These are THE BEST chewy peanut butter crinkle cookies! All of the nostalgia of the cross hatched peanut butter cookies your grannie used to make, made even better with perfectly crisp edges, gooey, almost fudgy centers, and corse sugar for added crunch. These cookies come together quick with just a few pantry staples and will have you questioning how a simple peanut butter cookie can be so delicious.
What makes these peanut butter crinkle cookies the best?
- THEY’RE DANG GOOD & EASY TO MAKE. First, they’re simple to make and incredibly delicious – which is just the ultimate goal when baking right? Minimal effort maximum payout.
- TEXTURE ON POINT. They’re SO moist, (sorry) soft, chewy, and have an almost fudgy center. I find that a lot of peanut butter cookie recipes result in a dry and crumbly cookie so I wanted to avoid that fate at all costs. I’m happy to say that these cookies are the opposite of dry and crumbly.
- SIMPLE INGREDIENTS. These cookies come together with just a few pantry staples and I’d be willing to bet that you already have what you need.
How to Make Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies
Prepare the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars for 5 minutes. It seems like a long time, but don’t skip it. You want to create a base that’s light in color and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure that none of the egg whites have settled at the bottom.
Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until just combined. I like to mix my cookie doughs until there’s just a few streaks a flour visible, then do a final mix with a rubber spatula. This guarantees that the dough isn’t over mixed.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and pop it in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
Why do you have to chill the dough?
Remember how I talked about these peanut butter cookies being chewy, soft, and moist, unlike the typical dry and crumbly peanut butter cookies? To achieve that fudgy texture, the dough is higher in fat and moisture and contains less flour. Because of the higher moisture content, chilling the dough is very important. If you skip the chill, the fat and moisture in the dough will melt and spread too quickly while the cookies bake and you’ll end up with thin, crispy wafers.
Bake the Cookies
After the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to portion a heaping TBSP of dough per cookie. Roll the cookie dough into a ball in your hands then roll in coarse sugar for an extra crunch. That step is optional, but I definitely recommend it. Place 6-7 cookies on a cookie sheet leaving room for them to spread. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are set, but the cookies are still slightly wet in the center.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and bang it on the counter 4-5 times to help the cookies flatten and to create the crinkles on top. Use a rubber spatula to scoot any runaway edges back into place. Or, for perfectly round cookies, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than your cookies and swirl the cutter around the cookies while they are still hot. Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the hot cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
Can I freeze these or make ahead?
Yes! You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months before baking. I recommend chilling the dough for 10-15 minutes or until it’s firm enough to handle. Then, portion the dough and roll it into balls in your hands. Place on a parchment lined tray and freeze for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze up to 3 months. To bake – simply remove the dough from freezer, roll in sugar, and bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes.
This is also great for creating a freezer stash of cookie dough so you can bake 1-2 at a time whenever you have the craving for a freshly baked cookie, which for me is like 3X a week.
What is the BEST type of peanut butter for baking?
For most baked recipes, I recommend using the traditional creamy peanut butter we all know and love – JIF, Skippy, Peter Pan, etc… Try to avoid using the natural peanut butters that require you to stir the separated oil back in before using.
Can these Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies be made Gluten Free?
Yes. You should have no problem making these gluten free by using a 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
As far as other substitutions, I have only tested this recipe the way it is written. I can’t guarantee that they will work when making other substitutions and recommend making them exactly as written.
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Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes + Chill Time
- Yield: 18 Cookies 1x
Description
Classic peanut butter cookies made even better with the perfect crisp edge, chewy soft center, and rich peanut butter flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/2 C (113 g) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 C (125 g) Creamy Peanut Butter
- 3/4 C (165 g) Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/4 C (55 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lg Egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 C (155g) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- Coarse Sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 5 minutes or until light in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until just combined.
- Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Portion the dough into cookies by scooping a heaping TBSP of dough into your hands and rolling into a ball.
- Roll the dough balls in coarse sugar for extra crunch.
- Arrange on prepared baking sheet leaving room for the cookies to spread a bit.
- Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are set but the middles are still slightly wet.
- Remove from oven and bang the cookie sheet on the counter 4-5 times to help flatten the cookies a bit and to create the crinkled tops. Use a rubber spatula to scoot any runaway edges back into place.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
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I don’t have or use dark brown sugar. Can I use light brown sugar instead?
You can! They will be slightly less chewy but still delicious!