Peanut Butter Cookies
Make these quick and easy peanut butter cookies for a nutty dessert everyone will love.
Everyday Food, March 2004
752 Ratings
- 5 star values: 114
- 4 star values: 173
- 3 star values: 263
- 2 star values: 134
- 1 star values: 68
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 2.0 stars
03/04/2020
I also wish I had read the reviews prior to wasting my ingredients. My son says they taste like sawdust. They literally crumble & fall apart, very dry and not tasty at all. Sorry Martha, I love you but this recipe stinks. 👎
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 5 stars
01/12/2019
My husband and I love these cookies! I have tried many other recipes and we both agree we like these best. I've seen some bad reviews on these and can see why they say ...different strokes!! They are crumly and melt in your mouth!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 1 stars
11/18/2018
I doubled the recipe and used two cups of crunchy and one cup of creamy. I also didn't have any unsalted butter, but at any rate the finished cookies are extremely dry. They fall apart trying to cool them and you need lots of milk when eating them. The dough was better than the baked cookies.
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Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 1 stars
04/20/2018
What a waste of ingredients. I wish I read the reviews first too!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 5 stars
12/15/2017
These are like peanut butter shortbread cookies, just be aware of that before you make the recipe. I love them and make them every year - they're super peanut-buttery and I like a crumbly cookie. I follow the recipe exactly as-is.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
06/24/2017
I truly wish I'd read these reviews on this recipe before I made them. This is the first time Martha has steered me wrong.
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Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/25/2016
There are a few who expressed sadness about"mean" comments to MS about this cookie recipe. I say those mean comments were well deserved. These were the driest, most unpalatable cookies I've ever had in my entire life! Many of us are on a fairly fixed income and don't take kindly to wasting food and money on a terrible recipe. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that MS has ever made, or eaten these cookies. I will NEVER use any of her recipes again; I can't trust them.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/30/2016
Alas, Martha, you have let me down. I have a few of your cookbooks because I trust you have vetted your recipes exhaustively and that you have a commitment to quality control. I am a seasoned cookie baker, I did nothing wrong, and even made them again with corrections. This is a flawed recipe. Unpalatable. It is not up to your standard, and I hate that I wasted my time and good ingredients on it.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
03/11/2016
Wow. Some of the comments are rude and really immature. A basic Peanut butter cookie recipe can be tweaked to your taste. This is a basic recipe devised precisely for basic results. Add more sugar, add more salt, don't insult. Martha's goal with this and any recipe is the EDUCATE. I never follow a recipe the T, ---I learn from the experts to master it to my own tastes. Grow up and learn to cook.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
03/08/2016
screw you martha stewart!!! I will never trust you again!!!!! these cookies stink like the rear end of a horse...
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 1 stars
08/26/2015
I have to agree with the other disappointed cooks who have left comments. I added a little more sugar (maybe 1/3 cup), 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, based on the suggestions I read here.
To me, they are tasteless and even unpleasant in the mouth. Could it be the absence of salt? A real mystery.
The local wildlife will be eating well tonight.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 1 stars
04/27/2015
Too much peanut butter and cooking time too long. Most recipes I've compared this to only call for 1/2 cup peanut butter with the same amount of flour, etc. My cookies were crumbly and dry, and lacked flavor. Sadly, that was a lot of high quality peanut butter to waste--very disappointed.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/03/2014
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! PB Shortbread describes them perfectly! This might be the best PB cookie recipe ever because it does not require refrigeration. Cookies emerge from oven perfectly golden closer to 14 minutes than the recommended 18. Oven times, temps vary. Our cookies are 2 and 1/4 inches in diameter baked…so the smaller side. Our dough balls were approx.50 cent piece after flattening w a fork. We rolled in gran. sugar--used lt. brown sugar, butter, and 365 and skippy pb. FAB! 52 Cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
01/10/2014
I think these cookies would get a much better reaction if you called them Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies.. Because that's what they are. They aren't your typical buttery, melt in your mouth cookies. They are like peanut butter flavored shortbread. I wasn't crazy about them the first day I made them.. But they just got better and better with each passing day. Even my bf agreed, each day they were tastier than the day before. They lasted about 4 days and I was sad when they were gone.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/21/2013
Add 1/4 cup more peanut butter or add 1 more egg. This will help with the crumbles.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/08/2013
DELICIOUS! If you prefer a more crumbly, shortbread peanut butter cookie -- look no further! This is the best peanut butter cookie recipe I have ever tried! Made it exactly as recipe states, EXCEPT I substituted white sugar (100%). Perfection! Baked 18 minutes (rotated at 9 minutes) on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Did not cool cookies on a wire rack. Just let them cool on the paper lined cookie sheet right out of the oven. (Used extra crunchy Skippy brand peanut butter). Yum!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
06/04/2013
