This small batch peanut butter cookies recipe makes delicious soft cookies full of peanut butter flavor. This recipe makes around 10 cookies.
Peanut butter cookies are such a classic. The perfect peanut butter cookie is thick and soft with a slight chew, sweet and little bit salty.
If you're looking for a recipe to curb your peanut butter cookie craving, but don't want to make a huge batch, this small-batch recipe is for you! Or if you're after something with chocolate chips, try these small-batch cookie bars!
Jump to:
Did you know
The peanut butter cookie was invented around 1910 after George Washington Carver of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute published a peanut cookbook in an effort to promote the peanut crop.
The peanut butter cookie in that cookbook included the criss-cross fork marks we are so used to seeing today.
The fork marks in peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter cookies don't spread the way that other cookies can. It's the peanut butter in there that makes them denser. This is why they have to be compressed before being baked.
Dip your fork in some water, and then granulated sugar to coat the prongs before pressing onto the cookies. This will stop the cookie dough from sticking to the fork.
Ingredients
For this small-batch peanut butter cookies recipe, you will need -
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking soda and baking powder.
- A pinch of salt (can be omitted if using salted butter.)
- Butter, unsalted butter, or salted butter, at room temperature.
- Creamy peanut butter.
- A whole egg
- Granulated sugar.
- Soft brown sugar.
- Vanilla extract.
The peanut butter
Choose a smooth and creamy peanut butter instead of a natural one for the best texture. The natural peanut butter tends to split and is a bit more grainy in texture. They do still work in this cookie, but it results in a dryer cookie that's less soft.
Use salted peanut butter. This adds a great contrast to the sweet cookie.
If you prefer more texture to your cookie you can switch the smooth peanut butter for crunchy peanut butter.
The cookie dough
This cookie dough needs a little chilling before rolling - at least an hour, but all the way up to 24 hours. You can roll the cookie dough balls and freeze them too for easy future cookies.
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter, peanut butter, egg, vanilla, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat it together until creamy. You can do this by hand too, but take your time beating until it's creamy.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix them together into a sticky dough. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least an hour.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the peanut butter cookie dough into 9-11 cookie balls, and roll each cookie ball into some granulated sugar until it's coated.
- Place the balls on the cookie sheet, spaced around 2 inches apart. Use a fork to press the dough balls down and create a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake the cookies for around 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. The top of the cookies will still be soft. Allow them to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.
Make ahead instructions
The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze the unbaked cookie-dough balls for up to 3 months.
Roll the balls in sugar, then place them on a tray in the freezer until firm. Once firm, place them in a freezer-safe airtight container. The cookies dough balls can be baked from frozen but will need an extra minute of baking time.
Other cookies to try
- Hazelnut Slice and Bake Cookies
- Chewy Double Ginger Cookies
- Biscoff Swirl Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Full Recipe
Small-Batch Peanut Butter Cookies
This small-batch peanut butter cookies recipe makes delicious soft cookies full of peanut butter flavor.
Ingredients
- 125g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 85g (⅓ cup) creamy peanut butter
- 75g (⅓ cup) butter, softened to room temperature
- 50g (¼ cup) soft brown sugar
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Extra granulated sugar to roll
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter, peanut butter, egg, vanilla, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat it together until creamy. You can do this by hand too, but take your time beating until it's creamy.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix them together into a sticky dough. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least an hour but up to 24 hours.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the peanut butter cookie dough into 9-11 cookie balls, and roll each cookie ball into some granulated sugar until it's coated.
- Place the balls on the cookie sheet, spaced around 2 inches apart. Use a fork to press the dough balls down and create a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake the cookies for around 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. The top of the cookies will still be soft. Allow them to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.
- Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.
If you don't have a scale US* cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best and most consistent results.*US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.
MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS
The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze the unbaked cookie-dough balls for up to 3 months.
Roll the balls in sugar, then place them on a tray in the freezer until firm. Once firm, place them in a freezer-safe airtight container. The cookies dough balls can be baked from frozen but will need an extra minute of baking time.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 89mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g
Leave a Reply