These homemade peanut butter cookies have crispy outside edges and chewy middles thanks to unsulfured molasses in the recipe. There's no chilling time needed so you'll be munching on these with an ice cold glass of milk in no time. Be sure to save some for the kids!
Looking for a traditional recipe? You love these easy peanut butter cookies with the crosshatch design.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
When I was a kid I used to love those peanut butter molasses taffy candies that only were in the store during Halloween.
I don't know if you know what I'm talking about but they were wrapped in orange or black waxed paper. I would go for those even before the chocolate!
There's just something about sweet-salty combinations that I love. I wanted to recreate that sweet salty goodness in these chewy peanut butter cookies and I've done it here.
If you loved those candies as a kid you'll go nuts over these chewy peanut butter cookies!
Molasses Crinkles + PB Cookies = YES!
I decided to use my molasses crinkles cookies recipe as a base because I know that they ALWAYS come out perfectly. With just a few tries and a few adjustments I came up with these.
They're definitely going on my top ten list along with my ultimate chocolate chip cookies!
OMG, they are SO addictively good. They are, in fact, kid tested AND adult tested. Heck, they' re even dog tested -- the cat refused to try one.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies Tips
I don't know about you but I do not like peanut butter cookies that crumble when you bite into them and turn into dry sawdust as you chew. I want something that is crisp when I nibble the edges and chewy as I get to the middle -- AND I want to taste peanut butter! Lots and lots of peanut butter!
Here are some tips for making these peanut butter crinkle cookies and getting the exact texture you're looking for.
- As they bake deep cracks form and the outside gets a crispy coating from the sugar. The inside stays soft and chewy but if you like crisper cookies leave them in the oven an extra minute or two. 10 minutes for very chewy cookies, 12 for average, and 14 for crisp cookies is about right.
- This dough is firm enough that your children and grandchildren can help roll the cookie dough into balls and dip them into the sugar.
- Use a larger sugar crystals like turbinado sugar or white decorative sugar to roll the dough in. You can use regular granulated sugar, too. It's just that the texture is much nicer when you roll the dough in the larger crystals.
- Be sure to use unsulfured molasses like Grandma's Molasses. Blackstrap molasses and the like are not what you want in this recipe!
- If you like crisper cookies bake them a little longer.
- Let the cookies cool and set on the pan before you try to move them. At least 10 minutes.
- The dough freezes well. Make the dough balls and flash freeze them right on the cookie sheet. Once they are frozen dump them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake just put however many frozen cookie dough balls you want on a baking sheet and bake as usual.
- These travel extremely well and are good for shipping to loved ones in college and in the military.
- Make the balls bigger and use them for the sandwich part of an ice cream sandwich. Yum!
- If you'll be sending these to someone be sure to read my tips for shipping cookies.
Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
In traditional peanut butter cookies it flattens them out and helps them to cook more evenly. The fork marks are not necessary in these peanut butter molasses crinkles.
Also called peanut butter blossoms. I just happen to have a recipe for that - Peanut Butter Hershey's Kiss Cookies.
As a general rule peanut butter is too dense to substitute for butter but you CAN use it for half the butter in peanut butter cookies. That way you do get a lot of extra peanut butter flavor.
Peanut butter cookies have a lot of sugar - and that's not good for doggos BUT there's nothing in peanut butter cookies that will hurt your dog if you share your treats once in awhile. Just make sure that you've used sugar and not erythritol or artificial sweeteners - those are deadly to dogs.
More Homemade Cookie Recipes
I love homemade cookies of all kinds! Once summer is over and the kids are headed back to school I like slipping a few freshly baked cookies into their lunches.
Here are more of my favorites -
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies are chewy and delicately crispy on the outside. Each glorious bite is full of crunchy pecans and buttery flavor.
- Soft Snickerdoodles Cookies are fluffy, soft in the middle and just a little chewy on the edges. Seriously the BEST snickerdoodle recipe out there. Each bite includes lots of sprinkles!
