Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

Crisp on the outside, perfectly chewy inside, and loaded with a double delight of browned butter and peanut butter, these brown butter peanut butter cookies are always a hit!

PB cookie-lovers, get ready to meet your match today.

We’re teaming up peanut butter + browned butter for the ultimate butter cross-over and wow, does it ever deliver in these cookies.

I’m talking crisp, sugar-rolled outsides, chewy insides, lots of PB flavor along with an extra nutty depth of flavor from the rich browned butter. Where the heck is my glass of milk already?

I can promise you one thing, you may never return to your stereotypical peanut butter cookie recipe ever again after your first bite of this magic. Downright life-changing.

These Peanut Butter Cookies Feature…

• A crisp, sugary exterior
• A soft and chewy texture inside
• Lots of creamy peanut butter as well as rich browned butter flavor

Making the Peanut Butter Cookies

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Peanut butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt

How To Brown Butter

Browned butter only takes a few minutes to make and adds a rich depth of flavor to these cookies. Melt 1 stick unsalted butter over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally until butter is a deep golden brown.

For best results, I recommend letting the butter cool 15 minutes before mixing into the other ingredients.

Tips for Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

1. Use two kinds of sugar – a little bit of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives these cookies that perfect texture level between crisp and soft.
2. Use room temperature egg – just like the butter, allow the egg to come to room temperature or submerge in hot water for about 2 minutes to quickly warm it. A room temperature egg will incorporate much easier into the butter.
3. Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
4. Use stand mixer or mix dough by hand – this recipe is both mixer-friendly and old-fashioned-bowl-and-spoon friendly.
5. Chill cookie dough – chilling the dough for about 2 hours before baking will prevent the cookies from excessive spreading resulting in a thick and chewy cookie.
6. Flatten cookies slightly before baking – you can use the palm of your hand or a fork for that signature peanut butter cookie look. This will help the cookies spread more evenly during baking.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on these cookies.

• Add chocolate – add 1/2 cup semisweet, dark, or milk chocolate chips or chunks.
• Use crunchy peanut butter – this will give the cookies a bit more texture.
• Roll cookies in cinnamon sugar – skip the granulated sugar and instead roll balls in cinnamon sugar for a little spice.

Storing Dough and Baked Cookies

If you would like to make up the dough for these cookies in advance it stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap before storing and follow recipes instructions for baking cookies.

For baked cookies, allow cookies to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

To freeze cookies, allow to cool completely, then wrap well and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw cookies completely at room temperature and store up to 4 days.

Lemme tell you, do NOT sleep on the browned butter addition in these cookies! It may seem like a small adjustment but I’m tell you it works wonders here with the creamy peanut butter.

Friends, this really ain’t your average peanut butter cookie. She’s so much more and you need it in your life.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Try these other peanut butter cookie favorites next!

• Granola Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
• Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cookies

This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 5/29/26.