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Peanut Butter Cookies

A classic peanut butter cookie gets crisp edges and a soft middle from restrained mixing, a brief chill, and a careful pull from the oven.

Golden peanut butter cookies with fork crosshatches are stacked on a ceramic plate, one broken to show its chewy center.

These cookies lean on a familiar creamed-butter method, with peanut butter carrying the roasted flavor and brown sugar helping the centers stay tender. A quick fork crosshatch gives each cookie its classic shape while keeping the dough thick enough to bake up chewy.

Cream for structure, then stop

The butter and peanut butter should be soft enough to blend smoothly with the sugars, but the dough does not need prolonged beating. Once flour goes in, use low speed and stop as soon as it disappears so the cookies stay tender instead of bready.

Keep the dough balanced

Creamy conventional peanut butter gives this dough a predictable amount of fat and moisture. Oil-separated natural peanut butter can shift that balance, so use the smooth conventional style for the intended spread and texture.

A fork presses a crosshatch into one rounded portion of peanut butter cookie dough on parchment. — Fork tines press a crosshatch into a rounded portion of peanut butter cookie dough.

Mark without flattening

Roll even portions so they bake at the same pace, then press each ball just enough for the fork pattern to hold. A light crosswise press leaves height in the center, which helps create the contrast between crisp edges and a chewy middle.

Let the sheet finish the bake

The cookies may look slightly soft in the middle when they leave the oven, and that is the right moment to stop. Their hot baking sheets set the centers during the short rest, after which a rack cools them without trapping steam underneath.

A fork-marked peanut butter cookie is broken open to reveal a soft center and crisp edge. — A broken cookie shows its lightly crisp rim and soft peanut-rich center.

Peanut Butter Cookies

24 cookies

57 minutes total

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy conventional peanut butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine salt

Method

Heat the oven
Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment so the shaped cookies can bake without sticking.
Look for: The oven is fully preheated and parchment lies flat on both sheets.
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and fine salt until no pockets of leavener remain; set the bowl aside.
Look for: The fine salt and baking soda are evenly dispersed through the flour.
Cream the peanut butter base
Beat the softened unsalted butter, creamy conventional peanut butter, packed light brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl once, until creamy and cohesive.
Look for: The mixture looks smooth and slightly lighter, with no butter streaks at the bottom of the bowl.
Add egg and vanilla
Beat in the room-temperature egg until absorbed, then mix in the vanilla extract; scrape the bowl so the mixture is even before adding flour.
Look for: The batter is glossy and no streaks of egg or vanilla remain.
Finish the dough
Add the flour mixture in two additions and mix on low only until the last dry streaks disappear. Stop as soon as the dough comes together so the cookies stay tender rather than tough.
Look for: The dough is soft and evenly colored, with no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Chill briefly
Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 20 minutes, until it is cool and firm enough to roll neatly; this short rest helps control spread while preserving a chewy middle.
Look for: A portion holds a rounded shape instead of slumping immediately in your hand.
Shape and mark
Roll level 1-tablespoon portions into balls and arrange them well apart on the prepared sheets. Press each ball gently with the tines of a fork in one direction, then crosswise, leaving a visible crosshatch without flattening the dough thin.
Look for: Each cookie has an even fork pattern and remains thick enough for a chewy center.
Bake until just set
Bake at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets front to back once, until the edges are lightly golden and set but the centers still look slightly soft and matte.
Look for: The edges hold their shape while the centers remain pale and look a little underdone.
Cool and let the cookies firm
Leave the cookies on the hot sheets for 5 minutes so carryover heat firms their centers without drying them out, then transfer them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.
Look for: The cookies lift cleanly after resting and retain crisp edges with soft, chewy centers.