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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

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By Betty Crocker Kitchens
Updated Dec 5, 2024
24 days of cookies Betty Crocker x Hallmark channel

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Treat yourself to some classic PB goodness with a big batch of homemade peanut butter cookies! Our kitchen-tested Peanut Butter Cookies recipe is a go-to for home cooks everywhere. In fact, many have said these are the best peanut butter cookies they’ve ever made! Betty’s recipe makes tender, light cookies with a smooth, peanut butter taste. Slightly chewy but with a satisfyingly snappy bite, peanut butter cookies are a true family-favorite treat.

These deliciously soft peanut butter cookies are a fantastic year-round cookie, but they’re particularly popular during the holidays. They travel well, making them convenient to transport or enjoy on the go. Add them to your Christmas cookie platter, or give a batch as a gift. And don’t forget to decorate your with that iconic crosshatch—it’s been the “mark” of this classic treat for over 80 years!

How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies

Assemble your ingredients for peanut butter cookies, and let's get baking! Here’s a quick overview of the recipe. The full ingredients list and step-by-step instructions can be found below.

Mix Ingredients

In a large bowl, mix together granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, butter, and 1 egg until well combined. Stir in all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Be careful not to overmix—we want our peanut butter cookies to come out super tender, not tough!

Refrigerate Dough

Cover the dough and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until firm. This helps the cookies hold their shape and bake evenly.

Shape Cookies

While the oven is heating, shape the chilled dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and place them about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with a fork dipped in sugar to create a crisscross pattern.

Bake and Cool

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until your cookies are a nice light golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Storing and Freezing Peanut Butter Cookies

Storing and Chilling the Dough: Your cookie dough needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours or until firm before baking to ensure you get the best peanut butter cookies possible. Once you’ve assembled your dough, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. If the dough is too firm to scoop after refrigerating, let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This is a great way to save time on prep if you’ll be in a rush the day of serving.

Freezing the Cookie Dough: To freeze unbaked cookie dough for future use, shape dough into balls and place on cookie sheets. Flatten in a crisscross pattern as shown in the recipe, then freeze. Once the cookie dough pieces are frozen, place them in plastic freezer bags and freeze them for up to two months. When you’re ready for some tasty homemade peanut butter cookies, take the frozen cookie dough pieces from the freezer and place them on a cookie sheet. Let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes as you heat the oven. Since you’re baking from frozen, the bake time might need to be adjusted slightly. Check for cookie doneness a bit early and as frequently as needed.

Storing Baked Cookies: Once your baked peanut butter cookies have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and store at room temperature. Homemade peanut butter cookies will stay fresh at room temperature for about 5 days. You can also refrigerate your cookies by sealing them in an airtight container or resealable food-safe storage bag, but they won’t stay as soft and chewy when stored chilled. Enjoy your sweet treats, or share these yummy, soft peanut butter cookies with friends and family!

Freezing Baked Cookies: Freezing baked cookies is a great option for longer-term storage. Once your peanut butter cookies have cooled, transfer them to an airtight freezer-safe container or food-storage bag, placing parchment or waxed paper between layers of cookies to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze the cookies for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw your homemade peanut butter cookies at room temperature, covered, for up to 2 hours, until they’re soft and ready to eat.

More of Betty’s Favorite Cookies

Does it get any sweeter than these homemade peanut butter cookies? Well, we’ve got more cookie recipes where this one came from to satisfy any sweet tooth! If you want to stick with peanut butter, have a look at our other peanut butter cookies or try out a few of Betty’s favorite cookie recipes below.

Peanut Butter Blossoms: Chocolate plus peanut butter? A flavor match made in heaven.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: An absolutely iconic treat, these chocolate chip cookies are slightly crispy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside.

Snickerdoodle Cookies: Comforting, sweet Snickerdoodles are a surefire hit for any occasion!

Sugar Cookies: Classic sugar cookies are a sweet treat and blank canvas for decorating in one.

More Christmas Cookies: Make the holidays extra merry with all sorts of delicious Christmas cookie recipes!

