Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

There's nothing like a peanut butter cookie to satisfy your sweet tooth and lift your spirits. This peanut butter cookie recipe will quickly become a family favorite.

How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies

You'll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the recipe below, but let's go over the basics:

Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients

These are the basic ingredients you'll need for these classic peanut butter cookies:

• Butter: This peanut butter cookie recipe starts with two sticks of unsalted butter.
• Peanut butter: This recipe calls for crunchy peanut butter, but you can use smooth if you'd prefer.
• Sugars: A blend of white and brown sugars creates the perfect sweet, warm flavor.
• Eggs: Two eggs lend moisture and act as a binder, which means they help hold the dough together.
• Flour: All-purpose flour gives the dough structure.
• Leaveners: Baking soda and baking powder act as leaveners, which means they help the cookies rise.
• Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, but it won't make the cookies taste salty.

How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies

Here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make peanut butter cookies from scratch:

1. Make the dough: Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Beat in the eggs. Sift the dry ingredients together, then add to the wet mixture.
2. Roll into balls: Chill the dough to make it easier to work with. Roll the dough into balls, place on a baking sheet, flatten with a fork, and make a criss cross pattern.
3. Bake the cookies: Bake the cookies until golden, then cool on a wire rack.

Test Kitchen Tips

“If you’re looking for that perfect, easy, nostalgic, and delicious treat, make these peanut butter cookies — fork marks and all,” says culinary developer Nicole McLaughlin (a.k.a. NicoleMcMom). Here are some expert tips from Nicole: 

• Don’t forget to chill the cookie dough before rolling it into balls, as cookies have a tendency to spread in the oven and chilling makes the dough easier to work with. 
• Don’t skip the criss-cross step! The fork marks give these cookies a nostalgic appearance, but they also serve a purpose: The marks help the cookies bake evenly. 
• “A lot of people complain about peanut butter cookies becoming crumbly,” Nicole says. “The main reason for that is that they’re overcooked.” Check the cookies at the 7-8 minute mark to make sure they’re perfectly baked. 
  

How to Store Peanut Butter Cookies

Transfer the (completely cooled) peanut butter cookies to an airtight container or cookie jar. Store at room temperature for up to five days.

Can You Freeze Peanut Butter Cookies?

Yes! But for the best results, you should consider freezing the dough balls before baking. When you're ready to eat the peanut butter cookies, simply remove the balls from the freezer and bake according to the recipe.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"Simple, easy to follow recipe that produces a good cookie," according to one Allrecipes community member. "I substitute smooth peanut butter and turn them into sandwich cookies by making a layer of 50/50 peanut butter and icing in the middle of two cookies."

"Made this recipe with a few alterations," says Devionte Martin, who left these cookies a 5-star review. "Added a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and I cooked them for a minute longer."

"I used vegan butter and replaced the eggs with a banana," says another Allrecipes community member. "They are soft and chewy and so delicious! This is now my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe."