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These chewy peanut butter cookies are sweetened with honey for what just might be the most perfect after-school snack ever!

5 peanut butter cookies stacked on a white plate. A bite has been taken from the top cookie.

There’s just something about peanut butter that makes you think about back-to-school season, right?

I know the majority of schools are nut-free these days, but I still think about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as the quintessential childhood sack lunch. 

Since peanut butter sandwiches aren’t safe to send to school, I make peanut butter treats for an after-school snack instead. 

Peanut butter and jelly bars? Yes! Peanut butter oatmeal bars? Yes! Honey peanut butter cookies? Yes, yes, and YES!

Plate with 4 honey peanut butter cookies on it with more cookies and a glass of milk in the background.

CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH HONEY

I know there are a lot of different peanut butter cookie recipes out there. I even have a few different versions on my site, from apple peanut butter cookies to peanut butter sandwich cookies to peanut butter blossoms.

Heck, even my no bake cookies have a healthy dose of peanut butter in them!

But when it comes to a classic peanut butter cookie, there are a few things I look for:

  • It needs to be chewy
  • It needs to be flavorful
  • It needs to have the classic criss-cross pattern on top

I have tried so many peanut butter cookies that were hard as rocks and tasted strongly of peanut butter but not much else. They just weren’t what I was looking for.

But this recipe? It’s exactly what I want.

These cookies stay nice and chewy, even after they cool. They have a lovely peanut butter flavor that’s subtly accented by the honey in the recipe, and they have that classic criss-cross on top.

Honey peanut butter cookie ingredients arranged on a countertop.

HOW TO MAKE THESE FAVORITE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This is a pretty simple cookie recipe to whip up, so they’re a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for any time you need a quick and easy treat.

Ingredients you’ll need

The ingredients for this recipe are pretty standard if you do a lot of baking, especially cookies.

To make these honey peanut butter cookies, you’ll need:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup honey
  • ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Honey peanut butter cookie dough in a white mixing bowl.

Yes, there’s a whole cup of honey in these cookies! You can use any honey you like, but I recommend getting a nice, flavorful one. That way the flavor of the honey stands out to really complement the peanut butter!

Make sure you know how to soften butter and how to measure flour for this recipe. I also have a simple brown sugar substitute you can use if you find yourself out of brown sugar.

What kind of peanut butter to use

This recipe uses creamy peanut butter. Make sure you grab creamy peanut butter, not crunchy by accident!

Balls of honey peanut butter cookie dough being rolled in granulated sugar and set on a baking sheet.

If you want to use natural peanut butter, I recommend using a no-stir natural peanut butter. 

I don’t recommend using the type of natural peanut butter that is just ground peanuts and nothing else. That type tends to be grainier and separates easily and doesn’t work as well in recipes like these honey peanut butter cookies or peanut butter cake.

If you have a kiddo with a peanut butter allergy, you could swap in sunflower seed butter in this recipe instead.

Honey peanut butter cookie dough flatted with a fork on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Making this recipe

To make these peanut butter cookies, start by creaming together the softened butter, peanut butter, honey, and both sugars until light and fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes.

Add in the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix well.

Whisk together the remaining dry ingredients and gradually add this mixture to the peanut butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Baked honey peanut butter cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out 2-tablespoon balls of dough. Roll each ball in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookies and create a crosshatch pattern on top. 

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until dry on top and just golden around the edges. Make sure not to overbake them! You want them to stay chewy.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Honey peanut butter cookies scattered on a wire cooling rack.

STORAGE TIPS

These honey peanut butter cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They’re the perfect excuse to pull out your favorite cookie jar!

You can also freeze the cookies, either before or after baking.

To freeze the dough, follow the instructions in my tutorial on how to freeze cookie dough. Then you can pull out as many dough balls as you like, whenever you like, and have freshly baked cookies in just a few minutes.

To freeze the baked cookies, just toss them in a zip-top freezer bag or an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours before enjoying.

Bite taken from a peanut butter cookie that is leaning against a glass of milk, set on a napkin.
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Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

By: Jamie Lothridge
4.49 from 25 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies
These chewy peanut butter cookies are sweetened with honey for what just might be the most perfect after-school snack ever!

