Soft baked peanut butter cookies made with brown sugar to create the softest, creamiest and most flavourful cookie. Intense peanut butter flavour with underlying vanilla and caramel tones, you can’t stop at just one!
Peanut butter is one of those foods that is so comforting, its like a big warm hug. Infusing peanut butter into cookies is a whole new dimension of deliciousness. The flavour somehow softens and intensifies in the best way. Paired with brown sugar and butter, you have a killer combination!
I’ve already shared plenty of peanut butter desserts on my site, including my favourite M&M Monster cookies, but these right here are my new obsession. They’re super soft, moist and tender with the perfect amount of peanut butter flavour. Along with that flavour comes the tenderness of the butter and using all soft brown sugar gives such a delightful caramel vibe to the cookie. I constantly find myself making these cookies even without any add-ins because they’re just that delicious!
Plus those natural crinkles on top are very aesthetically appealing wouldn’t you say.
These cookies are so easy to make, using your typical cookie dough making method, but there are a few tips and tricks I would like to recommend to get the best flavour and texture.
Cookie Tips
- Butter: use a good quality unsalted butter that is softened to room temperature. It should not be melted but warm enough to be creamed properly with the sugar.
- Soft brown sugar: these cookies use all brown sugar. Make sure you are using the soft kind, either light or dark is fine as long as its soft. It should feel like wet sand.
- Peanut butter: use a good quality commercial peanut butter brand. I’ve not tried using a natural peanut butter brand so I’m not sure it will work the same way as the cookies bake.
- Vanilla extract: the addition of vanilla extract is vital as it adds a wonderful undertone to the peanut butter flavour.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough: I tried baking a batch without refrigerating the cookie dough and although it does work, I found that the cookies baked thicker, softer and had those beautiful cracks on top when I chilled the dough. I highly recommend doing this step.
- Baking: when it’s time to bake, roll the cookies into balls and place a few inches apart on baking sheet. You can roll the cookie dough balls in sugar before placing on a sheet. Let the cookies bake for a few minutes then take them out, bang the cookie sheet twice on the counter then rotate and return into the oven to continue baking. Once they’re *almost* baked through, remove from oven and bang again on the counter before cooling the cookies on a wire rack. This step helps the cookies bake evenly and also releases air so the cookies aren’t too cakey and have those lovely crinkles on top.
When it comes to add-ins, this dough base is like a blank canvas. You can literally add anything into the batter before you chill the dough. Some of my favourites are chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, toffee bits, caramel pieces, chopped candy bars and butterscotch chips.
Another suggestion would be to chop up some peanuts and add to the dough for an extra boost in flavour and texture.
I’m super proud of this recipe. It took me a few times to get it right but the final result is perfection. I’m so happy to share the recipe with you guys, I hope you enjoy!
Other peanut butter recipe favourites:
- Classic peanut butter cookies
- Monster cookies
- Oreo chocolate peanut butter cupcakes
- Favourite peanut butter frosting
- Peanut butter & jam/jelly cupcakes
- Banana apple peanut butter cupcakes
- Best peanut butter layer cake
- Snickers cookies
- Chocolate peanut butter layer cake
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Ultimate Soft Baked Peanut Butter Cookies
12 – 14
Cookies2
hours30
minutes10
minutes40
minutesPrep time includes 2 hours chilling time in the fridge. For best results, keep the cookie dough refrigerated overnight.
Ingredients
1 cup (125gms) + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (100gms) softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150gms) soft light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (120gms) creamy or chunky peanut butter*
1 Large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips/chunks, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, toffee or nuts
Directions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter, add the brown sugar and whisk until paled and fluffy (about 1.5 minutes). Whisk in the peanut butter until smooth and combined. Add in the egg and vanilla, whisking until combined.
- Whisk in the flour mix only until just combined, take care not to over mix. Fold in any chocolate chips or nuts if using. Cover dough and chill for minimum 2 hours or overnight if you can.
- Remove cookie dough from the fridge and allow to sit for about 20 minutes or until the dough has warmed enough for you to scoop balls of dough. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Roll dough into balls and place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake until puffy, about 7 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from the oven and bang twice onto a countertop. Return cookies to the oven and continue baking for another 5 minutes until the edges are golden in colour. Make sure not to over bake the cookies. Remove from oven slightly undercooked as they will continue cooking on the cookies sheet once taken out. Leave cookies on hot baking tray until slightly cooled (2 minutes) then place on wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes before placing in an airtight container to cool completely.
Notes
- *For optimal results, I recommend using a commercial peanut butter brand like Skippy of Jif. You can use either crunchy or creamy peanut butter.
- Recipe by the dutch baker.