My family usually loves the Martha Stewart cookie recipes. This peanut butter cookie, however, is a dud. Not very tasty, which is surprising considering it contains one and one half cups of peanut butter. Crumbly texture is not satisfying.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
04/11/2013
used white sugar instead of brown turn out great!!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
04/11/2013
2nd time making these delicious, moist, n flavorful cookies thanks Martha!!!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 1 stars
04/06/2013
Horrible. Dry and tasteless. Needs way less flour & more sugar. I will never make these again.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
04/02/2013
It was dry and crumbly. I was very disappointed in this recipe. We ended up having to put it over ice-cream because we couldn't eat it well as a cookie.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
03/06/2013
I think this was a very good recipe. I had nothing in the house to make dessert but when I found this I somehow had peanut butter cookies! This is good when your ingredients are scarce or you want something sweet but dont want to go out and get it or go out and buy the ingredients for it. Wonderful recipe!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
03/05/2013
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is a great choice for snake or dessert after work.:)
Nut Processing Machine
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/07/2013
This is not a bad recipe, however, probability of success will depend on your PERSONAL TASTES. This is not a sweet and moist cookie, granted, but it is also not overly dry and bland. Very easy to make, but if you want to tweak it, then adding more sugar and butter would likely do the trick.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/01/2013
Seriously? Tried this recipe after other reviews. I cannot believe how greasy these cookies are and the fact that no review even mentioned it. They are disgusting. Sadly I was looking forward to an old fashioned style of peanut butter cookie and are now just disappointed.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
01/19/2013
Very good peanut butter cookie. Because of the previous reviews, I did cut the cooking time down to 10 minutes and that seemed perfect. Like the fact that is isn't too sweet. Next time I might try reducing the brown sugar and adding honey.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
01/17/2013
Very good recipe! "Fair9" you should try it with all brown sugar --- molassas (in brown sugar) adds flavor and moisture. "SusanS" --- you may have baked them too long -- ovens vary --- and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. It REALLY makes a different!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
01/07/2013
I loved this recipe. These are old fashioned peanut butter cookies. They are meant to be dry...but oh, the taste is amazing. Use GREAT peanut butter...and I used half brown & white suger and added walnuts...but oh my!!! This Christmas they were my favorite cookie. So good...like 1955 good!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
01/02/2013
I was so disappointed in this recipe. Although it has plenty of peanut butter flavor, it is not at all sweet (I am ok with the less sweet part) and it is about as dry as a cookie made from sand would be. Crumbles to easily (not at all moist) and requires a beverage when eating.
Sorry Martha... this one is bad :(
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/23/2012
i have made this recepe a few times now - came out really good - thou i changed the ingredients. they were chewy and soft. used self raising flour instead and added chocolate chips baked them for about 20 minutes. i may of added a lil extra peanut butter too.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/20/2012
HORRIBLE...double, triple checked that I followed it 100%..sooooo dry. Dont waste your ingredients.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
11/19/2012
Not a well thought-out recipe. Extremely dry and crispy. Not chewy at all. In need of white sugar and additional butter. Watch as cooking because they may need less than eighteen minutes.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
11/19/2012
Not a well thought-out recipe. Extremely dry and crispy. Not chewy at all. In need of white sugar and additional butter. Watch as cooking because they may need less than eighteen minutes.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/09/2012
Continued...... I would highly suggest more sugar in this recipe, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup white. Since it is too late for me to add the sugar I am going to top them off with raw sugar.. Good luck!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/09/2012
Ok, so they are in the oven and look good so far... For the first time I DID NOT read the reviews before I made them. Hopefully they turn out well, I did make some changes based on what I had on hand. I used butter flavored shortening, 3/4 cup of bread flour and 3/4 cup of cake flour, 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup of crunchy and 1/2 creamy PB. Only left them in for 15 minutes or else they would burn. Just took them out and had a bite, they are a tad bit dry but moist if that makes sense?
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/08/2012
I am a huge MS fan and baker for years...so I was sadly dissappointed when I made these pnb cookies with my daughter to surprise her daddy. He had been asking for delicious pnb cookies for a long time so, of course, I went to MS for the recipe. Sadly, they were so dry and chalky that no one had any. Still looking for a good recipe.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/22/2011
Woof, GREAT cardboard colored cookies! Turned out moist & did NOT crumble. Wasn't expecting sugar cookies; sweetness of the light brown sugar is all they needed. Stuck to recipe as best as cld; didn't have crunchy peanut butter, had "Natural" from the grocery store shelf pb. Used Blue Bonnet instead of unsalted butter. Followed baking instructions & cooked for 9 min, rotated & baked 8 more min. We all know,OVEN TEMPS VARY. & who wldn't want a gallon milk w/ 4 dozen cookies? A DASH of LOVE helps!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
10/21/2011
Oops, I meant to add that I only baked them for about 10-12 minutes. Just when they were browning......
