Have I got a story for you! Don’t worry, I also have the recipe for these Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies that are amazing! 
1 large container of peanut butter, 3 recipes and 4 batches of cookies later I have redeemed myself. My favorite cookie is chocolate chip. My daughter and I have a go to recipe that we use every time. Whenever we make them, my husband mentions how much he likes peanut butter cookies.
I have tried to several recipes, but had not settled on a solid go to recipe for peanut butter cookies. Until now. These are Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies.
My husband says they are most definitely the new go to peanut butter cookie in our house. Are you wondering why 3 recipes, but 4 batches of cookies? Once we settled on our favorite recipe, we ate the entire batch. I had to make more to take pictures for you!
The search for the Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies is not the real reason I went on this quest. The real reason? I made these to make up for the awful, horrible, bad thing I did.
My husband and I are working on our SCUBA certification. Last week, we had one of our training sessions. The previous session was at the pool, and I was freezing even though I was in a wet suit. So I was really nervous about this certification, because it was at the quarry.
Where the water is cold.
And murky.
And dirty.
I was dreading it and complaining every chance I got. But it had to be done. Because I really like SCUBA diving and my husband and I would like to be able to do deeper dives on our next cruise, and we’ll need to be certified for that. I bought a shirt for extra warmth to wear under my wetsuit.
That worked perfectly and kept me comfortable. The poor visibility in the murky water turned out to be the real challenge.
One of the skills we had to demonstrate was navigation. I am directionally challenged in the first place. I get lost in malls, forget where I parked my car, and GPS is a life saver for me. So navigating from point A to B using a compass, underwater, with 6 foot visibility had me more than a little nervous.
I begged my husband not to leave me. He promised to stay close by me and we would do this together.
I took my bearings.
Set my compass.
Went to a depth of 15 feet.
And looked for my husband. He was right there. So I looked at my compass, and took off. I was so focused on staying in the right direction, I forgot about depth.
Until it got cold.
Really cold.
I had dropped to 20 feet, so I quickly swam back up to 15 feet. I checked my compass and looked for my husband.
He was gone.
I looked for the instructor.
Gone.
I was alone. In the icky, murky, dirty water.
I panicked.
I followed the compass and took off. Fast. I figured the safest thing to do was get to where we were supposed to be so I would meet up with the other class members as quickly as possible. Joe, our instructor, tapped me and pointed to go up. I have no idea where he came from. I swear I couldn’t find him before.
When I surfaced, I immediately looked for my husband. Joe knew that and pointed out his bubbles. They were pretty far back. But they were headed in a straight line coming right to where he should be.
Until they turned.
And then circled.
And with tremendous guilt I watched the bubble evidence of him getting horribly disoriented.
And I knew why.
He was looking for me. Keeping his promise.
And I had left him.
Joe had to go get him.
It was that bad.
The least he deserved was a perfect batch of his favorite cookies! Whether or not you are guilty of anything, you are going to love these cookies. My hubby voted for these based on strong peanut butter flavor, texture, and that they stayed soft, which we didn’t find out until the second batch, because we ate the first batch so quickly.
For Lan at the Angry Asian these cookies were her gift to Santa. I bet he was happy. No wonder he is so fat.
This pin rocks!
Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour - Make sure to measure exactly. To get a good measure I scoop the flour and level with a knife.
Instructions
- Combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until blended.
- Combine remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to peanut butter mixture until well combined. Dough will seem dry.
- Form dough into balls by pressing together and rolling between the palms of your hands and place on Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet..
- Using a fork, press down the balls and create a criss cross pattern.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until for about 7 (or LESS!) minutes until they look just barely done, almost underdone. DO NOT over bake! The cookies will get dry and crumbly if over baked. Look for a blonde cookie, rather than golden brown edges.
- Cool completely on wire rack and store in airtight container.
Notes
You might also like:
Root Beer Float Cookies
Carmelitas
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
This delicious recipe has been shared with:Living Well Spending Less, Whipperberry
Well, I just wasted half my morning on this recipe. Cookie dough itself was dry and crumbly even before baking. Can’t imagine organic flour and peanut butter made any difference. I was really careful to bake as directed. I’ve been baking cookies for more than 50 years, this is one of the worst outcomes I’ve ever had. Very annoying as pb cookie dough is messy to make and clean up from. Going back to my trusted recipe.
So sorry that this recipe did not work out for you but I would LOVE to have your trusted, go-to recipe!!
Another Pinterest Flop…. I baked 7 minutes as instructed in a brand new Convection Oven and these completely fell apart as I was trying to remove them form the cookie sheet. I double checked recipe and followed to the letter. Won’t make again. Classic Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie recipe still reigns supreme.
