Yield:

1 dozen

They're made with just a few ingredients—no flour, no butter—yet these easy peanut butter cookies are sweet, salty, crisp, and hard to resist. You probably already have the everyday ingredients in your pantry: creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, egg, baking soda, and vanilla extract (you can skip the vanilla if you prefer). They take less than 15 minutes to make and just 12 minutes to bake (you’ll also also need to allow time for them to cool). Finished with the familiar cross-hatch pattern, the cookies are also gluten-free and dairy-free. The only downside is how easy they are to eat—they tend to disappear fast!

Tips for Making the Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Not all peanut butter is the same. Natural peanut butter will produce a drier cookie than if you use a commercial brand like Jif or Skippy.
Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature before you make these cookies, they will be much easier to mix.
We call for a stand mixer, but you can easily make the cookies without using one. A stand or hand mixer makes it quicker, but just use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients.
Making the crosshatch: Use the tines of a fork to flatten each cookie and make the crosshatch pattern but press gently—you don’t need to totally flatten the cookies.

The peanut butter cookie dough looks greasy and is softer than a typical cookie made with flour (and butter) so handle the dough and the cookies gently—and don’t be tempted to add flour.

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

Preheat oven, prep baking sheet, and mix ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together peanut butter, egg, sugar, baking soda, vanilla, if using, and salt until well combined.

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Scoop dough onto baking sheet:

Using a 1 3/4-inch scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

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Make crosshatch pattern on cookies:

Using the tines of a fork, gently press down on each scoop in a crosshatch pattern.

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Sprinkle with sugar and bake:

Sprinkle with sugar and transfer baking sheet to oven. Bake until slightly puffed, 11 to 12 minutes. Cookies will still be soft. Let cool for 5 minutes.

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Cool:

Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

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Variation: Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Simply use crunchy peanut butter in place of smooth.

The Best Way to Store Peanut Butter Cookies

Most of us don’t have to worry about how long peanut butter cookies will last because these treats tend to disappear fast. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to seven days.

Storing Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

The uncooked dough can be formed into balls and frozen till hard on a baking sheet. Carefully remove from the baking sheet and transfer to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to four months.

Alternatively, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to four days before baking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to put eggs in peanut butter cookies?

Like most cookie recipes, our easy peanut butter cookie recipe contains egg. Eggs bring fat which helps with flavor and texture (peanut butter also has fat). The egg white contains protein which gives structure, and egg acts as a binder and a leavener as well as bringing moisture. If you’re looking for a peanut butter cookie that is egg-free, we recommend our no-bake peanut butter cookies.

Why put fork marks on peanut butter cookies?

The characteristic crosshatch pattern on a peanut butter cookie is made using a fork but it’s more than just decoration. Peanut butter cookie dough is very dense so pressing the dough with a fork—first in one direction and then in the other—helps to flatten each cookie, making them more even and this promotes even baking.

How do you know when peanut butter cookies are done?

Peanut butter cookies are a type of drop cookie and the best way to know a drop cookie is baked is when the edges are light brown. This can be tricky with a cookie that has light brown dough like peanut butter. Remove the baking sheet from the oven if you need to check if they are done. Err on the side of less done rather than more done because the cookies will harden as they cool

Other Peanut Butter Cookie to Try

Originally appeared: The Martha Stewart Show, February 2012

Updated by

Victoria Spencer

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Tips for Making the Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven, prep baking sheet, and mix ingredients:

Scoop dough onto baking sheet:

Make crosshatch pattern on cookies:

Sprinkle with sugar and bake:

Cool: