These Classic Peanut Butter Cookies are the ones you remember as a kid.  Slightly chewy centers, lots of peanut butter flavor, and super easy to make.  They’re a great cookie jar cookie and also great for lunchboxes or an after-school snack.  Don’t forget the milk!

A plate of Peanut Butter Cookies.

These Classic Peanut Butter Cookies are the first cookie I ever made.  I was probably ten or eleven the first time I made these perfect cookie jar cookies, and I’m 99% sure that my mother’s kitchen was covered in flour.  How do I know?  I know, because every time I baked anything in my mother’s kitchen, I left a dusting of flour everywhere.  Yes, these cookies bring back so many memories.

Peanut Butter Cookies on a cooling rack.

COOKIE PROS:

  • NO-CHILL dough
  • Super easy.  The perfect recipe to let kids help with
  • Loaded with pure peanutty flavor
  • No need to grease the cookie sheets or use parchment paper
  • A great cookie jar or lunch box cookie
  • Hold up great as a take-a-long cookie
  • Perfect bake sale cookie

TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT CLASSIC PB COOKIE:

  • Don’t use NATURAL peanut butter.  Natural peanut butter is made with pure peanuts and peanut oil.  Most brands usually have too much oil that separates from the peanut butter, making it hard to come together when mixed in with the eggs, butter, and sugar.  The excess oil also changes the texture of the cookie.
  • Don’t overbake the cookies.  When they appear to be almost done, remove them from the oven.  Leave them on the cookie sheets for an additional minute or two.  The residual heat from the cookie sheet will finish baking them.
  • Measure the flour properly.  Use the dip & level method.  I use a whisk and aerate the flour in my flour container before measuring it.  The longer flour sits in a container or bag, the more it gets compacted.  Aerate the flour with a whisk or fork, then dip your measuring cup in the flour and level it off with the edge of a knife.  You can also spoon the flour into the measuring cup before leveling it off.
A stack of peanut butter cookies on a plate.

WHY DO WE CRISSCROSS CLASSIC PB COOKIES?

Peanut butter is thick, making the dough thick.  The dough will not spread much while baking.  That’s why we crisscross the cookies with a fork, slightly flattening the ball of dough.  I rolled the dough balls in sugar before crisscrossing them.  However, you can omit this step if you prefer, and dip a fork in flour to crisscross the dough

Check out these other great peanut butter cookie recipes…

Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Cornflake Peanut Butter Chews

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A plate of Classic Peanut Butter Cookies.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

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  • Author: Cindy Gibbs
  • Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 Minutes
  • Total Time: 32 minutes
  • Yield: 20 Cookies 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These Classic Peanut Butter Cookies are soft and slightly chewy in the centers.  They’re a great cookie jar cookie and also great for lunchboxes or an after school snack.  Don’t forget the milk!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick )unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter (don’t use natural PB)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling cookies

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl using a wooden spoon, combine the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla.  Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and the sugars are no longer grainy.  The mixture should be smooth.  Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, mixing to incorporate, then add the other 1/2 and mix to incorporate.
  4. Using a medium size cookies scoop, scoop the dough into your hand and roll it into a ball.  Roll the balls in granulated sugar and transfer them to an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart.  Using a fork, flatten each dough ball slightly in a crisscross manner.
  5. Bake the cookies until their edges are golden and the tops are a light golden color, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Don’t overbake.  I remove them when they look almost done.  They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet for a minute or so once removed from the oven.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookies sheets for about 2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  6. Store cookies in an airtight container.  Cookies will stay fresh for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Do not use natural peanut butter in these cookies.  It contains too much oil.
  • You can omit rolling the cookie dough balls in sugar if you want to.  Simply roll the dough into balls and dip a fork in flour to crisscross the dough.
  • These cookies and the dough are great for freezing.  I recommend not freezing over 3 months.  Wrap securely before freezing.