Hi Debbie. I am sorry to hear this flopped for you. We still make this recipe all the time. It is crucial that they are not over baked. In fact, they are best a little under baked. I have a convection oven and do not use the convection feature when making these cookies. You may already know that with the convection feature you need to decrease temperature by 25% or time by 25% to get comparable results. The fan in a convection oven circulates air and promotes even baking but also dryness, which is great for crispy crusts on bread, and roasted food, but is not ideal for everything. For a more tender cookie I would bake this without the convection feature, just regular bake. But I know how it is to have a favorite recipe. If it works, stick with it! Thanks for giving these a try.
Opposed to the other comments on these cookies, mine came out AMAZING. I made them exactly how the recipe said. Took them out at 7 minutes and they were divine. Sure, the dough itself is crumbly but you roll it in your hands to form balls before you press with the fork. The oil from the peanut butter and butter holds the dough together.
Love this recipe! Thank you 🙂
I am so happy and relieved to get your comment, Ashlee. My family seriously loves these cookies, and I was so bummed it wasn’t working for anyone but me! I appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment, and I am so glad you like this recipe as much as I do.
I’d like to add to my comment that these took me about a half an hour total to make. Lol Super quick and easy.
I’m glad you added that. I find them quick and easy too!. Thanks Ashlee!
so sad these didn’t turn out. I bake all of the time but have yet to find the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe. texture was off. came out crumbly and dry though I only left them in for 7 min. disappointed I wasted ingredients and made a mess!
I am sorry this recipe seems to be proving tricky for some readers. It is really important to measure your flour accurately, and to under bake them for proper texture. I wish you well in your hunt for your personal perfect peanut butter cookie recipe! If you decide to give this one another go, you might want to do a test cookie or two, to determine the perfect amount of time for your oven. I would reduce temp by 25°F or time by one minute until you find the right combo for you.
I was happy to find this post! I’ve been using these proportions for a while (found on another site a few years ago), but lost my paper copy as well as my bookmark. I’ve never had a problem with this recipe and these are my favorite peanut butter cookies :).
I am so glad to hear it Meryl. This is our go to recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I have been bummed that it is not everyone is having the same great results I keep getting. Nice to know you enjoy these as well.
I will try this recipe – the last batch I made came out totally dry, the dogs loved them though! lol
I hope these do not become dog biscuits, although I am a big dog lover. You can see photos of my pooch on Instagram. Just make sure to measure carefully and watch during baking to get the right time. I can’t wait to hear from you, and hopefully that the dogs looked on as you ate them!
these turned out great, the dough was moist as well as the cookie!
elisha d, I am so happy you liked them. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
These were delish!! I don’t know what everyone else is talking about! They turned out perfect. Soft and chewy inside, with a shortbread-like texture on the outside. Will definitely make them again. 🙂
So glad you like them Courtney! Made me so happy to see your comment. These cookies don’t last long in our house, cause they are so good! Glad you gave them a try and they were a success for you.
They didn’t last long in our house either 😉
One of my colleague’s wife sent samples of the cookie to the team. It was delicious! And finally I got the link for the recipe! :]
I am so glad you like them! Thanks for coming by and commenting.
I made these last night and they were fantastic. The only thing I changed was I added a little more vanilla, as I usually do to most cookie recipes. They are already gone less than 24 hours later, but those that did last almost a full day were still soft! Everyone loved them. I was skeptical to try after reading reviews and I’m so glad I gave them a try! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Thanks, Nicolina! I am so glad you dared to give them a try. Great news that they worked for you. I hope we will see you hear again. – Sherri
Amazing… I made these and the turned out wonderful. I baked them the 7 minutes and let then sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Then put them on foil to cool. =]
I have to add they look picture perfect also!
Awesome!
So glad to hear it Billie Lynn! It was so nice to wake up to your kind comment. I am so glad they worked as well for you as they have for me. This is still my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe!
Hi all,
I’ve read the comments and still believe this recipe is worth trying. I am baking these cookies for my guy friend who lives in another state and will be mailing them. It’s important to me that they are soft but I know a few seconds in the microwave can freshen almost any cookie! I’ll let you know what I think.
Thanks for giving them a try, Lisa. Looking forward to hearing from you. – Sherri
These came out perfect! Will be making often! Thanks for the recipe.!
Yippeeeeeee!!! Thanks so much for letting me know. I am so happy to hear that.
Just made this recipe. Absolutely delicious!!!! Make sure everything is room temperature. I added an extra tes. of vanilla. I do in all my cookie recipes. I had to cook mine 9-10 minutes. Maybe because I am at a higher altitude. They were so soft and soooooooooo good. Will always use this recipe. Thank You, Betty
I am so glad to get your comment and thrilled you like this recipe as much as I do, Betty. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Sorry, Ladies. I made these as directed and they completely fall apart. They taste fine, but I won’t be making these again. I should have read the comments first. Actually, I should have asked my mom for her recipe. Thanks for posting, but I’m filing this under “Pinterest Fail.” Good luck, Bakers. I hope you have better results. Happy Days!