These peanut butter shortbread cookies make the perfect treat! They’re crispy with a soft, chewy center and have the best sugary peanut butter flavor. Bonus, all you need is six easy ingredients.
About these peanut butter shortbread cookies
We’ve been making these cookies forever. Not only are they crispy and chewy in all the right ways, but they’re also as simple as it gets and require only six basic ingredients—a cookie win in my books.
This recipe makes a batch of 32-36 cookies (depending on the size of your scoops). To measure the cookie balls, I use my small oxo cookie scoop, which holds two teaspoons. I like to make smaller cookies—because I feel less guilty when I have two or three—but whether you make them small or big, these peanut butter shortbread cookies are the perfect sweet treat for any occasion. Movie night. Birthday parties. Holidays. YES 👌
What you’ll need
Ingredients
- Butter (softened)
- Peanut butter (cold – see recipe tips)
- Brown sugar
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- A large egg
Seriously, that’s it. A cookie ingredient list doesn’t get much shorter than this. 🙌
Kitchen tools
- A large baking sheet
- A cookie scoop — I love my oxo cookie scoops. In this recipe, I use their small scoop to help me equally measure the cookie balls. * Not necessary, but so helpful.
How to make peanut butter shortbread cookies
These cookies are easy and come together in under 10 minutes. So, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grab a mixing bowl!
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter (room temperature) and cold peanut butter.
- The mixture should be smooth and creamy.
- Add in brown sugar, white sugar, and a large egg.
- Use a whisk or electric beaters to combine.
- Stir in flour.
- Grab a small spoon or cookie scoop and form the dough into small balls (~ two teaspoons).
- Place them on a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced apart to allow for spreading.
- Flatten the dough (to roughly 1/4 of an inch thick) with a fork. After the first press, rotate the fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the bottom edges are golden and the tops are puffy but no longer look wet. Remove and let cool.
Recipe tips
If you’re baking in a warm kitchen, which often happens when the oven is preheating, you might find your butter and peanut butter become super soft, especially after your cream them together. You don’t want the mixture to melt! My trick for the perfect temperature is to cream the softened butter with cold peanut butter and place the creamed mixture in the fridge for 5 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
Once the cookie batter is mixed, stick it back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to help the dough hold its shape and ensure the cookies don’t over-spread when baking or cook too quickly. It also makes scooping the dough into cookie balls a little easier.
If you give these peanut butter shortbread cookies a try, let me know in the comments below. I love to hear from you!
xo Bri
Looking for more cookie recipes? Make these favs.
Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened *leave out at room temperature for 30-45 minutes
- 1/2 cup peanut butter use cold peanut butter if possible — see recipe tips above
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sifted flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with peanut butter until smooth and well combined.
- Add the brown and white sugars and the egg. Beat with a whisk or electric beaters until creamy and well-mixed.
- Sift the all-purpose flour over top and stir into the mixture until well incorporated and you've got cookie dough.
- Use a small spoon or cookie scoop to measure ~ 2 tsp scoops. Gently roll scoops between your palms to form cookie balls. Place on a large, parchment-lined baking sheet with ample space between cookies.
- Use a fork to flatten the cookies to roughly a 1/4 of an inch thick. Press the fork lightly, overlapping to create a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake on the middle rack for 13-15 minutes, or until the bottom edges are golden and crispy. The tops will be golden and puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- *TIP: Before forming into balls, place the dough in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to help the dough from becoming too warm, resulting in the cookies cooking too quickly and spreading too much. The dough is easier to handle if it's slightly chilled.*
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Tag @mondaysundaykitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #mondaysundaykitchen!
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