3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe Tips

What's the best peanut butter for peanut butter cookies?

This peanut butter cookie recipe calls for creamy peanut butter—and as with any recipe, following the ingredient list yields the best, most consistent results. However, you can use crunchy peanut butter instead to add a little extra texture to these cookies. Substituting natural peanut butter for traditional peanut butter is trickier, as natural peanut butter has no added sugar or stabilizing ingredients, which can impact the taste and texture of the finished cookies.

How do you make peanut butter cookies better?

You can liven up these peanut butter cookies by adding mix-ins or by drizzling them with chocolate—these peanut butter cookie recipes may inspire you. Try folding in 1 cup of dark chocolate chips or chopped peanuts before baking. For some extra sweetness, drizzle your favorite icing over the cooled cookies. To make a peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookie, gently press the back of a spoon into a just-baked cookie and add a dollop of strawberry or grape jam.

Why are my peanut butter cookies falling apart?

The main reason for dry, crumbly cookies is overbaking. All ovens are slightly different, so check the cookies a few minutes before the recommended baking time is up. Your peanut butter cookies should appear soft in the center—a little underbaked, but not raw—with golden edges. The cookies will firm up as they cool. (For more tips, check out our cookie-baking guide.)

How long do homemade peanut butter cookies last?

Peanut butter cookies can dry out fast, so store them at room temperature in an airtight cookie storage container and enjoy them within two or three days. Alternatively, you can shape the dough into balls, freeze them individually on a baking sheet, and then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two or three months. Already-baked cookies can be frozen for three to four weeks.