Peanut butter cookies with criss cross fork marks are pure childhood nostalgia. But there are plenty of ways to screw them up so keep reading for my best tips.
These are classic, old-school peanut butter cookies with crisp edges, the kind of cookie that demands a cold glass of milk.
If you love peanut butter cookies, you might also want to try peanut butter blossom cookies, another classic and a longtime favorite around here.
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Before You Start
- Use regular creamy peanut butter. Natural peanut butter can make the dough softer or oiler and may cause spreading.
- Use room temperature butter. It should give slightly when pressed with a finger but it shouldn't look greasy or shiny.
- Don't skip making the traditional fork marks. They give peanut butter cookies their classic look but also flattening the dough helps the cookies bake evenly.
- This dough, like most cookie doughs, benefits from a chill for at least 30 minutes to an hour but you can also bake immediately.
How to Make Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
Cream room temperature butter and sugars until light and fluffy. This takes a few minutes and sets up the cookie’s texture.
Mix in the egg and peanut butter until smooth then add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Overmixing leads to tough cookies, so stop as soon as the flour disappears.
Scoop the dough into balls. I like a #40 scoop.
Roll in sanding sugar if using and press with a fork to create the classic criss-cross pattern.
Bake until the edges are lightly golden and let the cookies cool briefly before transferring to a rack.
Which Peanut Butter Is Best for Cookies?
Use a standard creamy peanut butter.
Avoid natural peanut butter, which has oil pooling on top. That extra oil throws off the dough and can lead to greasy or crumbly cookies.
In practice, most bakers have good results sticking with the big three: Jif, Skippy, or Reese’s.
Why Do peanut butter cookies have fork marks?
The fork marks help flatten a dense dough so the cookies bake more evenly.
Fork marks are part of what makes a peanut butter cookie instantly recognizable.
Measuring Flour Tip ⬇️
Too much flour or not enough can ruin your batch of cookie dough. Weighing flour is best using a kitchen scale but failing that, use the dip and sweep method to measure your flour. Pour flour into a bowl and fluff it up with a spoon. Now spoon flour into your measuring cup until slightly heaped. Then slide a butter knife or a bench scraper across the top of the measuring cup to remove the excess.
Measuring Peanut Butter (the Lazy Way)
My best tip for baking with peanut butter is to weigh the peanut butter on a digital kitchen scale instead of messing with a measuring cup.
Put a piece of wax paper on the scale and scoop out spoonfuls of peanut butter until you have the correct amount.
This method is quicker than packing peanut butter into a measuring cup.
And, you won't have a sticky measuring cup to wash.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Store these cookies in a container at room temp for five days.
Or, freeze balls of peanut butter dough for up to three months.
Flash freeze the balls on a cookie sheet then put them in a resealable bag. Tuck the bag into a freezer safe container.
Or, wrap already baked cookies in wax paper or plastic wrap. Tuck those into a freezer safe container for up to two months.
Find out how to easily freeze already baked cookies and cookie dough.
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Recipe
Classic Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Make classic peanut butter cookies with a fork criss-cross design. These old-fashioned cookies bake up with crisp edges, rich peanut butter flavor, and a tender center.
Ingredients
- 1 stick of butter (½ cup ) room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 -¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup sanding sugar (optional for rolling balls of dough)
Instructions
Cream butter and sugars until the mixture is fluffy. It should be pale yellow.
This should take about two to three minutes depending on the strength of your mixer.
Add egg and peanut butter.
Mix until well-combined.
Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined and you no longer see any streaks of flour.
Don’t over mix or your cookies will be tough.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Portion dough into one-inch balls and roll in sanding sugar.
Press a fork into each ball of dough twice to crimp the dough.
Bake 12 cookies at a time on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
Let rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
I recommend using a regular peanut butter, not organic or all-natural.
Recommended Products
This post and/or recipe may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I'll earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure policy.
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Pyrex Prepware 4-Quart Rimmed Mixing Bowl, Clear -
Cuisinart HM-90BCS Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, Brushed Chrome
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Nordic Ware Naturals Half Sheet - USA Made Aluminum Commercial Quality Sheet Pan for Baking or Roasting, Encapsulated Galvanized Steel Rim Prevents Warping, 2-Pack
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SKIPPY Creamy Peanut Butter, 5 lb
Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 65Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 6mgSodium 79mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 0gSugar 7gProtein 1g
Nutrition information is an estimate as I am not a registered dietician.
What to Bake Next
If you’re on a classic-cookie kick, these are reader favorites:
• Congo Bars – chewy, chocolatey bars with walnuts and deep brown sugar flavor
• Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies – chewy, soft even days later, reminds me of Entenmann's.
• Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies – the fork marks’ chocolate-kiss cousin
Cookie Baking Advice
You may find these baking posts helpful: from How to Avoid Flat Cookies, How to Freeze Cookie Dough, Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays. What is Sanding Sugar and Do I need Parchment Paper? might also be helpful. This Cuisinart 5-speed is my favorite hand mixer. Why do my hand mixer beaters fall out? Cookie dough freezes great as do already baked cookies but find out what other desserts you can freeze.
Marilyn says
Made today. Good cookie but could use a stronger peanut butter flavor. Could barely tell I was eating a PB cookie.