25 Peanut Butter Recipes, Including Tarts, Truffles, and Everything in Between
This pantry staple shines in everything from breakfast recipes to savory entrées and sweet desserts.
1 of 25
Peanut butter is a wonderfully versatile ingredient: It's packed with protein and healthy fats, comes in creamy and chunky varieties, and has a flavor that easily works with both sweet and savory recipes. To prove just how versatile it is, we've rounded up our best recipes that use peanut butter, starting with the Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies that are pictured here. It's a recipe that dates back to 1999, but we pulled it from the archives because it's always a hit. Perhaps that's all thanks to the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, the 25-minute total time, or the fact that they only include six basic pantry ingredients. Either way, these treats always delight.
Another peanut butter cookie that everyone loves is the Peanut Butter Blossom. While these are a undoubtably a popular Christmas cookie, there's no reason why you can't make them year-round. A simple peanut butter dough is formed into balls and baked (feel free to roll them in sugar, too); once they come out of the oven, press a single Hershey's kiss into each cookie for the chocolate-y finishing touch.
Of course, if you're looking for something that will really wow, try these Soft-Serve Peanut Butter Cupcakes, which are featured in our founder's 97th cookbook, Martha Stewart's Cake Perfection ($25.99, barnesandnoble.com). For the epic topping, a duo of vanilla and peanut butter buttercream are piped into a mound on each cupcake; they're then dipped into melted chocolate, just like your favorite soft-serve ice cream cone.
And while we love using peanut butter in sweet applications, it's well-suited to savory dishes, too. Gingery Tofu Ramen Bowls and Tofu with Baby Bok Choy and Rice Noodles bring salty, fabulous peanut flavor to the dinner table.
Whether you are team sweet or team savory, these peanut butter recipes are worth preparing now.
1 of 25
2 of 25
Soft-Serve Peanut Butter Cupcakes
These epic cupcakes are inspired by everyone's favorite chocolate-dipped ice cream cones. A fudgy chocolate cupcake is topped with a combination of vanilla and peanut butter buttercream to resemble swirled soft-serve; then the topping is dipped in melted chocolate.
2 of 25
3 of 25
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
A staple during the holiday season (but a treat we love year-round), a single chocolate kiss is pressed into each peanut butter cookie after they finish baking.
3 of 25
4 of 25
Gingery Tofu Ramen Bowls
Peanut butter isn't just used in sweet applications—here, it's a key ingredient in these savory bowls. The nut butter is mixed with a combination of tamari, lime juice, maple syrup, scallions, and ginger, which is tossed with the ramen noodles.
4 of 25
5 of 25
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter-Banana Waffles
Flour-free and delicious, these waffles are made with mashed, overripe bananas, baking powder, cornstarch, eggs, and lots of peanut butter. It's a creative twist on the classic Elvis-style sandwich for breakfast.
5 of 25
6 of 25
Peanut Butter Cup Tart
If a peanut butter cup is one of your favorite candies on Halloween, then you'll absolutely adore this peanut butter dessert recipe inspired by it. A chocolate wafer crust and ganache topping cloak a rich peanut butter filling.
6 of 25
7 of 25
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Semifreddo with Caramel Corn
Looking to upgrade from a classic ice cream cake to something so much better? This semifreddo features homemade caramel corn and layers of chocolate and peanut butter mousse.
7 of 25
8 of 25
Lighter Peanut Butter Frosting
Peanut butter frosting can be too rich and heavy, which is why we created this genius recipe, which is made with powdered peanut butter instead of the usual creamy peanut butter from a jar—it's better than ever.
8 of 25
9 of 25
Peanut Butter and Jelly Milkshake
Peanut butter and jelly isn't just a sandwich that your kids take to school. This decadent recipe, which serves one, is made with an entire pint of vanilla ice cream, plus Concord grape jelly, and powdered peanut butter.
