Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Written by
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Diana Rattray
Updated 03/25/21
Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies, glass of milk

The Spruce / Emily Baker
Prep: 12 mins
Cook: 7 mins
Total: 19 mins
Servings: 36 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
87 Calories
5g Fat
10g Carbs
2g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 36
Amount per serving
Calories 87
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 25mg 8%
Sodium 137mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Protein 2g
Calcium 18mg 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.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (6 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to  400 F (200 C/Gas 6). 

    Ingredients for crunchy peanut butter cookies

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

  2. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, cream the white and brown 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. Blend flour mixture into creamed ingredients gradually.

    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 paper-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 in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around edges.

    baked Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies on a sheet pan

    The Spruce / Emily Baker

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.

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 wax 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.