Peanut Butter Cookies

By Genevieve Ko

Published December 7, 2021

  • Anna Williams for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(580)
Comments
Read comments

No mixer is required to make these craggy rounds that deliver all the comfort of eating a spoonful of peanut butter straight out of the jar — but with the creamy-candy richness of peanut butter chips in each bite. (If you’re a crunchy peanut butter person, you can throw in whole salted nuts, too.) Because of their low proportion of flour, these little disks develop fudgy centers inside lightly crisp edges. There are countless varieties of peanut butter in markets and all yield different cookie results. These use natural peanut butter, which is just peanuts blended with salt, so they taste especially peanutty.

Featured in: 24 Days of Cookies

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 50 cookies

  • ½ cup/65 grams all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, softened

  • ½ cup/108 grams granulated sugar

  • ½ packed cup/93 grams brown sugar

  • 1 cup/263 grams natural salted peanut butter (see Tip), at room temperature

  • 1 large egg

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 cup/165 grams peanut butter chips

  • ½ cup/74 grams lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

7 grams carbs; 9 milligrams cholesterol; 98 calories; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 7 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 44 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon or spatula, smash and mix butter and both sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add peanut butter and stir until incorporated. Add egg and vanilla, and stir until well combined. Add flour all at once and fold gently until dry bits disappear, then fold in the peanut butter chips and peanuts, if using, until evenly dispersed.

  3. Step 3

    Using a small cookie scoop or a measuring tablespoon, drop rounds of dough on a prepared sheet, spacing 1½ inches apart. Bake until just dry on top and set along the edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Do not overbake. Scoop and drop dough onto the second sheet while the first bakes, then slide into the oven when the first comes out.

  4. Step 4

    Place the baking sheets on racks to cool completely. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Tip

  • Look for peanut butter with only roasted peanuts and salt in the ingredient list, and be sure to stir well if the oil is separated. Chunky or creamy is a deeply held personal preference, so choose your favorite.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
580 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

pearl

Thank you for giving us recipes that are hand-mixed!

Boxplayer

"No mixer required" is not the same as "no mixer allowed" -- is it?

carol

If you want all natural peanut butter and don’t want to slop around mixing in the oil from the jar, AND if you have a cuisinart, make your own peanut butter. Put a load of peanuts in the bowl with the blade and turn it on. Let it go for a good five minutes. First it crushes the nuts, then it flops around like dough but be patient. It will eventually turn into peanut butter.

kiki

Seriously? Only 1/2 cup flour ? Makes me nervous

melanie gradinger

Very very soft dough even after overnight refrigeration . I feel like it needed more flour snd will keep making my old recipe

Alicia Sokol

My youngest child heads off to college in a few weeks. These cookies will be in the first care package I send. The recipe doubles easily and the dough is very easy to work with if the butter has been on the counter for a good while. I subbed 1/2 the peanut butter chips for semi-sweet chips for a mix. Fabulous.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.