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Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Made with lightly browned butter, brown sugar, plenty of vanilla, and double the peanut butter for extra richness. Inspired by those soft, chewy cookies we all remember from pizza day at school—only better—these are crinkled all over with buttery peanut swirls and finished with flaky sea salt. Salty-sweet, chewy, classic, and nearly perfect.
A friend sent me a photo of her peanut butter cookies the other week, and suddenly, I was baking peanut butter cookies too.
Hers looked so good—deeply crinkled, soft and chewy, perfectly flat, with flakes of sugar and sea salt on top. I knew right away what I wanted mine to taste like: the peanut butter cookies they served on pizza day back in middle school. Soft, chewy, and somehow never dry. I’m convinced those cookies had secrets, and one of these days I’ll get my hands on that recipe.
For now, these are very close. I baked at least twelve batches before landing on the version that felt just right.
And truly, the photos don’t quite do these peanut butter cookies justice.
The trick is lightly browned butter, lots of vanilla, and double the peanut butter—creamy peanut butter only! Every detail of this recipe is designed to keep the cookies soft, rich, and totally irresistible.
These are the details
Ingredients
- salted butter
- brown sugar – I used dark
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- creamy peanut butter
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- granulated sugar
- vanilla bean paste
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Kitchen Tools
You don’t need anything fancy for these cookies. Just a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, a skillet for browning the butter, a large mixing bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. I also use a shallow bowl for rolling the dough in sugar and a tablespoon scoop to keep the cookies even. Simple tools, nothing special—just the kind of setup that makes baking feel easy and familiar.
These are the Steps
Step 1: Preheat the oven
Start by preheating the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I always do this first because once the dough is ready, you want to move quickly.
These cookies spread just right, and parchment makes all the difference when it comes to easy cleanup.
Step 2: Brown the butter
Add the butter to a skillet set over medium heat and cook, swirling often, until it turns lightly golden—about two minutes.
Don’t walk away; this happens fast. It’s a subtle step, but it’s one of the secrets here. Lightly browned butter adds depth without overpowering the peanut butter. Pour the butter into a bowl and let it cool slightly.
Step 3: Mix the wet ingredients
Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter into the warm butter until smooth. This is where the dough really comes together.
I use plenty of vanilla and double the peanut butter because I want these cookies rich and nostalgic, not dry or crumbly. Creamy peanut butter is key—it’s what gives you that soft, chewy center.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mixing just until combined. Stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour.
Overmixing is the fastest way to lose that soft, bakery-style texture we’re after.
Step 5: Roll and coat
In a shallow bowl, mix the sugar with the vanilla bean paste. Roll the dough into rounded tablespoon-size balls, then roll each one through the sugar.
This small step is important—it’s what gives the cookies that sparkly, crinkled top, just like the ones that always disappeared first in the lunchroom on pizza day.
Step 6: Bake and flatten
Bake for six minutes, then rotate the pan and gently tap it on the counter once or twice. This helps the cookies flatten and crinkle all over. Return them to the oven for another two to three minutes, just until the edges are set.
They’ll look slightly underdone in the center, and that’s exactly what you want.
Step 7: Cool and finish
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They’ll finish setting up as they sit. While still warm, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
It’s the final touch that makes these feel a little grown-up—even though they taste exactly like the cookies you hoped for back in middle school.
These cookies are also perfect for the Super Bowl. They’re easy to make ahead, easy to transport, and everyone loves a classic peanut butter cookie. They hold up beautifully on a platter, stay soft for days, and feel right at home alongside salty snacks and game-day food.
Looking for other fun cookie recipes? Here are some favorites:
Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Snickerdoodle Peanut Butter Chocolate Chex Mix Bars
Slice n’ Bake Bourbon Caramel Pretzel Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Salted Peanut Butter Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Peanut Butter Cookies.
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 165 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, swirling, until very light brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.3. Whisk in the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; mix just until combined.4. In a shallow bowl, mix the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Roll the dough into rounded 1-tablespoon balls and coat them in sugar.5. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the pan, then tap it on the counter 1–2 times to flatten. Bake another 2–3 minutes, until the edges are set.6. Let cool on the baking sheet. Finish with flaky salt.