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
10/21/2011
I often turn to Martha Stewart for a good recipe because they have turned out great on several occassions when used in the past, and well, its Martha! So, I did not have enough peanut butter so I used almond butter as well and the cookies were delicious!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/25/2011
WORST peanut butter cookie I have ever eaten!! Do not make this recipe...very dry and bland...tastes like eating a piece of cardboard...VERY disappointing!!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: 3 stars
07/18/2011
These cookies tasted very good! However, they were a little burnt after putting them in for 17 minutes.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/12/2011
I made these today and had no problem! I followed the recipe for the most part, but i did add 1 teaspoon Vanilla and rolled each cookie in sugar.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/23/2010
(CONT...) and right at 2 min. of them cooling on the baking sheet, begin to move them over to the wire rack. They turned out very soft (not dry at all) and taste perfect! Exactly like a PB cookie should be!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/23/2010
I read all these previous comments before I even tried this recipe, and decided to just use the one for the Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies exactly as it is, except I didn't put in the PB cups. And they are AWESOME! Roll in sugar like that recipe calls for; then do the criss-cross fork thing before putting them in oven (like reg. PB cookies); bake for 10 min (no longer);
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
10/26/2010
Absolutely loved this recipe. Found a jar of peanut butter in the refrigerator, so ended up using this short and simple but very delicicous recipe.
I had some hershey choclates , chopped them up and added to the last batch of dough.
Very simple, easy
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/30/2010
@SeattleChristy: I usually use a heaping (sometimes very heaping, depending on what I'm going for) measuring teaspoon. The bigger you make the cookie, the more it's going to change the baking time, but eventually you'll get a feel for it. If you want bigger cookies, just add a few minutes to the baking time and watch them for browning around the edges, which usually signifies that they're done.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/13/2010
I am a novice, and i measured out actual teaspoons for the size of the cookies, and they came out tiny - like the size of a quarter! Is "teaspoon" being used figuratively somehow? i tend to follow recipes exactly because when I don't things go wrong. But in this case it didn't work. Any advice?
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/21/2010
Those of you who had dry cookies... Did you use natural peanut butter and/or salted butter? For baking, typical grocery-store-brand peanut butter usually works better because it's emulsified. Using natural pb will give you results like using oil in place of butter or shortening. And salted butter has a different water content from unsalted, which will compound the problem. Save the good natural pb for sandwiches and use the cheap-o grocery store stuff for cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/27/2010
Having tried this recipe with hopes of a chewy cookie with a strong peanut butter taste, I ended up with half of what I was looking for. These turned out harder and more dense than I had hoped, but the flavor was very good. I?
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/27/2010
Having tried this recipe with hopes of a chewy cookie with a strong peanut butter taste, I ended up with half of what I was looking for. These turned out harder and more dense than I had hoped, but the flavor was very good. I?
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
05/15/2009
I love this recipe. I make these cookies many times. It is dry cookies, but, with just good sweetness, thinks that I am very delicious. I use 340g peanut butter .
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
05/02/2009
agree w/ HannahKathleen, they're very, very dry.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/11/2008
These are the best cookies, luscious, flaky, peaunut buttery, and I love these are not so sweet. I put the same quantity of maldon salt and quit the regular salt.
And for the chocolate lovers, I put ribbons of semisweet chocolate melted using a pastry bag and then put it in the fridge for 10 minutes. :o)
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/11/2008
Very, very dry...so dry that it just crumbles apart...and way to much peanut butter. You need a gallon of milk to wash down these cookies
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
09/01/2008
This is one of the best Peanut Butter Cookies I've ever made! I too use the BC recipe as my staple, and this one supercedes it! They were so rich and peanut buttery! I used Jiff Extra Crunchy Peanut butter. I also used my baking stones with parchment paper. 18 minutes was NOT too long? Maybe you were using the darker non-stick pans - which I feel tend to get things done TOO fast, and I really have to adjust my baking times. I do not use the darker non-stick pans for cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/28/2008
AWFUL only one who liked this dry cookie was the dog ! There must be a typo should have said 1/2 cup peanut butter, NOT 1 1/2 cups. Not sweet enough, needed some white sugar and vanilla and less flour. I used a peanut butter that had not added sugar to it. Also, the baking time was WAY TOO long, if I had left them in for 18 minutes, they would have been completely burned. This recipe needs to be reworked. swanyj
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/28/2008
A few recipes ago, there was a peanut butter cookie to be used as ice cream sandwich (on this web site). Now that peanut butter recipe was delicious just plain. I added 1/2 cup of ground walnuts to it as I didn't have crunchy peanut butter. They were a huge success..