9 of 25
10 of 25
Peanut Butter Cookies with Dried Cherries
Upgrade a basic batch of peanut butter cookies by mixing dried cherries into the dough—the combination of the tart fruit and rich cookies is spot on.
10 of 25
11 of 25
Peanut Butter Truffles
Chocolate-peanut butter lovers will rejoice over these bite-sized truffles. All you need to do to make them is whisk peanut butter into a traditional chocolate ganache; let the mixture chill until set, then roll into balls.
11 of 25
12 of 25
Peanut Butter-Stuffed Pancakes
Pack protein into your breakfast with these out-of-this-world pancakes that feature an exciting surprise in the middle: a peanut butter filling. A mixture of brown sugar and peanut butter is formed into discs, placed on top of the pancake batter, then topped with more batter as they cook on a griddle.
12 of 25
13 of 25
Peanut-Butter-and-Jelly Cheesecake Squares
Kids and adults alike will fall head over heels for these peanut butter and jelly-inspired squares. A luscious peanut butter-cream cheese filling and jelly topping is exactly what we want to dig into as soon as the bell rings.
13 of 25
14 of 25
Dark Chocolate-Walnut Date Bar
Vegan and gluten-free, this bar is friendly for anyone to eat! Walnuts, dates, peanut butter, and vanilla extract are mixed in a food processor to form the base, which is then layered with chocolate in a baking pan and chilled until set.
14 of 25
15 of 25
Buckeyes
If you never tried Buckeyes before, you're in for a real treat. These are made with confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, heavy cream, creamy peanut butter, and bittersweet chocolate. Think of them as an innovative peanut butter cup that you can pop in your mouth one by one—what's not to love?
15 of 25
16 of 25
Frozen Peanut-Butter and Banana Bars
The easy crust for these bars is made with chocolate wafer cookies. And the filling couldn't be easier—just mix together cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, and peanut butter until smooth, then alternate layers of the filling with sliced bananas.
16 of 25
17 of 25
Peanut Butter Tart with Chocolate Crust
The crunch of peanut butter, the creaminess of the peanut butter filling, and rich chocolate-wafer cookie crust are a trio that we can't get enough of in this peanut butter dessert recipe.
17 of 25
18 of 25
Tofu with Baby Bok Choy and Rice Noodles
Peanut butter is a delicious contrast to the spicy fresh ginger, sweet honey, salty soy sauce, and savory scallions in this quick dinner recipe.
18 of 25
19 of 25
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie
We took a classic chocolate peanut butter pie to the next level by drizzling it with an eye-catching combination of melted chocolate and melted peanut butter. The light and airy peanut butter-cream cheese filling is a real treat, too.
19 of 25
20 of 25
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Don't let the lengthy time scare you from making this delicious peanut butter recipe! Two hours are hands off, just to let the fudge chill until it's firm.
20 of 25
21 of 25
Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart
By now, you know that we can't get enough of peanut butter and jelly inspired desserts. For this treat all you need to do is make a basic pie crust, form it in a tart pan, then bake with a simple peanut butter and jelly filling. It's almost as easy to prepare as the sandwich!
21 of 25
22 of 25
Brownie Sundae Ice Cream Cake
We've taken everything that you know and love about an ice cream sundae—including a few layers of chunky peanut butter—and build an ice cream cake featuring all the elements.
22 of 25
23 of 25
No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Bars
For those times when you just don't feel like turning on your oven, there's this no-bake, peanut butter dessert recipe. All you need to make these bars are peanut butter, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar, and chocolate.
23 of 25
24 of 25
West African Peanut Stew
This vegan stew is plenty hearty thanks to collard greens, sweet potatoes, and creamy peanut butter.
24 of 25
25 of 25
Peanut-Butter Sandwich Cookies
If one peanut butter cookie isn't enough for you, why not sandwich them together with a peanut butter filling sweetened with confectioners' sugar for a double dose of deliciousness?