These Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies (with Cookie butter) are based on the classic peanut butter cookies my mom made when I was a kid (from the Five Roses Cookbook). These Peanut Butter Cookies are made with both creamy peanut butter and cookie butter, giving them a hint of mild gingerbread flavor and elevating them to an entirely new level of deliciousness!
Made with mostly pantry ingredients, they are quick and easy to make. These cookies are also popular all year round and perfect for the peanut butter lover in your life!
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The sad thing is that I never really appreciated these homemade cookies back then. I wanted store-bought (preferably Toll House chocolate chip cookies), like all my friends had. But now I do! And I longed for these cookies as soon as I moved away from home.
What is Cookie Butter?
Cookie butter, also known as Speculoos Cookie Butter and sometimes used interchangeably with Biscoff spread (affiliate link), is found near the peanut butter, almond butter, and jam section in the grocery store. If you've never had it, you will love cookie butter, especially mixed with peanut butter! It has a mild gingerbread taste, and when you mix it with peanut butter, it's a stellar combination, making it the best cookie butter cookie EVER!
🥘 Ingredient Notes
My daughter said these cookie butter cookies were, and I quote, "The PERFECT combination of soft and crunch." I was seriously flattered. My Mom's peanut butter cookies were always nice and soft, too. Although soft peanut butter cookies are great, I love that wee bit of crunch you get from using a combination of crunchy peanut butter and cookie butter; it's essential for dipping in milk - YUM!
These crunchy peanut butter cookies bake a little thinner than the original and that's what gives them that little C-R-U-N-C-H! You can also use crunchy cookie butter for even more crunch!
For these peanut cookie butter cookies (with cookie butter), you'll need the following basic ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter in my baking because I like to control the salt in my recipes. The content of salt in salted butter varies from brand to brand.
- Brown sugar. The moisture retained by brown sugar helps keep cookies tender and moist.
- Chunky peanut butter. Chunky peanut butter gives a welcome texture and crunch to these cookies.
- Cookie butter. Cookie butter has a mild gingerbread flavor that pairs perfectly with peanut butter. Cookie Butter also comes in the "crunchy" variety, so you could use smooth peanut butter or use both chunky peanut butter and crunchy cookie butter (for extra crunch).
*Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Butter -you can use salted butter, but skip the salt in the recipe
- Cookie Butter - this also comes in the "crunchy" variety, so you could use smooth peanut butter or use both chunky peanut butter and crunchy cookie butter (for extra crunch). You could also use Biscoff Spread as a substitute, but it's a little less sweet and doesn't have as strong a gingerbread flavor. Cookie butter just tastes best in these cookies!
- Peanut butter - you could use smooth peanut butter or natural peanut butter, but natural peanut butter isn't as sweet. Toss is some finely chopped peanuts for a chunkier texture!
- Brown sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar
🔪 Step-by-Step: How to Make Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies (with Cookie Butter)
Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (or line with parchment paper).
- In a large bowl, cream softened butter; add sugars gradually, beating with an electric hand mixer (or you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed) use until creamy.
- Combine peanut butter, cookie butter, egg, salt, vanilla, and baking soda with creamed butter and sugar.
- Slowly blend in flour.
- Dip the fork in flour
- Roll the cookie dough into small (1 inch approx.) round dough balls
- Flatten with the floured tines of a fork. *You can do it one direction as I do, or make additional fork marks the other way too for a crisscross pattern, if desired.
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes in a preheated oven
- Cool on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes.
Then move to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients: For best results, ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature. This helps them incorporate more evenly into the dough and results in a smoother texture.
- Cream butter and sugars thoroughly: Don't rush this step! Creaming introduces air into the dough, which gives the cookies a lighter texture. Mix until the mixture is light and fluffy-about 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Avoid overmixing once the flour is added: Overmixing the dough after adding flour can lead to tough cookies. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.
- Dip your fork in flour between flattening cookies: This prevents the dough from sticking to the fork and keeps that signature fork mark neat and defined.
- Watch baking time closely: All ovens vary slightly, so start checking your cookies around the 10-minute mark. They're ready when the edges are just lightly golden but the centers still look a bit soft-they'll firm up as they cool.
- For extra crunch: Use both chunky peanut butter and crunchy cookie butter. It adds another level of texture that's perfect for dunking in milk.
- Want thicker cookies? Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. This slows the spread and results in a slightly thicker, chewier cookie.
- Double up for a crowd: These cookies are always a hit and freeze beautifully-so go ahead and double the batch!
