These chewy peanut butter cookies are soft, gooey, and bursting with rich peanut butter flavor! The best part? This simple recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep with no chilling required.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Servings
12 cookies
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
253 kcal per serving
Technique
Mix, scoop, flatten with a fork in a crisscross pattern, and bake.
Flavor Profile
Rich peanut butter taste with chewy edges and gooey centers.
* Based on nutrition panel
I love peanut butter cookies! A simple peanut butter cookie can be easy to mess up, but these cookies were indeed chewy and full of peanut butter flavor, and they hit the spot.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lauren
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- No chill time required. These cookies go from bowl to oven in minutes, perfect for when that cookie craving hits.
- Naturally vegan and egg-free. Maple syrup creates the perfect chewy texture without eggs.
- Classic chewy texture everyone loves. These cookies are chewy, soft, and perfect! Looking for a crunchy peanut butter cookie? Check out these old fashioned peanut butter cookies!
- Strong peanut butter flavor. These cookies are for true peanut butter lovers!
I will always pick a chewy cookie over a crunchy one, and these soft peanut butter cookies are no exception. In fact, most of my cookie recipes are chewy! These peanut butter cookies have golden edges, soft centers, and that classic crisscross pattern! These cookies are perfect for any occasion.
Let’s dive headfirst into the peanut butter pond and make this peanut butter chocolate skillet cookie, too! Or you can try this chewy sugar cookie recipe, cut out sugar cookies, or these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for your next party or when the classic cookie craving hits!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Peanut Butter: Use creamy peanut butter, such as Jif or Skippy for these and my peanut butter no bake cookies. All-natural peanut butter may be too thin and affect the cookie structure.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides classic sweetness. For a deeper flavor, use half white sugar and half brown sugar.
- Maple Syrup: You can substitute honey or agave if you don’t have maple syrup.
- Almond Milk: You can use dairy milk or any of your favorite dairy-free milks.
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
Variations
- Peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. Fold in chocolate chips for a classic peanut butter-chocolate combo. You can use semisweet, dark, or even white chocolate to suit your preference.
- Turn them into thumbprints! Make thumbprint peanut butter cookies by forming dough balls and pressing your thumb into the center of each. Fill the indentation with a small dollop of your favorite jam or jelly before baking, and roll them in sugar as I do with these thumbprint cookies!
- Add all the mix-ins! Turn these cookies into kitchen sink cookies! Add some pretzels, toffee pieces, Reese’s pieces, coconut flakes, or even potato chips!
- Pair with a brownie! As with these peanut butter brownie swirl cookies, peanut butter pairs well with homemade brownies! You can drop pieces of this cookie dough onto these Oreo brownies to turn them into brookies!
Professional Tips
- Don’t overbake. To keep these cookies chewy, do not overbake. These cookies are done when they have lightly golden edges, and the centers will look slightly underbaked. They will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.
- Press down the cookies. These cookies do not spread much while baking. If you do not push them down with the fork, they will remain very tall.
- Use your hands. This cookie dough is thick; if mixing by hand, you might need to put on a glove and finish mixing it by hand. Just be careful not to overwork the dough. We don’t want tough cookies.
How to Make Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Use these instructions to make soft, chewy peanut butter cookie recipe! Further details can be found in the full recipe card.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, granulated sugar, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Stir well until thoroughly combined.
This can be done with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Step 4: Form thick dough. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, stirring until a thick dough forms. You may need to use your hands to incorporate the ingredients fully.
Step 5: Scoop and shape. Scoop the dough using a cookie scoop or a spoon, then roll into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Step 6: Create a crisscross pattern. Using a fork, press down gently to flatten each cookie in a crisscross pattern. This creates that classic look and helps cookies bake evenly.
Like with these 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies, you can dip the tines of the fork in sugar before pressing them into the dough for an added sugar crunch on top!
Step 7: Bake for 10–12 minutes until edges are golden and set. Centers will look slightly underbaked. Let cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Recipe FAQs
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. The cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Use Grade A: dark amber color and robust flavor. It has the best flavor and is thicker than the lower grades, resulting in the best flavor.
Look for golden edges that are set. The centers will look slightly underbaked, which is perfect! They’ll continue to cook and firm up as they cool.
Yes, you can use almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option. They can affect the texture of the cookie. I suggest making these almond butter cookies!
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk, or any other non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, granulated sugar, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Stir well until thoroughly combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, stirring until a thick dough forms. You may need to use your hands to fully incorporate the ingredients.
- Scoop the dough using a cookie scoop or a spoon, then roll into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Create a crisscross pattern. Using a fork, press down gently to flatten each cookie in a crisscross pattern. This creates that classic look and helps cookies bake evenly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden and set. Centers will look slightly underbaked. Let cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this peanut butter cookie recipe. Check out our other delicious cookie recipes, like these brown sugar cookies or these snickerdoodle cookies!
I love peanut butter cookies! A simple peanut butter cookie can be easy to mess up, but these cookies were indeed chewy and full of peanut butter flavor, and they hit the spot.
I had an undeniable craving for PB cookies after dinner one night, and I only had crunchy peanut butter. I would like to let you know these cookies still turned out amazing!