Ingredients  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup honey
  • ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For rolling dough balls:

  • ½ cup granulated sugar

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until well combined and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
  • Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
  • Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) form dough into balls, roll in sugar, and place on prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a fork. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Video

Notes

You may substitute the butter for butter-flavored shortening.
Cookies will store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Adapted from Taste of Home

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 145kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 135mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 16g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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71 Comments

  1. BakerBrian says:

    I had a bunch of raw honey from the last harvest, too much. I looked for recipes with honey and yours popped up. Changed my life as a cookie lover! Baked roughly 300 of these cookies, 24 per batch and I can’t get enough! Thank you!
    I’ve created my own recipe based off of yours.
    I use the butter flavored shortening and not the butter.
    2 tsp each of baking powder and baking soda.
    Extra crunchy peanut butter!
    One cup sugar, no brown sugar.
    I skip adding salt, but I mix in 2 cups of Ruffles Potato Chips for just a few seconds in the mixer on slow, leaving big pieces of potato chips in the dough.
    Roll up into one and a quarter balls and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, no more no less.
    They are a hit! You should give this one a try. The salty crunch from the chips pairs well with the honey and peanut butter.

    Cheers

    On to another one of your cookie recipes:)

    1. Jamie says:

      Glad you enjoy enough to make 300 of them! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
      Jamie

  2. Tabby says:

    Can you make these cookies bigger? My family likes the bigger cookies or will it mess up the cooking and be raw in center.

    1. Jamie says:

      Hi Tabby – That would probably depend on how big you made them, to be honest. I haven’t tried making them much bigger, so I’m not sure how they’d bake up. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how they turn out for you. Happy baking!
      Jamie

  3. BJ says:

    These cookies are so soft and delicious! I added mini semi sweet chocolate chips. I added this recipe to my favorites.

    1. Jamie says:

      So happy to hear that this is a new favorite! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
      Jamie

    2. BakerBrian says:

      @BJ,

      I have tried adding the chocolate chips as well. Way good cookies. You can add lots of different things to this recipe and they all seem to turn out tasty.

  4. Lori says:

    These look absolutely delicious.
    Is there a reason why neither butter or shortening are listed in the ingredients?

    1. Jamie says:

      So sorry about that, Lori! I fixed the recipe card to add the butter. Thanks for bringing to my attention, and happy baking!
      Jamie

  5. Michaeline Florek says:

    This recipe was yummy, love the marriage of honey and peanut butter!!! I used unsalted butter and it worked great. I try to use a little less sugar in measuring because of family members with medical issues and they are just as tasty. Used brown sugar instead of regular sugar. Plan to try coconut sugar next time. I also did not roll in sugar. Used crunchy peanut butter, my preference. I bake gluten free…Namaste flour works well for cookies. I always try to please all family members, I am a purist in peanut butter cookies. My family likes chocolate chips in their peanut butter cookies. I compromise by adding Cacao nibs to half of cookie mixture. :-)
    Happy Baking

    1. Jamie says:

      Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
      -Jamie

  6. Ann Crews says:

    I made with butter and added chopped pecans, they turned out delicious

    1. Jamie says:

      So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Ann! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
      -Jamie

  7. Mary Ellen Phillips says:

    I absolutely love love love these cookies, and so does EVERYONE else that I give them to. I have always made them with regular unsalted butter. I also have never used sugar- I use the Splenda brown sugar mix. I can’t have regular sugar… (Well, no more than 2 grams PER MEAL) Since I had the gastric bypass surgery in 2010. Sugar makes me sick… My neighbor asked how I get them to stay soft and moist for DAYS and DAYS??? When I told her I just use honey instead of sugar, and the Splenda brown sugar, she made me PROMISE not to let her husband know!!!!
    They are so yummy, and they stay soft and delicious for up to a week in an airtight container. Well, maybe longer, they’re just always eaten by day 7 at my house!!!

    1. Jamie says:

      So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Mary Ellen! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
      -Jamie

  8. Sean Havern says:

    For some Reason every time I make cookies with baking powder/soda they turn out cakey so these ones did too. Anyone know what I could be doing wrong

    1. Jamie says:

      Thanks so much for stopping by, Sean! Without seeing the exact result, I’m not sure what might be happening. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
      -Jamie

  9. Andrea says:

    Hello, I have made the recipe with butter. They are delicious!
    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Jamie says:

      So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Andrea! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback! Happy Baking!
      -Jamie