These one bowl, small batch peanut butter cookies are soft inside and crisp on the outside. They're made with pantry ingredients and are ready in about 25 minutes. This cookie makes about 6 thick cookies.
[This recipe was originally posted in May 2020. It has been updated with cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]
Table of contents
The thought of baking is overwhelming because 2 dozen cookies or a large pan of dessert is a lot for one person.
That's why I'm all about small batch recipes, like these small batch peanut butter cookies and small batch double chocolate cookies.
You get just enough to enjoy, but not too many that you're left hating them, letting them go bad, or with a stomach ache.
Ingredients
Scroll down to the small batch peanut butter cookies recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick visual + description of what's in this recipe.
- Butter: It'll help you get that classic cookie consistency. Softened butter, at room temperature will blend with the sugars better than cold butter.
- Peanut butter: It takes ⅓ cup to get a nice peanut butter taste and cookies that don't crumble apart
- Granulated Sugar, Brown sugar: Both sugars give you a nice slight molasses taste and structure in your cookies. I like using dark brown sugar in cookies, but use light if you have it.
- Egg: An egg yolk is enough in this recipe to emulsify the ingredients and get a nice chewy texture of your small batch peanut butter cookies that sticks together.
- Flour: all purpose or all purpose + whole wheat flour both work well in this recipe. ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon is a weird measurement, but ⅓ cup flour= gooey cookies, ½ cup crumbly cookies.
- Baking powder: Helps your cookies rise to be slightly fluffy on the inside
- Baking soda: Also helps your cookies rise to be slightly fluffy on the inside.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of the peanut butter.
Instructions
Scroll down to the small batch peanut butter cookies recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl (using a hand mixer) cream together salted butter, peanut butter, sugar, packed brown sugar.
2. Add egg. Beat until just incorporated. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt to the mixture. Beat at a low speed until just incorporated.
3. Using a scoop or your hands, roll about ¼ cup dough into balls. Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat, leave about 1 ½ inches between cookies.
4. Bake your small batch peanut butter cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Or until your small batch peanut butter cookies are just golden brown on the outside, but still soft to the touch.
6. Let cool. Enjoy small batch peanut butter cookies with a glass of milk.
Storage/Reheating Tips
Cover remaining small batch peanut butter cookies on the counter for about a week, or freeze in a bag for longer.
You can leave a cookie out on the counter to defrost or reheat in the microwave for 15-20 or so seconds.
Substitutions/Tips
- Add an extra pinch of salt to dry ingredients if using unsalted butter.
- Swap peanut butter with another nut butter that you have. Use creamy, crunchy, natural peanut butter or other nut butter for your small batch peanut butter cookies.
- Use half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour for extra nutty flavor.
- Use your favorite type of chocolate chips.
- If your cookies spread, you can use a spatula or cookie cutter to press in the edges (place a cookie cutter around the cookie and move in circular direction to press edges back in.
- You can also dip ½ of the cookie into the chocolate. Make sure they're cooled before dipping. They'll look nicer this way, but won't cover the whole cookie.
- You should be able to double or triple this small batch peanut butter cookies recipe, or make smaller cookies to get more (but bake smaller cookies for 6-8 minutes, about)
- Other great add-ins: chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped peanuts, flaky salt are all great in these small batch peanut butter cookies.
FAQ
They were likely over-baked and/or you added too much flour to the cookie dough. It's better to slightly underbake cookies. Also the dough should look wet vs crumbling.
With a smaller batch, just press dough together with a spatula and if it still crumbles, add more peanut butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time. I added a bit more peanut butter to this recipe with this update, so it's less crumbly.
Not all peanut butter cookies call for vanilla extract. If you don't have any or don't want to add any, just skip it. There's none in these small batch peanut butter cookies, as I don't miss the flavor.
Other good cookie recipes:
- Edible Single Serving Cookie Dough
- Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Small Batch Dark Chocolate Cookies
What to do with leftover ingredients
When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.
- Peanut butter: PB yogurt dip, peanut butter granola, PB overnight oats, PB banana chia pudding.
- Eggs: add the remaining egg white to any of these recipes- Microwave Egg in a Cup, Apple Omelet with Sharp Cheddar Cheese, and Ugandan Chapati Roll with Vegetables
Did you make these small batch peanut butter cookies? Leave me a comment & rating to share how they turned out!
Small-Batch Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl AND Hand Mixer
- OR Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Spoon or Scoop
- baking sheet
- Baking Mat or Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup salted butter softened
- ¼ cup sugar table sugar or turbinado
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup flour + 1 Tablespoon either all purpose (AP) or half AP half whole wheat
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt or two pinches if using unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl (using a hand mixer) cream together ¼ cup salted butter, ⅓ c peanut butter, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup packed brown sugar. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed for about 3 minutes.
- Once butters and sugars are creamed, add one egg. Beat until just incorporated. Add ½ cup flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, and a pinch of salt to the mixture. Beat at a low speed until just incorporated.
- Using a scoop or your hands, take about ¼ cup dough and roll into a ball. Place on a baking mat OR parchment paper on a baking sheet. Repeat with remainder of the dough. Make sure there is at least 1.5 inch between cookie dough balls.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Or until cookies are just golden brown on the outside, but still soft to the touch.
- Remove cookies from oven. They should be golden brown on top and not sink if you gently press the top with your finger. I like to take them out a minute or so earlier than I would like and just let them cook slightly longer on the pan, after removing it from the oven. Let cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Add an extra pinch of salt to dry ingredients if using unsalted butter.
- Swap peanut butter with another nut butter that you have. Use creamy or crunchy nut butter.
- Use ¼ c all purpose flour and ¼ c whole wheat flour if you have both!
- You can dip ½ of the cookie into the chocolate. Make sure they're cooled before dipping.
- Optional Add-ins: chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, chopped peanuts, flaky salt.
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Jessica Formicola says
These cookies are perfection! I topped mine with Nutella and they were SO so good!
Rebecca says
ohhh great addition! I need to try that next time
Leslie says
This is EXACTLY how I like my cookies, soft on the inside and hard on the outside! That chocolate topping is the perfect addition as well!
Rebecca says
right?! cookie perfection!
Liz Cleland says
My spouse loves anything with peanut in it. I have saved the recipe to try this weekend!
Rebecca says
great to hear! they'll love the cookies!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
OMG - my face is pressed against the screen and I can't tear my eyes away from these cookies. They are mouthwatering!
Rebecca says
they really are!
Gail Montero says
I love that I don't need to make a ton of cookies every time with this small-batch! The cookies not only look tasty but they present so beautifully!
Rebecca says
100% thanks!