Soft, chewy, and full of peanut butter flavor! These small batch peanut butter cookies make only 1 baker’s dozen and are done in under 15 minutes!
Why This Recipe Works
In my house it’s just myself and my husband, Joe. So the need to have dozens of cookies on hand at any given moment isn’t really necessary (our freezer is already stocked!) It’s not that I fear we will eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s actually the opposite, I’ll have to throw them in the freezer because they’ll go BAD.
Now before you go thinking “Man, Colleen… you’ve got some serious self control!” know that self control is a FACADE! I talk about this in my blog post on food obsession and how the “cure” to a lack of self control is actually permission to EAT those foods! This is what’s called intuitive eating and what I teach inside of The SociEATy.
The being said, sometimes I don’t want to make a giant batch of cookies! So, my go-to recipe to make is this one for small batch peanut butter cookies!
Or, sometimes I’ll pair them with half a batch of my chewy candy cookies or copycat Panera kitchen sink cookies for a little variety if I do want more cookies on hand!
Ingredients Needed
- Peanut butter. I use regular “JIF style” creamy peanut butter most of the time. If you use all natural you may need to adjust the recipe a bit depending on how dry or runny your peanut butter is (every natural brand seems to be different). If it’s too dry and crumbly add a touch of water or milk .
How To Make This Recipe
First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (you can find some silicone baking mats on Amazon for a super affordable price. SO worth it!)
Next, in a medium sized bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.
In a large bowl or stand combine peanut butter and sugars. Cream them together for ~1 minute.
Now, add your egg, egg yolk and vanilla to the peanut butter mixture. Beat again until combined.
Add your flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Your cookie dough should be uniform and easily roll into a ball. It should seem a little greasy- this is good!
Take 2-3 tbsp of the dough and form it into a ball. Repeat this process for the remaining dough and place ~2″ apart on a cookie sheet. You should have ~13 balls of dough (AKA a baker’s dozen!)
Now, take a fork and dip it into a small bowl of sugar then press it on top of the balls of dough twice to create an X shape. Dip the fork back into the bowl of sugar between presses. Repeat for the remaining cookies.
Then, before baking, I like to add a quick addition sprinkle of sugar over all of the cookies.
Bake the cookie for 9 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend smooth peanut butter but you can make this small batch peanut butter cookies recipe with either smooth or crunchy PB!
If you want more you can simply double or triple the recipe!
I usually use all purpose flour for this peanut butter cookies small batch recipe but you can also use whole wheat or gluten-free flour. I don’t recommend alternative flours like almond flour or gluten free since they have different properties. Instead take a peek at my recipe for chewy almond flour peanut butter cookies!
I store mine on the counter in an air tight container for about 5-7 days. If I am freezing them I will first freeze them on a plate or cookie sheet, THEN put them into a bag. This way they won’t stick together!
Expert Tips
To easily measure peanut butter for recipes WITHOUT it being a pain to remove from the measuring cup just spray your measuring cup with non-stick spray THEN fill it your peanut butter will slide right out. It’s magical!
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Like:
If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below!
Don’t forget to pin it on your Pinterest board for later, or tag me on IG @no.food.rules if you try the recipe and love it!
XOXO
-Colleen
Small Batch Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tps salt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar + ~2 tbsp
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper/spill mat or non-stick spray
- In a medium sized bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a stand mixer, or using electric beaters, combine the peanut butter and sugars.
- Next add in the egg, yolk and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat together until uniform.
- Take ~2 tbsp of dough and form it into balls. Place ~2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
- Dip a fork into a small bowl of sugar and then press an "X" pattern on top.
- Bake cookies for 9 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool fully and enjoy!
Megan says
So good! They taste like PB cookies I made as a kid–probably the brown sugar 🙂 Love that it’s small batch so it doesn’t make a ton that are just sitting around.
cindy says
My kiddos and I made this together! We have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately and its so fun. They really enjoyed making this recipe but they enjoyed eating it even more! Thanks for this delish creation, we are adding it to our “make again” list!!
Vicky says
I love small batch cookies! Peanut butter is so yummy!!
Colleen says
Same! I think they’re just the perfect size!
Cookilicious says
I have been making this on repeat! Thank you so much for this simple yet tasty recipe
Colleen says
So glad you love!
Irina says
Thanks for a great recipe. Your peanut butter cookies are the best: I made them tonight. And thank you for all the tips to make cookies.
Colleen says
Totally agree- PB Cookies are a total fave of mine!
Diana says
My family loves peanut butter cookies. I will have to make this recipe soon.
Colleen says
So glad you love!
malina says
these are so yummy and gooey. i cooked them for 8 minutes and they were perfect!!! will definitely be making these again😊
Cara says
Possibly the natural peanut I used was too natural and dry to begin with because the cookies were dryer than a stick of chalk. Had to throw them out. Will try with regular pb instead.
Colleen says
Hi! If you use really dry natural PB the cookies will be more dry!