More About This Recipe

  • The fork-tined hash mark gives homemade peanut butter cookies their distinctive look. How did this baking tradition come to be? The first instructions for making the mark on the top of peanut butter cookies was in a recipe from a 1936 Pillsbury cookbook. There was no reason given for the marking, but some bakers and food experts suggest that it serves a very practical purpose by helping the cookies bake more evenly. That’s important because the addition of peanut butter makes the dough denser and more difficult to bake thoroughly. By putting the fork-tine marks in cookie dough balls, they’re being flattened for more even baking. The result is a cookie that’s soft and chewy, with contrasting crispy edges where the marks have been formed. Get more handy tips for peanut butter cookie recipes in the How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies guide and find creative variations on the basic in Betty's best peanut butter cookies collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Natural or Crunchy Peanut Butter in My Cookies?

You absolutely can use crunchy peanut butter for this peanut butter cookies recipe. It’ll add all kinds of crunchy-fun texture to your treats! Feel free to experiment with natural peanut butter and other nut butters as well, but make sure that you pick one that doesn’t need to be stirred before measuring. If the oil isn’t fully integrated and combined in the nut butter, it could impact the texture of your homemade peanut butter cookies.

What Are the Best Ways to Decorate Peanut Butter Cookies?

While the fork-tined hash mark is the classic way to decorate peanut butter cookies (and helps ensure that the dense dough bakes evenly), there are other ways to jazz up your sweet treats.

Use Decorative Stamps: Feel free to forgo the typical crosshatch in favor of a decorative cookie stamp or rolling pin.

Frost Your Cookies: Ramp up the sweetness with a frosting of your choice! Have fun with different patterns and designs.

Add Sparkle: For a pretty presentation and some extra sweetness, roll your cookies in coarse sparkling sugar just before baking.

Make Sandwich Cookies: For an extra-special treat, sandwich two of your peanut butter cookies together with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Double the decadence by rolling the edges in chopped candy bars or nuts.

Can I Double This Recipe?

Feeding a crowd? Heading to a cookie exchange? Contributing to a bake sale? Whatever the case, sometimes 30 cookies just can’t quite cut it. If you need to double this peanut butter cookie recipe, simply double the ingredients! Grab a bigger mixing bowl to ensure your ingredients fit and prepare your cookies according to the recipe directions. For best results, bake cookies on the middle oven rack, one cookie sheet at a time.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

  • Prep Time 25 min
  • Total 2 hr 35 min
  • Servings 30
  • Ingredients 10
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cups Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Make With
Gold Medal Flour

Instructions

  • Step 
    1

    Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl.

    If you’re wondering why we use both butter and shortening, it’s because each plays an important role in the cookie. Butter adds a rich, wonderful flavor, of course. Shortening has less flavor, but a higher melting point, so it gives peanut butter cookies more structure, ensuring they spread less and have a great texture.

  • Step 
    2

    Stir in remaining ingredients.

    The best way to accurately measure flour is to give it a quick stir and then spoon it into the measuring cup. You’ll want to fill it to heaping and then sweep the excess off the top with the flat edge of a butter knife.

    Be careful not to overmix here — you want the dough to stay light and fluffy, and overmixing can result in a tough cookie.

  • Step 
    3

    Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

    Refrigerating the dough will give it more structure so the cookies spread less and hold their fork marks through baking. Cooling the dough also ensures that all of the ingredients are the same temperature: they’ll bake more evenly and the flavors will meld beautifully.

  • Step 
    4
    Heat oven to 375°F.
  • Step 
    5

    Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

    You can also line cookie sheets with parchment paper, which will make cleanup super easy after your baking project.

  • Step 
    6
    Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.
  • Step 
    7
    Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
  • Step 
    8

    Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

    Once cookies are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

110 Calories
6 g Total Fat
2 g Protein
12 g Total Carbohydrate

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
110
Calories from Fat
55
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
5 mg
Sodium
100 mg
Potassium
50 mg
Total Carbohydrate
12 g
Dietary Fiber
0g
Protein
2 g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
2%
2%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
2%
2%
Exchanges:
1 Starch; 1 Fat;
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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