Easy Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

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These browned butter peanut butter cookies are perfect for anyone who loves that soft and chewy center with a slightly crispy edge. Browned butter adds a rich, nutty flavor that will make these cookies your new favorite treat. And as a small-batch recipe making eight cookies, it's the right amount of cookies for cravings (and to have some leftovers on backup too!).

Browned butter peanut butter cookies sitting on a white background, with a dollop of peanut butter peeking out of the corners of the photo.

If you're a little nutty about browned butter, too, I totally understand and get the hype!

Below are more cookie recipes that use this delicious ingredient.

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🧡 Why You'll Love this Recipe
📋 Key Ingredients in Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
Best Results: Baking in Grams
🥜 Recipe Substitutions and Variations
Guide for Browning Butter
📖 Prep and Baking Instructions
💡 Pro Tip for these Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
❓ Recipe FAQ and Troubleshooting
Instructions for Storage
More Baking Tips
More Cookie Recipes
Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

🧡 Why You'll Love this Recipe

If you’re searching for the best peanut butter cookie, this is the one! Here's why:

No-chill dough - Some cookie recipes insist on resting your cookie dough before baking it. This generally means setting it in the refrigerator for a few hours or even overnight before popping your cookies into the oven. This recipe doesn't require that, though, which means eating cookies sooner!
Browned butter — It enhances the flavor and creates a deliciously rich, nutty taste that you won’t find in traditional peanut butter cookies, which sometimes can be a bit dry. This ingredients gives them more moisture, resulting in nice, chewy insides.
Easy to make – These cookies come together quickly with simple ingredients and minimal prep. Whether you're an experienced baker or making peanut butter cookies for the first time, this recipe is straightforward and beginner-friendly.
Freezer and make-ahead friendly recipe - Once baked, these cookies are easy to store for later, making them a great treat to bake in advance for gatherings or just for snacking throughout the week. Simply store them in an airtight container, and they’ll stay fresh at room temperature for several days or freeze them to enjoy later!
Simple ingredients – This peanut butter cookie recipe relies on common pantry ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Small batch recipe - This recipe for 8 cookies is ideal if you're serving a smaller crowd and just need a quick and easy dessert option.

📋 Key Ingredients in Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredient shot for browned butter peanut butter cookies sitting on a small baking sheet.

The recipe card contains all the steps and ingredients. Below are a few key items that bring flavor and texture to these brown butter peanut butter cookies.

Browning Butter – The key to achieving that subtle nutty flavor is browned butter, which takes just a few minutes over medium heat. The milk solids in the butter will start to caramelize, creating brown bits that enhance the flavor.
Peanut Butter – For the best results, use conventional, smooth peanut butter (or creamy peanut butter) as it provides the perfect consistency. You can use crunchy peanut butter for a bit of extra texture if you prefer. Also, I have not tested this recipe with natural peanut butter; its looser consistency may make these cookies spread too much in the oven so I don't recommend it.
Dark Brown Sugar – This ingredient adds richness and moisture to the dough. Dark brown sugar contributes to a chewy center and brings out the peanut butter’s natural sweetness.
Ground oats from old fashioned oats - They add texture and chewiness. They even add small health benefits - like fiber, vitamins, and minerals - to the cookie!
Baking baking powder and baking soda - Baking soda helps a cookie spread while baking, but too much soda can lead to a thin, crispy cookie. As a result, this recipe also uses baking powder. It helps the cookie rise and prevents excessive spreading.

Best Results: Baking in Grams

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.

While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

🥜 Recipe Substitutions and Variations

Here are a few ideas for mixing things up or making this recipe your own:

Peanut butter chips or dark chocolate chunks - If you're looking for more texture or like including chocolate, these options would be fun twists on this classic peanut butter cookie.
Up the Spices - For an even cozier flavor, mix in a touch of cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg.
Butter Variation: If you like your cookies saltier, use salted butter or add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top before baking for more of a sweet-salty combo.

Guide for Browning Butter

Browning butter helps the butter's water content evaporate while the milk solids caramelize. This process leaves behind a deliciously nutty flavor in these delicious cookies.

I also suggest you use a pan or pot that has a lighter colored bottom. That makes it easier to notice the subtle changes in your butter’s color.

If you’re new to browning butter, watch your pot closely.

