Marie Saba

From My Kitchen To Yours

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

These soft peanut butter cookies are pleasantly thick, oh-so tender, and packed with peanut butter flavor. With the classic crisscross tops and melt-in-your-mouth texture, each bite tastes like childhood. Best of all, they’re simple to make and come out perfectly soft every time.

The key to these cookies is plenty of peanut butter (3/4 cup compared to 1/2 cup used in many recipes) and the correct ratio of flour to keep the cookie sturdy but still soft. If you have a scale for measuring flour, I do recommend using it. Otherwise, the scoop-and-level method for measuring flour will work.

To keep the cookies soft, it’s important to chill the dough. Although chilling the cookie dough takes a little extra time, the colder dough won’t spread as much, thus keeping the cookies thicker throughout.

Looking for some other cookies to try? Check out our Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Easy Biscotti, Peanut Butter Blossoms, or Snickerdoodles. Happy baking!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup (175 g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (105 g) light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
¾ cup (190 g) creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add peanut butter and mix again, scraping down sides as needed. Add eggs and vanilla and beat again until combined, scraping down sides to ensure even mixing.
Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F (176 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, place 1 ½ Tablespoon portions of dough on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. To ensure smooth edges, use your hands to roll dough into smooth round balls. Lightly press tops of cookies with the tines of a fork to create a crisscross pattern.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are slightly golden and centers are set but still soft. (Cookies will look and feel slightly undercooked but will finish cooking on the pan.) Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes; then transfer to a wire rack and finish cooling.

Notes:

How to Store Cookies: Cool cookies completely. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 4 days. Add a slice of sandwich bread to the container to keep the cookies soft.

*I use affiliate links for my favorite products. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks so much for helping me keep this website up and running!