- Red Hot Snickerdoodles are going to be the favorite of anyone who loves Hot Tamales or Red Hots candy. Full of spicy cinnamon flavor these may just be the spicy snickerdoodles sugar cookies you’ve been looking for!
- Remember Ranger Cookies? They're chewy cookies that travel well - to school or overseas. Recipe is full of oatmeal, coconut, pecans and other good things for a hearty snack anytime.
- Monster Cookies are crispy, chewy, oatmeal based cookies with a variety of types of chocolates added. These are a lunch box favorite - and with good reason!
You May Need...
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Silicone mats are the way to bake cookies! No sticking, no burning. Grandma's Molasses is the brand I use most often and the brand I used in these cookies. Just makes sure whatever brand you use says "unsulphured" or the taste will be too strong and bitter.
Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Homemade peanut butter molasses crinkles will not turn your kids into Dick and Jane, nor will they magically attach a frilly apron and string of pearls to you.
They will, however, delight your family with their old fashioned goodness whether in a lunch box, a college care package, or a 7 week old tattered box that finally made it to that lonely family member in the desert.
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Molasses Crinkles
Print Add to CollectionIngredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, kosher salt
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, (½ stick) softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- Turbinado or granulated sugar for sugaring cookies
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined.
- Beat together peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium high.
- Add egg and molasses, beating until combined.
- Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until combined.
- Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of dough into a 1-inch ball with wet hands.
- Roll ball in sugar or turbinado sugar to cover.
- Arrange 2-inches apart on a baking sheet covered with silpat or parchment.
- Bake cookies undersides are golden brown and tops "crackle", 10 to 12 minutes total.
- Cool on sheets 5 minutes.
- Transfer to racks to cool completely.
Notes
- As they bake deep cracks form and the outside gets a crispy coating from the sugar. The inside stays soft and chewy but if you like crisper cookies leave them in the oven an extra minute or two. 10 minutes for very chewy cookies, 12 for average, and 14 for crisp cookies is about right.
- This dough is firm enough that your children and grandchildren can help roll the cookie dough into balls and dip them into the sugar.
- Use a larger sugar crystals like turbinado sugar or white decorative sugar to roll the dough in. You can use regular granulated sugar, too. It's just that the texture is much nicer when you roll the dough in the larger crystals.
- Be sure to use unsulfured molasses like Grandma's Molasses. Blackstrap molasses and the like are not what you want in this recipe!
- If you like crisper cookies bake them a little longer.
- Let the cookies cool and set on the pan before you try to move them. At least 10 minutes.
- The dough freezes well. Make the dough balls and flash freeze them right on the cookie sheet. Once they are frozen dump them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake just put however many frozen cookie dough balls you want on a baking sheet and bake as usual.
- These travel extremely well and are good for shipping to loved ones in college and in the military.
- Make the balls bigger and use them for the sandwich part of an ice cream sandwich. Yum!
- If you'll be sending these to someone be sure to read my tips for shipping cookies.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published March 17, 2017. Last updated May 24, 2021 to improve readability and replace areas of corrupted code.
Elena Neely
I have your recipe printed and have used and loved it before but I noticed that you now only use 1tsp of baking soda instead of 2 tsp which is what’s printed on my copy (no I don’t know what year I printed it out but at least 3 years ago) and was wondering why you changed it. I also was going to ask if I don’t have unsalted butter could I just use regular and leave out the extra salt called for in the recipe?
Marye
Oh goodness. Not I'll be forced to make these today and see why! :::YAY!!!::::: I think that last time I made them the baking soda seemed harsh? You can use regular butter for sure.
Schuyler
These were good, but I think the baking soda should've been cut in half - mine came out a bit fluffy.
Marye Audet
Really? Mine weren't at all - they were chewy. I wonder if my baking soda was outdated?!
Miz Helen
We will love your Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies! Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you will come back and visit us again real soon!
Miz Helen
Marye Audet
Thanks for stopping by!