Place your sticks of unsalted butter in a pot or small saucepan over medium heat.

Leave butter in pot for about 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the butter begins to foam. It'll become golden brown.

Be sure to scrape all the brown bits and flecks of caramelized butter from the pan or pot. This is where the flavor is!

Once golden brown, pour it into your mixing bowl.

📖 Prep and Baking Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While it heats up, gather all your ingredients, except for the brown butter. That should already be in your mixing bowl.

Dry ingredients for big batch chocolate chip cookies.

Prepare the dry ingredients: Place old fashioned oats into a food processor or blender and pulse until finely powdered. Transfer to a large bowl, then add your spooned and leveled all-purpose flour. Stir gently to combine and set aside.

Wet ingredients in a mixing bowl for browned butter peanut butter cookies.

Combine wet ingredients: In your mixing bowl with brown butter, add peanut butter, white sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Start mixing on low speed to moisten the ingredients, then increase to medium speed until the batter is well combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to ensure everything is incorporated.

Golden brown cookie dough in a mixing bowl.

Add egg and dry ingredients: Pause the mixer and add 1 large egg along with the flour-oat mixture from step 3. Mix until the dough is smooth and fully incorporated.

Browned butter peanut butter cookie dough balls sitting on a small baking sheet.

Shape cookie dough: Use a large ice cream scoop to scoop golf-ball-sized portions of dough and place them onto an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each portion.

Bake the cookies: Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown with slightly crispy edges.

Baked peanut butter cookies on a white plate.

Cool and serve: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes or until they are firm enough to handle. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

💡 Pro Tip for these Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

Immediately after baking, use a cookie cutter or even the open side of a glass that's slightly bigger than the cookies to gently slide them into a more circular shape.

❓ Recipe FAQ and Troubleshooting

Why do some people put fork marks in peanut butter cookies?

While I did not put fork marks in these cookies, I was so curious as to why some people do!

According to this Wired article, the first documented instance of those criss-cross marks on peanut butter cookies appeared in the Schenectady Gazette on July 1, 1932. A peanut butter cookie recipe said to shape the dough into balls on a cookie sheet and then, "...press each one down with a fork, first one way and then the other, so they look like squares on waffles."

Why did my peanut butter cookies turn out hard?

Your peanut butter cookies may be hard if you didn't measure your flour using a scale. You could've accidentally included too much flour, which can lead to a hard, thick cookie.

How do you keep peanut butter cookies from spreading?

Peanut butter cookies can spread if the dough is too moist, without enough dry ingredients to hold it together. It can also spread due to an excessive amount of baking soda.

If you follow the steps in this recipe, though, you won't have that issue.

In general, adding a bit of baking powder or flour to a cookie's dough can help prevent them from spreading as much.

Should you refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking it?

If a recipe calls for you to refrigerate any kind of dough before baking it, do it! This is a no chill recipe, though, so that isn't necessary here.

What is the trick to chewy cookies?

I often use ground oats, brown sugar, and melted and/or browned butter in my cookie recipes to maintain a nice, chewy texture. You'll find all of those ingredients in these cookies, too.

Instructions for Storage

Room temperature - These browned butter peanut butter cookies will stay fresh at room temperature (around 70°F) for about 3 days.
Refrigerating - Instead of refrigerating them between servings (which can dry out baked goods if they're refrigerated for too long), I'd recommend freezing them. Bring them out in small quantities at a time if you plan to share them over the course of more than 3 days.
Freezing - These cookies freeze well for up to three months in an airtight container. I add wax or parchment paper between the layers as I stack them so that they don't stick to one another. To enjoy, let them come to room temperature before serving. You may also gently warm them for a few seconds on low speed in the microwave.

More Baking Tips

Below are some general tips to keep in mind when baking this cookie recipe and any recipe, really:

Periodically check the freshness of your leavening agents. Mix a pinch of baking powder with hot water to see if it reacts. For baking soda, you can mix a pinch of it with a few drops of something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. If your leavening agents have no reaction (i.e. you see no fizzing or bubbling), it means they also won’t help your ingredients rise during the baking process.
Before diving into the recipe, clear your workspace and set out all your ingredients in front of you. This will make it less likely that you’ll forget to leave something important out of your mixing bowl!

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