These cookies are surprisingly amazing, even if you’re not typically a huge fan of most peanut butter cookies. These soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are definitely a must-try!
I first attempted these upgraded peanut butter cookies on behalf of Chris because he’s our household’s main peanut butter fan and I thought they’d be a good alternative to oatmeal cookies for him. The kids have absolutely no interest in anything to do with peanut butter, so I thought the cookies would just be left for him. Truthfully though, I ended up eating about half of that first batch. Maybe more. Ha. These soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are like fluffy little clouds and I’m excited to report that they keep their texture perfectly even after quite a few days. Just an all around winner. 🙂 If you’re been looking for an alternative to the traditional crunchy peanut butter cookies, here’s how to make them!
Ingredients Needed for Making the Peanut Butter Cookies
You’ll need:
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Peanut butter
- Butter or plant-based butter substitute
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg or plant-based substitute
- Vanilla
I always use plant-based ingredients in all my baking, so this recipe is developed with that in mind, but you can definitely swap in traditional ingredients if that’s what you have in the house. I’ve made a few different batches of these using different types of peanut butter (always smooth, but sometimes fancy organic “all-natural” peanut butter, and sometimes regular national brand peanut butter) and that doesn’t seem to make much difference. The thing that does change these a bit is the type of butter substitute. I used my usual Becel plant-based butter sticks for one batch and they worked out perfectly, I used a more spreadable version of plant-based butter (the kind that comes in a tub) for another batch and this resulted in the cookies spreading a bit more and not maintaining their shape quite as nicely. The flavor and texture was unchanged in all circumstances, but the look of the cookies were different, so I’ll make some suggestions below if you’re using a butter that results in overly flat-looking cookies.
Method For Making the Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
The method for making these cookies is not too different from any other typical cookie recipe, as I mentioned previously, the difference comes when it’s time to think about how the cookies are going to look once they’re done baking.
Start out by creaming together the butter, peanut butter, and the sugar until they’re light and fluffy. Add in your eggs (or “eggs”) and vanilla and keep mixing until everything is well-combined. Then add in your dry ingredients, stirring until you have a nice, consistent dough ball. Chilling the dough at this point doesn’t really seem to make a big difference in terms of whether the cookies will spread or not while baking, but it definitely can’t hurt when you’re working with a soft dough like this, so take that step or leave it, depending on your schedule. You can definitely refrigerate and bake at a later time if you need to take a break.
Scoop the dough out using a cookie scoop for consistent cookies and place the scoops on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. At this point, you might want to consider this first batch to be your “test batch” if you’re hoping to end up with the most beautiful cookies possible.
The thing that you’ll be testing for is when to do your classic peanut butter cookie “crosshatch” with the back of a fork: Before baking, or halfway through your baking time. This will all depend on how the particular butter you’re using reacts to baking and how much your cookies spread. With my becel sticks I was able to crosshatch the cookies before baking with any issue, but when I tried the more spreadable butter, I found that crosshatching them halfway through the baking time significantly reduced spreading. I also tried crosshatching after baking time, but I found those cookies looked a little underbaked in the middle after baking time. Anyway, those are some things to try for the most beautiful cookies possible with this recipe! Or just let them do what they want and enjoy them anyway because they’re delicious no matter what you do. 🙂
Here’s the full printable recipe!
These cookies are surprisingly amazing, even if you're not typically a huge fan of most peanut butter cookies. These soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are definitely a must-try!
- 1/2 cup Butter (or plant-based substitute)
- 3/4 cup Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup White sugar
- 1 cup Peanut butter (I used creamy peanut butter)
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Egg (or plant-based substitute, mixed with 3 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars until light and fluffy.
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Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda, then add that to the creamed mixture in the stand mixer bowl as well. Mix until all ingredients are fully combined and you have a uniform dough ball. Chill dough for about 20 minutes.
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Scoop the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat using a medium size cookie scoop (about 1.5 tbsp). Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and use the back of a fork to quickly press down each cookie and create a cross-hatch pattern. Rotate the tray and return it to the oven for the remainder of the baking time.
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Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be very soft and delicate upon removal from the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
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