These brown butter peanut butter cookies are made in one bowl, without a mixer, and there's no need to chill the cookie dough! What could be better than that? These soft and chewy cookies are rolled in sugar just before baking, giving us that pretty, sparkly look. Plus, you only need 10 simple pantry ingredients.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Just like my peanut butter Oreo cookies, these browned butter peanut butter cookies (wow, how many times can I write butter!) are super simple and pack a punch. Peanut butter is one of my favorite flavors when it comes to developing recipes.
These peanut butter cookies use brown butter to give it a nutty, toasted taste. I know, I know - brown butter is everywhere these days. But for good reason! It's a simple way to give your simple baked goods some oomph (and also how fancy does it sound when you tell people you baked ✨brown butter✨ peanut butter cookies?)
If you want even more peanut butter recipes, you need to check out my no bake peanut butter fudge (a serious win to make during the holidays!) and my peanut butter cream cheese brownies.
I can't get enough of these cookies!
When I was developing the base of these cookies, I wanted to make sure that these cookies were made without a mixer and didn't have to be chilled.
I also find that when baking with peanut butter, it can easily become too thick and dry. When testing these cookies (over and over and over!) I made sure that the balance of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar was right, giving us a soft and chewy cookie.
If you haven't made brown butter before, I really recommend checking out my blog post on how to make brown butter. It has photos and a video on what it looks like when you're browning the butter!
To make these look a bit different from a regular drop cookie, I rolled each cookie dough ball in sugar just before baking. You can skip this step, though, if you want. I've tested these cookies both ways!
Just 10 Key Ingredients
- Use Commercial Peanut Butter: You want the type of soft peanut butter you get from Jif and Skippy. I use the natural type of peanut butter with the oil on top for my cooking and smoothies, but you can't use that type of peanut butter here! It'll impact the texture of the cookies and make them dry - no one wants that.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use salted butter if that's all you have, you might want to reduce the amount of salt in the cookies, though! I also prefer to use European style butter, especially when browning butter, because it has a higher butterfat content.
Let's make some cookies!
- Step 1: Brown the butter and pour into a bowl. Let cool down.
- Step 2: Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Mix in the sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Step 3: Add the eggs and mix to combine.
- Step 4: Pour in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and combine with a rubber spatula.
- Step 5: Scoop out into 3 tablespoon-sized cookie dough balls and roll in extra granulated sugar.
- Step 6: Bake in the oven and enjoy!
Don't want to brown butter?
Maybe you don't have the time, maybe you've never tried it, and today is just not the day! Skip browning the butter and instead just melt 1.5 sticks + 4 teaspoons (190 grams) of butter.
Bakery-Style Cookie Tips from My Kitchen!
- Dry Cookies: If you find the cookie dough is dry, add 1 tablespoon of whole milk or heavy cream. When you brown butter, you remove some of the moisture, and depending on your brand of flour and peanut butter, your cookie dough might be on the dry side.
- Scoot Scoot: As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, use a large biscuit cutter or a large mug to scoot the cookies into a perfect shape!
- Kitchen Scale: I am once again here asking you to use a kitchen scale and skip the measuring cups. Using a kitchen scale means more accurate baking and less things to clean up - it's a win win, people!
Storage & Make Ahead
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
You can make the cookie dough balls ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 1 day. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls, but don't roll them in sugar. Store in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
When you're ready to bake them, take them out of the freezer while your oven preheats. Just before baking, roll them in sugar. You may need to bake them for a few minutes longer!
Made This Recipe?
Make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! You can tag me on Instagram @alpineella or follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!
Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies (No Chill)
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Baking Sheets
- Bowls
- Kitchen Scale
- Measuring Spoons
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cups (215 grams) smooth peanut butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100 grams) sugar
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, increase to medium heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The butter will begin to foam and bubble. You should then see white milk solids at the bottom of the pan, and the foam should begin to subside. Keep stirring until the milk solids turn a light brown and it smells nutty and toasted. Pour the melted butter into a large bowl and let it cool for a bit.1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix in the peanut butter to the cooled brown butter until smooth with a whisk.1 cups (215 grams) smooth peanut butter
- Add the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.2 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup (100 grams) sugar, 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Add the eggs and mix to combine.2 large eggs
- Pour in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and mix until smooth with a rubber spatula.2 ½ cups (300 grams) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Scoop out 3 tablespoons of cookie dough with a tablespoon or large cookie scoop. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, making sure the cookies have a few inches between each one. At this point I like to add a few extra chopped Oreo cookies on top of each cookie dough ball!
- Bake in the oven one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the middles are slightly under done.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Christine Loos says
This recipie is sooo delicious! I've tried both ways of browning and not browning the butter and they both turn out a hit. I also switched it up by adding both semi sweet and reeses chips instead of rolling in sugar and people love them! Great recipes with amazing instructions, tips and guidance. I can't wait to try out more.