Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/21/23
Tested by
Noah Velush-Rogers
Noah Velush-Rogers
Tested by Noah Velush-Rogers
Noah Velush-Rogers works on food prep for several area caterers. He has worked with a team of prep chefs for a private school group. He was an assistant cooking teacher for children and teen group cooking classes. Noah was hired as an intern and was then trained as a recipe tester for Fine Cooking Magazine. 
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies, glass of milk

The Spruce / Emily Baker
Prep: 12 mins
Cook: 7 mins
Total: 19 mins
Servings: 36 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
85 Calories
5g Fat
10g Carbs
2g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 36
Amount per serving
Calories 85
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 12mg 4%
Sodium 67mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 4%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 6mg 0%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 38mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Peanut butter cookies are a perennial favorite, and a comfort food cookie if ever there was one. Most of the time, peanut butter cookie recipes call for creamy, but these go a slightly different texture. These peanut butter cookies are made with chunky peanut butter, which provides a bit of an unexpected crunch. The cookies, however, are still soft and chewy and possess the signature, nostalgic ridges made with the tines of a fork.

If you don't have crunchy peanut butter, you can use regular creamy peanut butter instead. And you can decide which peanut butter is the best. Use whatever your favorite brand is, make your own, or even use another nut butter, such as almond.

“The humble peanut butter cookie cannot be underestimated, these guys taste great! Watch the baking time carefully, they’ll seem like they need more time, but the bottoms will burn if you’re not careful.” —Noah Velush-Rogers

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, more as needed

  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, or margarine

  • 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 cups (6 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Position 2 racks in the upper and lower parts of the oven and heat to 400 F (200 C/Gas 6). 

    Ingredients for crunchy peanut butter cookies

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugars with the butter and crunchy peanut butter until light and fluffy.

    Sugar, butter and peanut butter creamed together in a large glass bowl

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  3. Beat the egg and vanilla into peanut butter mixture until smooth and well blended.

    Eggs and vanilla in the creamed peanut butter and butter mixture

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.

    Flour, salt and baking soda in a large glass bowl

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  5. Gradually blend flour mixture into creamed ingredients.

    Flour mixture and creamed peanut butter mixture combined together in a large glass bowl

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  6. Using lightly floured hands, shape the peanut butter cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place 2-inches apart on parchment-lined (or ungreased) cookie sheets. 

    Cookie dough balls on a metal cooking sheet

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  7. Dip a fork in flour and press it into the balls of dough, making a criss-cross design and flattening the cookies slightly. Dip the fork in the flour after each press. Dust each cookie with additional granulated sugar, if desired.

    Cookie dough balls pressed with fork

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  8. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned around edges, about 7 minutes.

    baked Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies on a sheet pan

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

Tip

If you need to make this recipe gluten free, try using a gluten-free flour blend suited for baking. Look for one that contains xanthan gum. Otherwise, you can try this recipe for gluten-free peanut butter cookies, which contains no flour at all.

How to Store and Freeze Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies will keep in a covered container for several days. If they become a little stale, you can always microwave them briefly to soften them up again.


You can also freeze the dough balls before you bake them. Simply transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper, and leave them in the freezer until frozen. Then, transfer to a zip-close plastic bag and bake at the recommended temperature for the recipe, adding on a minute or two.

How Do You Make Peanut Butter Cookies Less Crumbly?

If a peanut butter cookie is crumbly, it means it doesn't have enough moisture, possibly because there isn't enough fat or there is too much flour—or some combination of both. These cookies have adequate moisture from the brown sugar and egg, along with the fat in the peanut butter and butter.