These Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies are a peanut butter dream! A soft and chewy peanut butter cookie, made with nutty brown butter, loaded with honey roasted peanuts, peanut butter chips, and topped with flaky sea salt.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
The flavor on these brown butter cookies is perfect. They're salty, sweet, soft, chewy, with the perfect crunch, and a rich flavor that in unbeatable!
There are few ingredients contributing to the incredible flavor on these cookies-brown butter, dark brown sugar, honey roasted peanuts, and peanut butter chips.
The brown butter adds a magical nutty flavor, the extra molasses in dark brown sugar gives deep complex flavor, the caramelized exterior of the honey roasted peanuts adds the perfect crunch, and finally the peanut butter chips adds an extra pop of sweet peanut butter that is irresistible.
Try these other nutty cookie flavors: brown butter pecan cookies, chocolate peanut butter cookies, coconut pecan cookies.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter. You can use salted or unsalted. The butter is browned to add a rich nutty flavor to these peanut butter cookies.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Dark brown sugar has extra molasses which makes the texture chewy and adds a subtly complex and smoky flavor.
- Sugar. Use a white, granulated sugar. This goes into the cookies and is used to roll the cookie dough in before baking.
- Peanut Butter. Use creamy peanut butter, not natural peanut butter. The results will not be the same or as good with natural peanut butter.
- Eggs. Use large chicken eggs.
- Vanilla. Vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Salt. A little salt to balance the flavors.
- Baking Powder. Baking powder is our leavening agent to help them rise.
- Cornstarch. A little cornstarch helps keep the cookies soft.
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour for the body of these brown butter peanut butter cookies.
- Honey Roasted Peanuts. Chopped honey roasted peanuts are mixed into the dough. The peanuts and caramelized honey exterior add the perfect crunch.
- Peanut Butter Chips. I prefer Reese's brand peanut butter chips. You may omit these if you prefer.
- Flaky Sea Salt. Top with a little flaky sea salt after baked.
How to Make this Recipe
Full recipe with measurements is provided in the recipe card below.
- Brown the Butter. Place butter in the saucepan until a deep golden brown color. Place in a bowl to chill until solid.
- Cream butter & sugars. Cream cooled brown butter, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer on high for three minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add peanut butter. Add the peanut butter in and mix on low until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, Then add to the peanut butter mixture. Mix on low until completely incorporated.
- Stir in peanuts and chips. Stir in the peanut butter chips and chopped honey roasted peanuts.
- Chill. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
- XL or Medium Cookies. You can either make these cookies extra-large (about a ½ cup of dough) or make them a medium size cookies (about ¼ cup of dough).
- Roll. Scoop the dough. Top each ball with some crushed peanuts, then roll in granulated sugar. Place on a lined baking sheet, use a fork to press each ball down slightly, creating a cross-hatch pattern.
- Bake. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For extra-large cookies bake 15-17 minutes, for medium cookies bake 10-12 minutes.
Browning Butter for Cookies
I love adding brown butter to just about everything, the flavor is unmatched. When you brown butter, the milk solids in the butter are toasted, creating a rich, nutty flavor with notes of caramel and toffee-the perfect companion to a peanut butter cookie.
Browning butter is simple and takes about 8 minutes on the stove. Just add the butter to a pot over medium to medium-high heat and stir constantly. The butter will melt, begin to bubble, and gradually turn a golden amber color. As it browns, you'll notice a delicious, nutty aroma filling the air.
We have a full tutorial on how to brown butter if you want to see step-by-step pictures, videos, and frequently asked questions.
The brown butter does need to chill and return to a solid (room temperature state This does require a little planning ahead. Let the butter cool slightly on the stove before pouring into another container, then place it in the fridge or freezer to chill.
The texture of the butter should be "room temperature" meaning it solid, but soft enough that you can push your finger into it and it holds an indentation. You can brown the butter weeks of months in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to use it. Just let the butter sit on the counter until it returns to room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, absolutely! Brown butter enhances the nutty flavor and adds subtle toffee and caramel notes to the cookies.
I prefer a combination of white and brown sugar. I go heavy on the brown sugar, the molasses in the brown sugar gives a rich, smoky flavor to the cookies while also giving them a chewy texture.
Yes, you can substitute crunchy peanut butter in for the creamy peanut butter, if you prefer. It will add a little more texture to the cookies.
Make sure you are not using natural peanut butter. The extra oil (and lack of stabilizers) in natural peanut butter will not give you an ideal result.
