Easy peanut butter cookies with peanuts - chewy, nutty, crunchy, and ready in under 30 minutes. A simple, homemade favorite.
These peanut butter cookies with peanuts are made from scratch and are one of our favorites. Chewy, nutty, and dotted with crunchy roasted peanuts, they're full of flavor and ready in under 30 minutes - perfect when you want a quick homemade treat.
Peanut butter is a wonderful thing. I love using it for baking and desserts like The Best Peanut Butter Pie or the Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread, but not only. These Spinach Peanut Butter Noodles are incredible.
Featured comment:
Fireball: I tried this recipe today! They came out absolutely delicious, it was super hard to stop myself from just eating the raw cookie dough!! The smell is just wonderful and the cookies are delightful. Not too sweet, perfect chew, and just overall what I'm looking for in a cookie.
Love it!
Ingredients: 8 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 13 minutes | Servings: 30-35 | Difficulty: Easy
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Why add peanuts to peanut butter cookies?
Adding chopped peanuts makes a big difference in both texture and flavor. While classic peanut butter cookies are smooth and soft, these cookies have small crunchy bits throughout, which makes them more interesting to eat.
The peanuts also intensify the peanut flavor, especially if you use roasted peanuts. If you like peanut butter cookies but want more crunch and a stronger nutty taste, this version is hard to beat.
Recipe ingredients
Peanut butter: Make sure to use pure, unsweetened peanut butter. The cookies are sweet enough as they are, so sweetened peanut butter would make them overly sweet.
- If you want to make your own, take a look at How to Roast Peanuts for Peanut Butter. All you need is a bag of peanuts and a good food processor.
Sugar: I use a combination of white granulated sugar and brown sugar. You can use only white sugar if that's what you have.
Chopped peanuts: I always add chopped roasted peanuts.
- I've also replaced the peanuts with chocolate chips once, and that version was great too. If you're a chocolate person, you should definitely try it. However, I like peanuts more than chocolate, so I stick to peanuts nowadays and save the chocolate chips for really good Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make peanut butter cookies with peanuts?
Step #1: Cream the butter and the sugar for 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Beat in the peanut butter, then fold in the chopped peanuts.
Step #2: Stir in the mixed flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, or until it feels firmer.
Tip: Butter creamed with brown sugar never becomes quite as light and fluffy as butter creamed only with white sugar, as brown sugar is coarser. Still, beat the mixture for at least 3-4 minutes using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer.
Step #3: Form rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Place them on the baking sheet.
Step #4: Use a fork to press the classic criss-cross pattern, flattening the cookies slightly.
Step #5: Bake for 12-13 minutes, until only lightly colored. Let the cookies set on the tray for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
How to store them?
These peanut butter cookies with peanuts keep well for 5-6 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Stored in the fridge, they will last for a few more days.
Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanuts
Ingredients
- 1ยผ cup all-purpose flour Note 1
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- ยฝ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ยพ cup brown sugar Note 2
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pure peanut butter unsweetened, Note 3
- โ cup roasted peanuts chopped, Note 4
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.1ยผ cup all-purpose flour + ยฝ teaspoon baking soda + pinch of salt
- Cream butter: In another bowl, mix the soft butter and brown sugar until fluffy. ยฝ cup unsalted butter + ยพ cup brown sugar
- Make cookie dough: Beat the egg and the vanilla into the butter mixture. Stir in the peanut butter and the chopped peanuts. Stir in the flour mixture.1 egg + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 cup pure peanut butter + โ cup roasted peanuts
- Refrigerate: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF/ 180ยฐC (fan oven 320ยฐF/ 160ยฐC). Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form cookies: Take out rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and form balls. Use a fork to press the criss-cross pattern on the cookies and to flatten them slightly.
- Bake: If using a fan/convection oven, you can bake both cookie trays at once; if using a regular oven, bake the cookie trays one after another.Bake for about 13 minutes or until only lightly colored. Let them rest on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- Measurements: Use a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients when baking; it guarantees for best results.
- Sugar: A mix of white and brown sugar gives the best flavor, but white sugar alone is fine.
- Peanut butter: Use pure, unsweetened peanut butter. Store-bought or homemade works.ย
- Peanuts: Roasted, chopped peanuts add crunch. You can swap for chocolate chips if you prefer.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Salted peanuts work well and add a nice sweet-salty balance. Skip adding extra salt to the dough if you use them.
You can, but the cookies will be crunchier overall. I usually use smooth peanut butter and fold in chopped peanuts for texture.
Chilling helps the cookies keep their shape, but if your dough is firm enough, you can skip or shorten the chill.
They keep for about 5-6 days at room temperature in an airtight container. Refrigerating can extend the freshness a few more days.
Sonia says
Can these be made gluten free?
Adina says
Hi Sonia. I suppose you could if you used gluten free flour, but I have never used that in any recipe, so I can't really say how the cookies will be.
Raymond Beja, Sr says
Truly, a logical balance between flour, natural peanut butter, and peanuts.
Well done.
I also compliment you on your ingredients presentation, using grams, ounces, and cups to specify quantities, leaving no doubts.
Adina says
Thank you for your feedback, Raymond; I am happy you liked the cookies.
Patty says
Followed the recipe to a T, cookies came out very crumbly. Not sure what the issue was-I bake all the time and never seen this before
Bee says
Made this with egg replacer; also found out I didn't have unseasoned chopped peanuts by the time I mixed it all together, so used crushed up cheerios haha ๐
Adina says
I am glad it worked! ๐
Joyce says
Thank you for a recipe that uses fresh ground peanut butter. The cookies are just delicious! I'm eating one (or two) right this minute.
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Joyce. I am glad you like them.
Fireball says
I tried this recipe today! They came out absolutely delicious, it was super hard to stop myself from just eating the raw cookie dough!! The smell is just wonderful and the cookies are delightful. Not too sweet, perfect chew, and just overall what I'm looking for in a cookie.
Love it!
Adina says
Hi. I am so glad you liked the cookies. I have the same problem with the cookie dough, I know I shouldn't eat it (mostly because of the raw egg), but I do it anyway.
Balvinder says
I have never tried baking peanut butter cookies but yours look so delicious that I may just have to try baking some soon.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
Haha!I can relate to your peanut butter story. The first time I ever had cereal, I thought it was the worst thing I have ever had (next to Chinese medicine). In Vietnam when I was a child, we didn't drink milk. So when I was served plain corn flakes and milk, I thought it was tasteless, mushy, and gross.
These cookies look delicious!! I love that you use pure, natural ingredients. They do make a difference in the quality of the cookies.