Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies

With their sparkly sugar exteriors and crinkly tops, my Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies are a unique alternative to classic peanut butter cookies. They take just 15 minutes to prep and are so fun to make with kids! Recipe includes a how-to video (and quite a few bloopers, too)!

The Sparkliest Cookies

Peanut butter crinkle cookies are a fun and simple changeup from classic peanut butter cookies. My recipe makes thin and chewy, soft and irresistible peanut butter cookies with satisfying crinkly crackles throughout the surface (similar to snickerdoodles or chocolate crinkle cookies!). They have a great peanut butter flavor and a frosty sugar coating that’s just so pretty.

I love this recipe because it’s easy to make (it does involve some chilling though) and uses ingredients you’ll already have on hand. It’s also so much fun to make with kids–as you’ll see if you take a peek at the video in the recipe card 🙃

Why make my recipe:

• Quick chilling time–just 30 minutes!
• Unique flavor and texture combination.
• Can be made in advance.
• Uses just a handful of simple ingredients.
• EASY!

What You Need

You need just 11 basic ingredients to make these cookies! Here are a few of them in detail.

• Butter. For best results, use unsalted butter and make sure it’s softened (but not so soft that it’s melty or oily) before you start. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
• Brown sugar. Typically I like to use light brown sugar in most of my cookie recipes, but we’re opting for dark brown sugar here for a rich flavor and super chewy texture. The subtle molasses flavor pair surprisingly beautifully with the peanut butter (I initially worried they’d clash) and makes the peanut butter crinkle cookies utterly irresistible.
• Peanut butter. Use regular peanut butter, not the “natural” kind that separates. Natural peanut butter just doesn’t mesh well with most of the baked goods on my website, unfortunately (mega-unfortunately, considering it’s my preferred peanut butter for any other use).
• Coarse sugar. For rolling, we’ll use a coarse sugar like turbinado or sanding sugar. If you don’t have either on hand, plain granulated sugar will also work.

SAM’S TIP: This recipe will work best if your eggs are at room temperature before starting. If you forgot to set yours out in advance (or don’t have much patience) check out my how to quickly bring eggs to room temperature post for a few tips on how to do this!

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies

1. Cream the butters – Beat together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy.
2. Stir in the eggs – Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
3. Add the dry ingredients – Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
4. Let it chill – Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let chill for at least 30 minutes.

5. Roll through sugar – Roll 1.5 tablespoon-sized scoops through coarse sugar before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake and enjoy! Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes and let them cool completely on their sheets before enjoying. They’ll be a bit puffed when they first come out of the oven but as they cool they settle and flatten.

SAM’S TIP: Make sure your cookie sheets are completely cool before adding your next batch of cookie dough! Placing cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet will cause the dough to start cooking and spread too much.

Frequently Asked Questions

Today’s video has some funny bloopers featuring Luke, so if you need a laugh, definitely give it a watch (and make sure you watch through the end!) 😆

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies

With their sparkly sugar exteriors and crinkly tops, my peanut butter crinkle cookies are a unique alternative to classic peanut butter cookies. They take just 15 minutes to prep and are so fun to make with kids!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: cookie, Cookies, Dessert, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 40 cookies

Calories: 162kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (250) dark brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 ½ cups (310) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons salt
• ▢ ½ cup (100 g) coarse/turbinado sugar for rolling (may substitute regular granulated sugar)

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• ▢
  Baking sheet
• ▢
  Cookie scoop

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Combine butter, peanut butter, and sugars and use an electric mixer to beat together until smooth and creamy.
  1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter, 1 ¼ cups (250) dark brown sugar, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
  2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  2 ½ cups (310) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoons salt
• With mixer on low-speed, gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
• Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Measure out your coarse sugar in a small bowl.
  ½ cup (100 g) coarse/turbinado sugar
• Remove dough from refrigerator and scoop by 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized scoops. Roll dough between your palms to make it smooth, then roll in coarse sugar until completely covered.
• Place cookie dough on baking sheet, spacing at least 2” apart.
• Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.

Notes

Peanut butter

I recommend using classic creamy peanut butter and avoiding the “natural” variety that tends to separate.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 154IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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