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Indulge in the nostalgic delight of bakery-style peanut butter cookies. Crafted to achieve the perfect balance between chewy centers and crispy edges, these cookies are packed with creamy peanut butter flavor, making them a standout treat. Whether you’re a peanut butter aficionado or just looking for a comforting snack, these cookies promise satisfaction with each bite.
Peanut butter cookies have always been a staple in my kitchen, but I wanted to elevate them to something you’d expect to find in a high-end bakery. After experimenting with different ingredients and baking techniques, I’ve perfected a recipe that offers that beloved classic flavor with chewy and crispy texture. These cookies are my tribute to peanut butter lovers everywhere, offering a taste of nostalgia and craftsmanship in each batch.
Okay, I can’t say these are the best overall peanut butter cookies because there are so many variations of peanut butter cookies. In fact, I have multiple types of peanut butter cookie recipes on my blog. Each serves its purpose. But I can say these are the very best bakery-style peanut butter cookies. That much I know! This recipe is going to yield chewy peanut butter cookies that also have that crispy outside.
For soft peanut butter cookies check out my Extreme Peanut Butter Cookies. That recipe even includes peanut butter chips. For classic peanut butter cookies check out my Simple Peanut Butter Cookies. If you want a cookie with peanut butter cups try my Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.
The Chemistry of Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookies
The perfect texture of these cookies stems from the careful selection of ingredients and understanding of their roles. Using a combination of cake flour and bread flour allows the cookies to spread just enough while baking, creating a tender yet structured crumb. The creaming method used here – whipping butter with peanut butter and sugars- incorporates air into the dough, which helps produce a lighter texture. The addition of baking soda and baking powder ensures they rise appropriately, achieving that ideal crispy edge.
Why do you use both cake flour and bread flour in peanut butter cookies?
Cake flour gives the cookies a softer texture, while bread flour provides elasticity and chewiness, balancing spread and structure. For the best results, you don’t want to use all-purpose flour in this recipe. The cake flour helps create tender cookies with that chewy texture, while the bread flour provides structure.
Can natural peanut butter be used in this recipe?
Yes, but natural peanut butter contains more oil, which may affect its texture. For consistent results, it’s best to stick with commercial creamy peanut butter. You can also try crunchy peanut butter, but again, it will alter the texture.
How long should the dough chill before baking?
Chilling the dough for at least 1-3 hours is crucial as it helps prevent the cookies form spreading too much and enhances the flavors.
What’s the best way to store these peanut butter cookies?
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week to maintain freshness and texture.
What is in Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookies?
Cake Flour
Has a lower amount of protein and is very fine. It gives your treat a specific flavor and makes them very white or light in color. It’s made of soft wheat so it should not be used in place of all-purpose or bread flour. Only use when your recipe specifically calls for it.
Bread Flour
Is higher in protein and creates thicker treats. This is best used for bread and shouldn’t be used as a substitution for all-purpose or cake flour.
Baking Soda
Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.
Baking Powder
Puffs up your batter or dough instead of spreading it out. Baking powder contains a little bit of baking soda, an acid & cornstarch. Because of this, it only needs a liquid to react. It also consists of two different acids, so it’s double reacting. It reacts as soon as it’s mixed with a moisture and then again when it’s heated up.
Fine Sea Salt
Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand.
Unsalted Butter
It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.
Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.
When baking with butter the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm your treat will melt down too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.
Peanut Butter
Adds another fat into your dough or batter that melts easily, allowing your treat to spread a little more. It will also add a creamy texture & rich flavor to your treat.
Brown Sugar
Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.
Granulated Sugar
Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.
Eggs
Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.
Vanilla Extract
When using pure vanilla extract, as opposed to imitation flavoring, it will add the deep rich flavor that everybody wants in a treat.
Step by Step Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine bread flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. To ensure you do not use too much flour, I suggest using a kitchen scale for more accurate measuring. Adding too much flour can really ruin your cookies.
- Add the room-temperature butter and peanut butter to a standing mixer using the paddle attachment and mix at medium speed until softened. Do not use cold butter.
- Next, cream butter with sugar. Add both brown sugar and white sugar and mix until combined. Once combined, turn the speed up to medium-high speed on the mixer and whip for 1-2 minutes until it is lighter in color and texture. You will want to stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula every 30 seconds or so.
- Add the room temperature eggs and vanilla extract and mix on low until combined.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1-3 hours minimum. You can also leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Letting the dough rest is an important step that should not be skipped.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop the dough, using a 2 tbs cookie scoop, onto a light metal, parchment paper lined cookie sheet. You can use an ice cream scoop if you don’t have a large cookie scoop. If you aren’t a fan of giant cookies and want smaller cookies, you can use a standard-size cookie scoop, but you will need to adjust the baking time.
- **Note: These cookies do not need fork marks.** Bake cookies for 12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden. If they are still shiny on top, add a minute or two to the bake time.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!
How to cream your butter & sugar
First, combine your butter & sugar in a standing mixer. Then, turn the mixer on high for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl every 30 seconds. When the mixture is creamed it will be lighter in color and texture. Here is a visual example of how the ingredients look when just combined vs. creamed:
Storage Tips
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature where they will stay fresh for up to a week. For longer storage, cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months and thawed before serving.
Freezing Options
Freeze the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Making Ahead
The dough benefits from chilling and can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, enhancing the flavor and texture of the cookies when baked.
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Why make bakery-style peanut butter cookies?
When you pull these cookies fresh from the oven, with golden edges and a slightly gooey soft center, each bite filled with rich peanut butter flavor, you will be in true peanut butter heaven. These cookies are so good that you will want to share them with everyone you know. Hey, if you wanted you could also throw some chocolate chips into this recipe. Doesn’t that just sound delicious?
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Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium sized mixing bowl combine both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer add the butter and peanut butter and mix until softened.
- Add both sugars and mix until combined. Once combined turn the speed up on the mixer and whip for 1-2 minutes until lighter in color and texture.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, mix on low until combined.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the dry ingredients in. Mix until the dough comes together.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1-3 hours minimum. You can also leave in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop the dough using a 2 tbs scoop, onto light metal, parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
- Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
I’d love to see it! Follow @_mrs.madi_ on Instagram and tag your photos with #mrsmadi.
Jamie Robinson
These cookies are amazing!!!!
Madison Reid
Thank you! I agree.