Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

These PERFECT peanut butter cookies definitely live up to their name! They contain all of the best textures – soft, buttery, chewy, rich – along with a delicious crunchy peanut sprinkle coating. It’s also an unexpected peanut butter cookie, leaving the fork criss cross behind and adding a bit of color to give these cookies the attention they deserve.

Reasons to LOVE These Peanut Butter Cookies

With so many peanut butter cookie recipes out there, why choose this one?

For starters, the peanut butter flavor is so rich along with a peanut crunch coating. Those layers of peanut flavor make these cookies absolute perfection.

Combining peanut butter with honey is so nostalgic for me because I great up on peanut butter and honey sandwiches. So when I was developing this recipe, I knew I had to find a way to sneak some in.

Swapping some sugar with a bit of honey creates a dense and chewy texture that’s unlike any other peanut butter cookie.

Paired with a touch of cornstarch, these cookies hit the perfect balance of chewy and soft.

Last but not least, these cookies can be made to your liking. Chill the dough for 30 minutes for a thin but rich cookie, or chill for a few hours to get thick but soft peanut butter cookies.

Either way, you’ll definitely be making this your new go-to peanut butter cookie recipe.

peanut crunch mixed together in a small dish

Peanut Butter Cookie Baking Tips

To make sure your peanut butter cookies do, in fact, turn out PERFECT, here’s what you need to know:

Flour – For accuracy, weigh the flour if possible. Otherwise, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off for a light and fluffy cup.
Peanut Butter – Use standard creamy peanut butter that doesn’t contain any oil seperation. Do not use natural peanut butter.
Cornstarch – Don’t skip this! It adds a delicious delicate chew to these peanut butter cookies. A similar starch, like tapioca flour or arrowroot powder, can be used as well.
Mixing – After adding in the flour, mix with the electric mixture until the dough thickens. Then switch to a rubber spatula and mix the rest together by hand. This ensures the dough is well incorporated without over mixing.
Size – For the best results, use a large cookie scoop. A larger cookie produces a variety of textures with golden chewy edges and a soft center.
Baking – Furthermore, pull the cookies when the center still looks a bit underdone. The residual heat will continue to cook the cookie outside of the oven to produce a perfectly soft center.

a peanut butter cookie dough ball on a baking pan

Troubleshooting – My Peanut Butter Cookies Spread Too Much

There are many reasons why cookies can spread too much, but here are some of the most common:

Under Mixing – If all of the ingredients are not well incorporated, it creates a weak structure for the dough. Give the dough a really good mix with every step except for the flour. Once the flour is added, take your time and gently combine the dough to ensure the flour is fully incorporated without over working the dough.
Rich Butter – For all of my recipes, unless otherwise noted, I use basic unsalted butter. If you opt for a more rich butter like European-style or Irish butter, that extra fat can cause cookies to spread more.
Flour – There may have been an issue with how the flour was measured. For accuracy, I always suggest weighing.
Peanut Butter – Use standard creamy peanut butter for this recipe. Natural peanut butter can cause the cookies to spread too thin.
Chilling – When in doubt, just chill the dough for a bit longer and that should help the spread.

Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs

Can I use natural peanut butter in peanut butter cookies?

For this recipe, no. Make sure to use standard creamy peanut butter that doesn’t contain any oil seperation. Creamy Jif, Skippy, or store brand is ideal.

Can I use crunchy peanut butter in peanut butter cookies?

Yes, as long as it’s not a natural version. Use a crunchy peanut butter that doesn’t contain oil seperation.

Can these peanut butter cookies be made gluten free?

I haven’t tested it but if I were to try, I would simply swap the flour with an all-purpose gluten free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour.

Can I coat the cookies in plain sugar?

Yes, feel free to skip the peanut sprinkles and just use sugar for the coating.

Can peanut butter cookie dough be frozen?

Yes, but the sprinkle coating likely won’t hold up so I suggest leaving out the sprinkles and just use sugar and peanuts (or just sugar). After the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, roll and coat the balls and then place into a freezer bag to freeze for a couple months. Allow the dough to thaw before baking.

How do you store peanut butter cookies?

These peanut butter cookies should be kept in an air tight container at room temperature. Since they contain honey, the cookies will stay soft for quite some time. But they should be consumed within 5 days for the best flavor and texture.

a bite taken from a soft peanut butter cookie

For more peanut butter cookies, check out my:

Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and comment below if you make these Peanut Butter Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!

Watch how to make these perfect peanut butter cookies:

@butternutbakery
perfect soft and chewy peanut butter cookies 💖
♬ original sound – Jenna | Butternut Bakery