Yes, if you want to skip browning the butter you can, a few adjustments will need to be made. When butter is browned some water content is lost. If you are not using brown butter, reduce the amount of butter and use 1 cup of room temperature butter.
No, you can skip adding the cross hatch pattern if you prefer. The cross hatch pattern is traditional for peanut butter cookies and it helps flatten the cookies slightly before baking.
Alternatively, you can use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to slightly flatten the top of the cookies.
Letting the dough chill in the refrigerator gives the dough time for the ingredients to absorb together, this enhances the flavor and texture of the brown butter peanut butter cookies.
We recommend allowing the dough to chill for a minimum of 30-60 minutes, however, you can let it chill for up to three days before baking. Make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap to prevent exposure to air.
If you do chill the dough for longer than 60 minutes, you'll want to let the dough come back to almost room temperature or you will find the dough dry, crumbly, and difficult to scoop.
Variations of this Recipe
These brown butter peanut butter cookies are undeniably delicious no matter what variation you choose! Here are few ideas:
- Omit the peanut butter chips. I love the extra peanut buttery sweetness that peanut butter chips adds to this recipe, but feel free to leave them out if they're not your thing or if you're trying to save yourself a trip to the grocery store.
- Add chocolate chips. No denying that peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Add a cup of your favorite kind of chocolate chips to the dough.
- Add toffee bits. Toffee amps up the flavor of the brown butter and goes so well with peanut butter. try adding a cup of toffee bits into the dough.
- Add pretzels. If you love that salt-sweet combo, adding some chopped pretzels into the mix is such a delicious option.
- Make them gluten-free. If you're gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, like Bob's Red Mill. It measure cup for cup so it's an easy swap to make.
How to Store this Recipe
Once cooled, store the baked brown butter peanut butter cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
The baked cookies or cookie dough balls can be frozen. For the baked cookies, store in an airtight container, minimizing any air exposure, in the freezer for up the three months. Thaw before eating.
If freezing the cookie dough, scoop into balls, top with peanuts and roll in sugar. Freeze the dough on a baking sheet for 1 hours before transferring to a freezer gallon bag or a food storage container. Thaw cookie dough for 30-60 minutes, then bake according to normal instructions. You may need to add one extra minute to the bake time.
You'll Love These Other Recipes Too
P.S. If you tried this recipe or any other In Fine Taste recipe take a second and rate it below! We love hearing what you think. Let's stay in touch! Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube or Pinterest for more recipe ideas.
Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups butter salted or unsalted (284 grams before browning, 229 grams after browning)
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar packed (300 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter not natural peanut butter (260 grams)
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (455 grams)
- 1 cup honey roasted peanuts + more for topping roughly chopped (127 grams)
- 1 cup peanut butter chips (optional) I prefer the Reese's brand (180 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling dough in
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Cut the butter up into tablespoon size pieces, place in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter reaches a golden amber color and smells nutty. It should take about 8 minutes. Let the butter cool slightly before transferring to a bowl, let it chill in the fridge or freezer until the butter is room temperature. The butter should be solid enough to hold its shape, but soft enough your finger can indent in it.
- Cream together the browned butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla for 3 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Then add in the peanut butter and mix until smooth.
- Whisk together the dry flour, salt, cornstarch, and baking powder. Then add it into the wet mixture. Mix on low until fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides, there should be no flour streaks in the dough.
- Stir in the chopped peanuts and peanut butter chips until evenly dispersed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Decide whether you are making big or medium cookies (or you can make a mixture of both). You'll get roughly 15 extra large cookies or 30 medium cookies.
- For extra-large cookies scoop ½ cup of dough, for medium cookies scoop ¼ cup dough and roll into a ball. Press some chopped honey roasted peanuts into the top of the cookie before rolling in granulated sugar. Take a fork and gently press down in the center of the cookie, repeat with the fork tines going the opposite direction to create the signature cross-hatch patter in top of the cookies. Don't push the cookie dough balls down too thin.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or grease it. For the extra-large cookies, bake for 15-17 minutes, for medium cookies bake for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle a little flaky sea salt over the cookies after they come out of the oven. Let the cookies cool at least 10 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.
Alexis says
love these! turned out sooo good. I was curious if you've baked these from frozen?
In Fine Taste says
Hi Alexis, so glad you loved them! Yes, we freeze the dough all the time for baking later! I recommend scooping into balls before freezing, then when you’re ready to bake, thaw the cookie dough for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. They may require an extra 1-2 minutes.
- Alyssa
Susanne says
Soo good! The honey roasted peanuts were the perfect addition. Loved these so much.