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Granny’s Classic Peanut Butter Cookies are crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and just so good! Enjoy the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe that has been in our family for generations! These cookies will hold their shape while baked.
And if you’re a fan of sweet peanut butter treats, be sure to check out my easy peanut butter dip and buckeye balls recipe!
Granny’s Classic Peanut Butter Cookies remind me of my childhood because it was the most made cookie in our house. Well, most made after classic chocolate chip cookies, of course.
If you want a peanut butter cookie that will be crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and won’t go completely flat when cooked, look no further. This recipe uses just the right amount of flour to hold the cookie together without drying it out.
Table of Contents
Can you use natural peanut butter?
Yes! It is the only kind of peanut butter I use, actually. I despise the kind of peanut butter that has the oil on the top and requires stirring. There are plenty of no-stir peanut butters out there that are natural, meaning the only ingredients are peanuts and salt.
Why do I recommend using natural peanut butter?
Well, have you ever looked at the ingredients on popular brands of peanut butter? They often contain Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil to prevent separation. Hydrogenated oils are a trans fat that have been known to increase LDL and triglycerides. Some of us feel guilty enough about shoving 6 cookies in our face… need we worry about increasing the risk of a heart attack even further? I think not.
Many peanut butters contain added sugar as well. Sure, it tastes great on a spoon, but when baking things like these peanut butter cookies, I like to control the amount of sugar added to my cookies. If you use a natural no-sugar added peanut butter, they will taste the same every time.
Reasons why peanut butter cookies are dry and crumbly:
There can be two reasons for your cookies turning out too dry and crumbly:
- You cooked them a wee bit too long. Peanut butter cookies can be extremely deceiving. They don’t always look cooked when, indeed, they are fully cooked. They won’t get brown around the edges. Or, if they do, you’ve already cooked them too long. Take them out of the oven as soon as they no longer look wet or raw. They will finish cooking on the baking sheet after you take them out of the oven. Do not over cook your peanut butter cookies!
- You added a wee bit too much flour. Be sure to measure your flour exactly. This recipe calls for just the right amount of flour to allow the cookies to hold their shape during the cooking process. Less flour will result in a chewier cookie but it might spread more. More flour than what I recommend will result in a drier, more crumbly cookie.
Should you refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking?
Yes. I recommend refrigerating the dough for at least an hour before baking.
Cold cookie dough will spread less during the cooking process. Ever made homemade sugar cookies that can’t hold their shape? That might be because the dough wasn’t cold enough. Same principle.
If you’re in a real hurry, you can skip the refrigeration process, but your cookies just might not look as good and could potentially take less time to cook.
Why do you fork peanut butter cookies?
The main purpose to “fork” your peanut butter cookies is to make them flat prior to cooking.
Can you just smash them with your hand? Yes. Does that yield the classic peanut butter shape? No.
Want to know the best part about using a fork in a criss-cross pattern on your peanut butter cookies? It’s a job that you can let your kids do and they will love you for it. Plus, if you’re a control freak in the kitchen like I am, it’s a difficult task for the kids to mess up. That’s a win-win combination right there!
How to store peanut butter cookies:
You can store peanut butter cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature and they’ll stay fresh for days. Just be sure they are completely cooled before you store them. Never put a hot cookie in a sealed container.
If you don’t feel like baking all the cookies at once, you can also store any leftover dough in the refrigerator for several days. Or, you can wrap the dough balls with plastic wrap and freeze any leftover dough for a future date when that pesky peanut butter cookie craving strikes again!
Love homemade cookie recipes?
You’ll definitely want to make these:
- Lofthouse Cookies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Stuffed Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Birthday Cookies
- Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter no sugar added crunchy recommended
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs slightly beaten
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Cream 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 cup brown sugar together in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. I use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium high speed, scraping the sides of the bowl several times.
- Mix in 2 large eggs and 1 tbsp vanilla extract, scraping sides at least once to fully incorporate.
- In separate bowl, mix together 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Slowly stir into peanut mixture, scraping down sides as needed to fully mix.
- Cover bowl and refrigerate at least one hour.
- To bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Form 1-inch sized balls and roll in between hands to make smooth and dip tops in the remaining sugar (about 2 tbsp sugar). Set on parchment lined baking sheet with the sugar side up. Use a fork to gently flatten cookie, turning the fork 90 degrees to make a criss-cross pattern. Once flattened, cookies will continue to spread a bit during the cooking process, so allow a couple inches in between each cookie.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes. When you remove them from the oven, they should still be pretty soft. Allow them to sit on the hot baking sheet until you can lift them off without them falling apart. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Allow to fully cool before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m 64 and my first batch of cookies I’ve ever made,turned out awesome.
Absolutely amazing cookies. Soft yet hold together well. I plan on making some of them into ice cream sandwiches.
Perfect! The best crispy on outside and soft on inside PB cookie recipe. 😊. Will make these again following the recipe exactly. Thanks for sharing.
1 Tablespoon of vanilla sounds like a lot. All other recipes call for 1 teaspoon
I’m heavy handed when it comes to vanilla. You can always reduce.
I want to freeze the leftovers do I have to thaw them when I take them out of the freezer and do I still cook them the same?
Freeze the leftover batter and not baked cookies, right? If yes, I would be sure to cover tightly to prevent freezer burn and thaw completely before baking. You want the dough to be chilled but not frozen.
Excellent cookies especially since it’s difficult to achieve a balance for peanut butter. I can say it’s just a smidge away from my Mom’s cookies. Awesome to see these older versions of recipes being handed down through the generations! Thank you!
These are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had in my life. I will never follow another recipe
Need more peanut butter. Do not have a good peanut butter taste.
What type of peanut butter did you use? I wonder a different brand may have changed that?
The cookies seemed perfect until I added flour and I really measured exactly along with baking powder and soda. It’s in little balls what would you add to moisten them before cooking
I think you could add another egg and that would do the trick. I wonder why they were dry…
My batter is dry too.. like too much flour mixture. I’ll add another egg.
I think the size of the eggs as well as they type of peanut butter used may have a big impact on how dry the batter is.
Why do I need to use unsalted butter?
I almost always cook with unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt I add. You can use salted butter but you may want to omit using the additional salt in the recipe.