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These chewy peanut butter cookies are perfectly soft in the middles with slightly crisp edges. This quick and easy recipe takes 20 minutes, there's no chill time, and you only need 9 simple ingredients!
I absolutely LOVE peanut butter. I probably eat it every day in some form or another and whenever I make chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies they are gone within 24 hours.
But here's the thing: most traditional peanut butter cookies that I've tried are dry and crumbly, and I'm more of a gooey soft cookie kind of person.
These dairy free peanut butter cookies provide all the nostalgia of the traditional recipes, but with the soft chewy texture of a chocolate chip cookie.
Why These Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies Work
- These dairy free peanut butter cookies are baked at a low temperature to allow them time to spread out instead of being puffy.
- Peanut butter has a tendency to make cookies dry and chalky. This recipe uses just the right ratio of butter to peanut butter and a low amount of flour to create a soft middle.
- This recipe only requires just 9 basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
Step By Step Instructions
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda then set aside.
STEP TWO: Use a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer to beat the butter and peanut butter together until nice and smooth.
STEP THREE: Beat in both sugars until light and fluffy, then add in the egg and vanilla and mix again.
STEP FOUR: Slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
STEP FIVE: Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form 1.5 tbsp-sized balls of dough and place them on the baking sheets.
STEP SIX: Bake one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes. The edges will look set but the middles will look quite soft. Leave the cookies on a baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
FAQs and Expert Tips
This recipe uses smooth peanut butter, like Skippy or Kraft. I haven't tried using crunchy peanut butter, but if you like a little crunch, you can use crunchy.
If you're wanting to use natural (no sugar added) peanut butter, the cookies will be less sweet and they will likely spread out more. Using natural peanut butter will change the structure and texture of the cookies.
This is most likely a classic case of using too much flour. It's crucial to properly measure the flour in this recipe, as even 1 extra tablespoon of flour can completely change the structure of the cookies.
You also might have over baked them!
Yes! In fact - it's encouraged! I often add semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped up dark chocolate to the dough before baking. Chocolate just makes everything better. Half of a cup is usually a good amount!
Expert Tips
- Properly weighing your flour is CRUCIAL for soft and chewy peanut butter cookies. Even half of a tablespoon under or over the amount stated in the recipe will completely change the texture of the cookies. I texted this recipe 6 times - trust me!!! Either measure your flour using a food scale or use the proper scoop and level method.
- When mixing the dry ingredients with the wet, stop mixing right away when those last specks of flour have disappeared. Over-mixing the dough will lead to tough cookies.
- When the cookies are done, the edges will look set, but not golden brown. The middles will look really soft - don't worry, the cookies will set on the baking sheets for 10 minutes once you take them out of the oven. Taking the cookies out at this stage is the key to soft cookies!
- When you remove the cookies from the oven, they might look a bit puffy so give the baking sheet a gentle but firm tap on the edge of the counter to flatten them a little bit.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
These cookies should be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze the baked cookies in a freezer bag for later.
To thaw them, just remove from the freezer and leave them at room temperature until they're ready to eat!
More Cookie Recipes You'll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Video
Equipment
- standing mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (vegan or regular, softened)
- ½ cup creamy/smooth peanut butter (SEE NOTES)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (SEE NOTES)
Instructions
- NOTE: This recipe has recently been tweaked for improvement! For the old recipe, please see "Notes" section below.Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda then set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat peanut butter and butter together until smooth.
- Add in the granulated and brown sugars and beat until light and fluffy, then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix until just combined. It is important not to over-mix the dough!
- Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form 1.5 tbsp-sized balls of dough and bake one tray at a time for 8-13 minutes. The middles will look soft and the edges should look set, but not golden brown (if the edges are brown the cookies are already over-done!).
- When removing the cookies from the oven, gently but firmly bang the pan on the edge of the counter a couple times if they look too puffy. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Please note that this recipe was been updated in April, 2022. These cookies are beloved by many readers so I want to make sure that you can still make the old version. The update was as follows:
Old version: 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon flour (increased flour in the updated recipe to create a little more thickness and a little less spread in the cookies)
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Sylvia
I got a HUGE tub of Reeses peanut butter sauce and wanted to try cookies with this recipe...I made the first batch just as recipe called for with butter and exact flour mix and it turned out perfect...I was concerned because the Reeses sauce was runnier than peanut butter....but they were awesome...
Now the second batch I made, I substituted hard margarine blocks for the butter, as I don't always have butter at hand (and it is more expensive) and the recipe was followed as directed and they also turned out very good....I even added butterscotch chips..very good recipe....thankyou
Gabby
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that the peanut butter sauce worked! Thanks so much for sharing and for taking the time to leave a review 😀
beetee
These cookies are the best peanut butter cookies ever, and that is from everyone that tasted them. I added a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and dark chocolate to half the batter, left the other half w/o!
Gabby
Yay! So happy they were a hit, this made my day!
Matthew
I don't normally even bother writing a comment on any site like this but these cookies are so insanely good on multiple levels it can't be understated. I weighed everything but added 1/8c white chips, 1/8c semi sweet, 1/8c dark, and 1/4 cup butterscotch chips for 5/8c total of chips for just tiny bit of extra chips than a half cup. You don't happen to have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that comes out like these peanut butter cookies do you? These cookies are 10/10 in texture, appearance, flavor, mouth feel etc I'm not joking. They also retained their exact texture for 3 days after baking and that is phenomenal.
Gabby
Hi Matthew! Thank you so much for the wonderful review, this seriously made my day! If you like these I definitely recommend my dairy free chocolate chip cookies! 🙂
Ruth
How many cookies does the nutrition refer and how many cookies for one recipe .
Gabby
The nutrition info is per cookie, the recipe makes 18 cookies.
Jami
Is it my imagination or did this recipe used to call for almond extract too? Lost my printed version....
Gabby
Nope, it did not call for almond extract!