👪 Serving Size
This cookie butter cookie recipe makes about 36 cookies. You can half, double or even triple the recipe by clicking on the servings number in the recipe card. Then select the number of servings you would like and the ingredient amounts will adjust accordingly.
🌡️ Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
These freeze well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
❔ Recipe FAQ's
Not necessarily, but if your kitchen is warm or your dough feels too soft, chilling it for 20-30 minutes can help the cookies bake up thicker and prevent spreading too much.
You can absolutely use smooth peanut butter instead of chunky. The texture will be slightly softer and less crunchy, but still delicious. For extra crunch, consider using crunchy cookie butter if you have it.
Too much spreading can mean your dough is too warm - try chilling it for 20-30 minutes. Or your butter could be too soft. It should soften at room temperature. If you put it in the microwave it will be too melty (it cooks from the inside out) and melted butter causes spreading.
Absolutely! Roll the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-top freezer bag. Bake from frozen at the same temperature, adding 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
These are the BEST peanut butter cookies I have ever eaten! And since my mom made the best, you can only imagine how good these are. The original recipe came from the Five Roses Cookbook, which is the very first cookbook that I ever owned (the first one my mom gave me).
And that cookbook serves as the basis for so many of my go-to recipes like my Easy Homemade Lasagna, Easy Pumpkin Pie and my Old-fashioned Meat Loaf. But this peanut butter cookie recipe only gets better with cookie butter added to the mix!
So, if you love cookie butter and peanut butter cookies and you're looking for unique peanut butter cookie recipes or a cookie butter cookie to die for, then give these guys a try!
🍪More Cookie Recipes!
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📋 Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe (with Cookie Butter)
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed (affiliate link)
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup chunky peanut butter
- ¼ cup cookie butter (affiliate link)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (affiliate link)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅛ cup all - purpose flour (affiliate link)
- ½ tsp vanilla (affiliate link)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C.
- Cream butter; add sugars gradually, beating until creamy.
- Mix in egg, peanut butter, cookie butter, salt, vanilla, and baking soda.
- Slowly blend in flour.
- Roll into small (1 inch approx.) balls and flatten with a floured fork.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10- 12 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet.
- Transfer to cooling racks and cool for another 5 minutes.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients: For best results, ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature. This helps them incorporate more evenly into the dough and results in a smoother texture.
- Cream butter and sugars thoroughly: Don't rush this step! Creaming introduces air into the dough, which gives the cookies a lighter texture. Mix until the mixture is light and fluffy-about 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Avoid overmixing once the flour is added: Overmixing the dough after adding flour can lead to tough cookies. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.
- Dip your fork in flour between flattening cookies: This prevents the dough from sticking to the fork and keeps that signature fork mark neat and defined.
- Watch baking time closely: All ovens vary slightly, so start checking your cookies around the 10-minute mark. They're ready when the edges are just lightly golden but the centers still look a bit soft-they'll firm up as they cool.
- For extra crunch: Use both chunky peanut butter and crunchy cookie butter. It adds another level of texture that's perfect for dunking in milk.
- Want thicker cookies? Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. This slows the spread and results in a slightly thicker, chewier cookie.
- Double up for a crowd: These cookies are always a hit and freeze beautifully-so go ahead and double the batch!
Nutrition
Faith Gregg
Oops! Just looked again and it is just probably from where the cookies were flattened with a fork! A cookie butter drizzle on top might be good too, though!
Faith Gregg
I notice in the picture of these cookies that it looks like they have some kind of a glaze drizzled on them. What it that made with? Thanks, have always had good results with your recipes.
Colleen
I've never heard of cookie butter, but if it can make a peanut butter cookie even better, I'm in!
Terri Gilson
Hi Colleen, It's also known as Biscoff spread. And it definitely makes peanut butter cookies even better!
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli
Love both peanut butter cookies AND cookie butter, so these are a real treat! They look like the perfect dipping cookie as well! Yum!
Terri Gilson
Thanks Nicoletta! Yes, they are definitely perfect for dipping!
Sabrina
I’d never heard of cookie butter before but this sounds delicious! I’m definitely going to try this recipe, my family LOVES peanut butter cookies!!! Thanks 🙂
Terri Gilson
Oh you have to try cookie butter! My daughter loves it so much she put it on her Christmas list - she wanted her own jar in her stocking haha!
Kristen
My hubby loves peanut butter cookies and I’m always trying out other people’s recipes. I’ll give these a try!
Terri Gilson
I hope he enjoys these, Kristen!