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/25/2008
So strange how the same recipe can yield so many different results. Mine came out delicious. I always figure an Everyday Food recipie is going to be a bit less exciting than a Living recipe- for a quick cookie from scratch I thought they weren't that bad, and my co-workers gobbled them up.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/25/2008
I read the comments after I had started to assemble the cookie dough. So I went ahead and adjusted the recipe. I added 1/2 tsp vanilla .. 3 tbl of white sugar, and rolled them in sugar before putting them on the baking sheet. They were not too sweet at all and after burning the first batch, based on their time. I also decreased the cooking time to 10 min...which is plenty of time.. Less dry and crumbly.. hope this helps someone
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/24/2008
I made this today and there is something missing from this recipe!! I usually make the Betty C version and it is very different from this one, but I thought I owuld try it. The cookies crumbled everywhere and had an awful taste! Wasted ingredients!! I ended up remaking them with my old stand by!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/23/2008
I wouldn't see why you would use crunchy peanut butter. But I guess if you like your crunchy foods. I tried this and it didn't taste so great. My original peanut butter cookies tasted better... this tasted a little salty...
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/23/2008
Okay...one more time...I even added some chocolate treats for fun to a second batch. I've wasted my ingredients, and dissapointed my kids.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/23/2008
I just tried this recipe with my daughter. I'm sorry to say it was a huge dissappointment! All you can taste is salty peanut butter. I thought it would have some sweetness to it from the brown sugar. I even added some m
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
to mainergirl: I didn't try this recipe but my peanut butter cookie recipe is very similar and I use whatever peanut butter I have on hand. Crunchy just makes it more crunchy. I have also added chopped walnuts when I use the plain creamy about 1/2 cup.
Never tried a recipe w/o flour though.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
Has anyone tried to make this recipe in 2 batched: 1 with creamy and 1 with crunchy and compare? I've never made pb cookies with crunchy before and am wondering how this recipe stacks up.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
I made these as a thumbprint cookie with strawberry jam in the middle
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
dkolosky5, There is no flour in my recipe, only the 4 ingrdients that I listed. That's why I think its a better recipe, lots more peanut butter flavor and very easy and kid-friendly to make.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
there is no flour in the recipe tlcocco gave. It is a rich cookie so don't make them too large.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
maq...most baking recipes call for regular peanut butter...the old-fashioned ones that you have to mix each time before using generally don't work very well. klhs 1967
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
There is no flour in that recipe. My daughter makes it often, and it is a wonderful cookie. She is allergic to peanuts and uses cashew butter instead. Also delicious. I am going to try Martha's recipe though, as it too sounds like a winner.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
so sorry! apparently you can't use a brand name. Anyway, I have a similar recipe the sugar company put out called You Wouldn't Believe It Peanut Butter Cookies- there is no flour. They have lots of PB flavor but lack the melt in your mouth/flaky texture that today's cookie has. The recipe: 1 c. PB, 1 c. sugar, 1 lg. egg, 1 t. vanilla (no soda) Bake at 325 for 15-18 min. Both great recipes!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
tlcocco ...you mentioned a recipe you thought might be better than this peanut butter cookie recipe, but you forgot to add how much flour is in your cookie.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
I'm sure these cookies are great, but the all time best peanut butter cookie recipe is as follows. 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 tsp. baking soda. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Yields about 24 cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
08/22/2008
Is it best to use "old fashion" peanut butter or regular (like Jif)?
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
03/06/2008
Oh yeah.
A peanut butter cookie that truly melts in your mouth. I made them with creamy and they were fabulous. And that's not just my opinion...my husband and my parents all raved over them. Have a glass of milk handy!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/26/2008
I've always added an extra half cup of peanut butter to meager recipes that call for only 1/2 cup. Next time I will not hesitate to use this recipe for an even better flavor!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/26/2008
I've always added an extra half cup of peanut butter to meager recipes that call for only 1/2 cup. Next time I will not hesitate to use this recipe for an even better flavor!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
02/26/2008
Peanut Butter Cookies are the best for cookie comfort food and this recipe is the best. Easy and flaky cookies. Wonderful taste.
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/17/2007
Very peanut buttery. Flaky and wonderful cookie!!!
Martha Stewart Member
Rating: Unrated
12/17/2007
Very peanut buttery. Flaky and wonderful cookie!!!