Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies — These soft peanut butter cookies are the peanut butter version of a molasses crinkle. They’re soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor!
Table of Contents
I love crinkle cookies. When I see those big crevices, my eyes light up and I know I’m in for a chewy treat.
I love molasses crinkles, but peanut butter crinkles sounded so good. These simple peanut butter cookies are soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor.
It’s a very easy peanut butter cookie recipe to memorize because it starts out with 1/2 cup each of butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugars, along with an egg and vanilla. Add in the flour, baking soda, and then scoop into balls.
When I eat cookies, I’m a breaker, not a biter, and these cookies break apart so nicely at the crinkles. Half the fun is them breaking apart. I told myself, oh just break off that little piece there. And then that other little piece over there came off so effortlessly, too.
And then breaking off another section. And another crinkly seam. So good.
Ingredients for This Recipe
This easy peanut butter crinkles recipe calls for just nine basic ingredients. To make these old-fashioned chewy peanut butter cookies, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Creamy peanut butter
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies
When I say these are easy peanut butter cookies, I mean it! Full instructions are provided in the recipe card below, but here’s an overview:
- To make the dough, simply beat together the wet ingredients, then mix in the dry.
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls, then chill them for at least 2 hours.
- Before baking, I roll the dough through granulated sugar because I like my crinkle cookies with the ever-so-slight crunch of a sugary coating. It’s very minimal, but a nice touch.
- I baked these chewy and soft peanut butter cookies for 12 minutes. If you’re an oven door watcher, the cookies begin crinkling about 9 minutes into baking, and the longer the bake, the more they crinkle, and continue to do so as they cool.
Tip About the Batch Size
These soft peanut butter cookies are large in diameter, but not very thick. They’ll disappear quickly since it’s a small batch recipe, making just 1 dozen cookies.
Recipe FAQs
The difference between this dough and most other cookie dough is that for the amount of butter and peanut butter used, adding more flour would be expected. However, more flour isn’t added, so the dough is very soft and limp. Extra flour would firm up the dough and would cause the cookies to bake thicker with smoother rounded tops.
By keeping the dough on the wetter and softer side, the cookies spread more, bake thinner, and as they rise and then fall in the oven, crinkles develop.
I haven’t tried the recipe making smaller cookies, but if you do, you’ll need to reduce baking time, but by how much, I don’t know. Part of the appeal is their softball-like size.
Yes, baked cookies will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
You want to use a creamy peanut butter from a brand like Jif or Skippy. Don’t use natural or homemade peanut butter in these cookies, as both are too runny for this recipe.
I haven’t made this recipe using gluten-free flour, so I can’t say for sure. But I’ve had readers report success using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, so it’s worth a shot!
You must chill the dough. If you don’t, the already soft and spread-prone dough will spread to epic levels and you’ll have one giant paper-thin cookie that baked together on the baking sheet. Not good, so chill it.
Storage Instructions
Baked peanut butter crinkles will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Or, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
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Old-Fashioned Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter, not natural or homemade, too runny
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl with electric mixer), combine egg, peanut butter, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamed, about 4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, divide dough into 12 equal-sized mounds. Roll the mounds into balls, and flatten just slightly. Dough is very soft, limp, and mushy so be gentle with it.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake too thin, flat, and will spread far too much.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- Dredge each mound dough through granulated sugar, coating liberally.
- Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart. I bake 8 cookies per sheet; do not crowd because the cookies spread considerably.
- Bake for about 12 minutes (start checking at 10 minutes), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake because cookies firm up as they cool. If you’re an oven door watcher, the cookies begin crinkling about 9 minutes into baking, and the longer the bake, the more they crinkle and continue to do so as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Crinkle cookies ARE like crazy pretty!!!! amd I love how big and chewy and peanut-buttery they look!
I love crinkle cookies too and a peanut butter version sounds perfect.
I am such a sucker for crinkle cookies, too – and it IS because they are so “breakable!! Whoa, and now we’ve got peanut butter in the picture … what a fantastic cookie, Averie!
This looks so yummy! I always love seeing classic cookies done in a better way ^.^
There’s nothing quite like an old fashioned peanut butter cookie and these take that up a notch. So chewy, soft, and all those crinkles! I bet they just melt in your mouth. Perfect with a big cup of milk. Gorgeous photos!
Thanks, Sally! After 5 years and a cookbook, I was wondering how many NEW Pb cookies I could make…well, here we go :) Thanks for the photo compliments. It’s interesting photographing ‘simple’ cookies with no chocolate, add-ins, stuff, etc. There’s no melted chocolate to hide behind :)
These are SO delightful, Averie! I can believe you keep coming up with more and more treats, you are so creative! pinning!
Look at how creative and beautiful YOUR recipes are! I pin them all the time! Love them!
looks so delicious, I love cookies,
These look so delicious. You make me forget my health kick every time I come to your site :)
Anisa – The Macadames. xx
http://www.creamstop.com
These look fantastic! Do you think I could use Trader Joe’s peanut butter, or would that classify as the natural and too runny kind?
It’s borderline. In other cookie recipes, you’d be more safe. But this dough is already on the really soft side I just worry that any sort of natural PB will cause the cookies to spread. I personally wouldn’t, but if you try it, LMK how it goes!
I can’t wait to make these for my kids! Too decadent to slather them with melted chocolate!? Oh my!
I love chewy cookies! Just made some today that were not supposed to be chewy and turned out a little tooooo crinkly…yours look just perfect! It’s always interesting how flour ratios make a difference.
I love chewy cookies and this could be my ultimate recipe for chewy cookies as it sounds really easy. I love to eat cookies breaking apart too and I’m sure those crinkles will help much doing so. The pictures are definitely so tempting. Must pin these!
thanks for pinning and for the photo compliments!
Love those crinkles–I remember the molasses crinkles and PB sounds every bit as good! Also nice that you provide info on why ingredients behave certain ways when baking and what happens. Sometimes that stuff gets pushed to the back of my mind and I read it again and think Oh yeah–I remember that now! You’ve come up with so many great PB cookie recipes–each has its own unique thing about it. I went to a workshop on fermenting veggies today–neat stuff and so easy to do. I also tasted some kombucha that was incredible. I remember you making this before–I might e-mail you with a few questions if that’s ok.
Thanks for saying you enjoyed the science and yes, so many PB recipes :) But if there’s a way to turn pb into cookies that I havent already done in 5 years and a cookbook later, I needed to do it :)
Kombucha. Yes, homemade is incredible! Sounds like you had an amazing day! Fermenting veggies and ‘booch drinking, that sounds so fun! And yes I make it. Here are the posts I have tagged with it https://www.averiecooks.com/category/beverages/kombucha-beverages
But feel free to email, too!
Crinkle cookies are so hard to do well – they need to have the perfect combination of ingredients to get the chewy texture, without being too soft or too cakey. These look absolutely PERFECT. I’ve never even heard of peanut butter crinkles!
THANK YOU!!! for understanding this about the hard to pull off and just a smidge on one side or the other and you either end up with pancakes or thick cookies, there’s no wiggle room in the thickness and yes to get that really chewy texture, still soft, not crumbly nor cakey, yeah, I had to really strategize about these :) And I had never heard of Pb crinkles either but by golly if there’s a way to turn pb into cookies that I havent already done in 5 years and a cookbook later, I needed to do it :)
I love the crinkles and I so relate about loving to break your cookies apart when eating them – it makes them soo much more enjoyable (don’t know why, just does!) Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and glad you can relate to being a breaker :)
Wow, they are perfectly crinkled:) Delicious!