This post was originally published on January 30, 2026
Can you freeze the balls to cook later?
Hi Karla,
Yes, that would work well for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Wish I had read the comments before making these cookies. 🙁
Hi there,
Very sorry to hear you did not enjoy these cookies. Is there anything that I can help with? Please let me know!
Is this recipe for sea level or for elevation? Thank you!!
Hi Lauren! I really don’t adjust my recipes for elevation so it should work well regardless! Enjoy! 🙂 xT
I tried to get my comment approved four times to help troubleshoot. I followed the recipe exactly, but they didn’t spread it all and they turned out pretty dry & crumbly.
Hi Anita,
Thanks for trying these cookies and your feedback. Very sorry to hear they did not turn out, I’m honestly not sure why they would be dry and crumbly for you!
The cookies turned out pretty dry and didn’t spread at all, even though I followed the recipe exactly. I was expecting soft and chewy like the description, but mine were crumbly and didn’t have much peanut butter flavor. I also thought the salty‑sweet balance was off — it felt too sweet without enough depth. Not what I hoped.
Hi Hope,
Thanks for trying these cookies and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear they weren’t enjoyed!
My cooked were more like the consistency of a chocolate chip cookie unlike yours which seemed more oily and loose. I also added a tap on vanilla bean paste to the sugar and it gave it a lot of moisture so I couldn’t actually roll to cookies in the sugar. It was very clumpy. I ended up adding quite a bit more sugar. Because they were more dense I had to flatten them with the top of a mason jar lid, which worked great. (One of the white plastic ones)
I think they are yummy but definitely didnt look like yours! Maybe I’d use 2c of flour next time.
Hey Kimm,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for making these cookies and your comment, love to hear they were enjoyed:)
These were pretty dry and so sweet, I didn’t care for them.
Thanks for your feedback, Angela. Sorry to hear they were not enjoyed. Have a great week!
These didn’t spread at all for me and were quite crumbly – I followed the recipe exactly so I don’t believe it was user error!
Hey Rebecca,
Hmmm, so sorry to hear you did not enjoy these cookies. Sorry to hear they didn’t spread for you!
Well, I was hoping for a better cookie. Too dry and crumbly. Not a strong peanut flavor but like the touch of salt.
Followed recipe exactly! Cookies were dry and didn’t have a rich peanut butter flavor.
Hi Liz,
Sorry to hear you did not enjoyed these cookies, thanks for making them!
I used a salted caramel cashew butter for this instead of peanut butter, and they were great.
I did the sugar coat outside and they weren’t too sweet.
I did have to give them a few taps on top with a spatula to flatten them, they were still quite dome like when coming out of the oven.
Hey Krysi,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad to hear it was a winner!
Hi Tieghan,
Made these today, so yummy, my family loved them!!
Hey Kathy,
Awesome! Love to hear your family enjoyed these cookies, thanks so much for making them!
These cookies are bursting with peanut butter flavor. Definitely my new go to peanut butter cookie recipe.
Hey Dana,
Yay!! Love to hear this! I appreciate you making these cookies and your comment. Have a great week ahead!
These are YUMMY! I used a 1.5 T cookie scoop so it made ~24 or so cookies. 8 minutes was too long, I’ll do a little less next time. I used GF flour so mine didn’t flatten when I dropped the tray–I had to smash with a spatula. Loved the crispy outside and the salt flakes on top was a hit with my family!
Hey Cherell,
Amazing! I appreciate you trying these cookies and sharing what worked well for you, so glad they were enjoyed!
I tried the recipe and also unfortunately ended up with non spreading cookies like other commentators, I had to manually press them down instead of tapping them. I wonder if its an issue of using a specific peanut butter ( I used Kraft creamy), or perhaps needing less flour depending on location. I know here in Canada our all purpose flour is higher in protein and I wonder if thats the issue others are also having.