure all cookies are the same size.
- The cookie dough can be frozen and baked at a later date.
- Do not over bake these cookies! When in-doubt, take them out. These cookies are best when they are just barely baked. It provides the perfect soft and chewy texture. They should just barely begin to brown around the edges.
When you make these Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup smooth peanut butter
- 9 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- ⅓ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all purpose flour*
- ⅓ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350℉.
- Line sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Place peanut butter in a small, microwave proof bowl.
- Melt peanut butter.
- Combine melted butter, melted peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Mix in flour and baking soda.
- Use a 1½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough on prepared pans.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are starting to brown.
Notes + Tips!
- Any nut butter can actually be used for this recipe.
- Looking for some crunch? Try using crunchy peanut butter!
- This recipe can be made gluten-free if you use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour.
- These cookies can also be made vegan if plant-based butter and your favorite vegan egg substitute are used.
- The amount of time required to melt the peanut butter will depend on the strength of your microwave! Ours took about 25 seconds.
- Be careful to not over-mix the cookie dough! Just stir the flour in until there are no more pockets of flour.
- It’s best to use light colored sheet pans for these cookies.
- Don’t forget to line your sheet pans.
- It’s best to use a cookie scoop to ensure all cookies are the same size.
- The cookie dough can be frozen and baked at a later date.
- Do not over bake these cookies! When in-doubt, take them out. These cookies are best when they are just barely baked. It provides the perfect soft and chewy texture. They should just barely begin to brown around the edges.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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