Rich, nutty brown butter elevates everything, especially these brown butter peanut butter cookies. Not only does browned butter enhance their peanut butter flavor, but it makes the cookies super chewy with crisp edges.
With only 30 minutes of chill time and no mixer required, these easy cookies will be a new staple in your baking repertoire.
For more peanut butter desserts, try these peanut butter brownie cookies, peanut M&M cookies, and peanut butter marshmallow squares.
Jump to:
How to Bake Them
1. Brown the butter. Watch it carefully while it's cooking. You don't want it to be any darker than an amber color, or it will taste bitter and burnt.
2. Mix in the sugars and peanut butter. Before doing this, make sure to let the brown butter cool completely. Butter that's too warm can lead to greasy cookies that spread too much.
3. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until the batter thickens to a paste-like consistency.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients. Then chill the dough! It helps the flour hydrate so the dough is easier to scoop and prevents spreading.
5. Scoop the dough. Use a large cookie scoop, then roll between your hands to create a sphere. Roll in sugar and press a crosshatch pattern into the dough.
6. Bake until golden brown! Swirl the cookies in a round cookie cutter fresh out of the oven to get that perfectly circular, bakery-style shape.
Love baking with brown butter? Try it in brown butter frosting, biscoff butter cookies, brown butter maple blondies, and brown butter pecan chocolate chip cookies!
Substitutions and Mix-Ins
- Different nut butter- You can use any nut butter you like, such as almond butter or cashew butter. For a nut free option, try using Sunbutter.
- Chocolate- Fold in 1 cup of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips after mixing the dry ingredients.
- Chopped candy- Chopped peanut butter cups, Snickers, or any kind of chocolate candy bar is delicious mixed into the dough!
Frequently Asked Questions
Any kind can work, but I recommend a creamy, processed peanut butter (like JIF or Skippy). Natural peanut butter works too, just make sure it's mixed well so a ton of oil doesn't get mixed in.
Yes. Some of the moisture from the butter evaporates while it is browned. So if you don't brown the butter and just melt it, there will be too much. Too much butter will make the cookies greasy.
This is most likely from over-measuring the flour! You could have also overbaked the cookies. I recommend getting an oven thermometer to make sure your oven temperature is calibrated properly. You'd be surprised how different each oven can be!
More Cookie Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
Need Metric or US Customary Measurements?
Use the buttons below to toggle between grams and cups!
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 125 grams peanut butter salted or unsalted
- 130 grams granulated sugar + extra for rolling
- 85 grams brown sugar light or dark
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 grams all purpose flour
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat stirring constantly. The butter will begin to foam and sizzle. Don't look away as it can burn quickly.113 grams unsalted butter
- After 5-8 minutes, white milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown. As soon as the butter is brown with a nutty aroma, take off the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Make sure to get all those brown bits of flavor! Let cool slightly.
- Whisk cooled brown butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth.125 grams peanut butter, 130 grams granulated sugar, 85 grams brown sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until well combined.1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt with a rubber spatula until just combined. The dough will look soft and slightly sticky after mixing.180 grams all purpose flour, ยฝ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 30 minutes. As it chills, preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (180ยฐC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop the cookie dough and roll in sugar. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet with 1-2 inches between each. Use a fork to press a crosshatch pattern into the dough.
- Bake for 9-13 minutes until the edges are set and the middles are puffy and look slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the hot tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
- Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature and enjoy!
Jen L
What a fail!! I felt like something was wrong right the dough while shaping, and then when I attempted to crosshatch, the dough crumbled into pieces. I measured everything by weight, as recommended but there is way too much flour to the lower amount of fat in this recipe. Attempted to cook them and they just turned out so awfully dry
Megan Weimer
Hey! I retested the recipe, and you were totally right. The dough was way too dry. I updated the recipe so now the results are better!