Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies
These frosted peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with rich peanut butter flavor from top to bottom. Finished with a swirl of creamy peanut butter buttercream, they’re the perfect nostalgic treat for peanut butter lovers everywhere.
These frosted peanut butter cookies are what peanut butter dreams are made of—soft, chewy peanut butter cookies topped with a swirl of peanut butter buttercream that hits all the right notes.
These cookies have a rich, salty-sweet flavor combo that is “simply irresistible,” just like that Robert Palmer anthem.
One bite and you’re fully committed, because when a cookie hits this hard, you know it’s “love so powerful, it’s simply unavoidable.”
If peanut butter cookie recipes make your heart skip a beat, check out my classic peanut butter cookies, peanut butter M&M cookies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
How to Make Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies
Step 1: Make the cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugars. Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Scoop the cookie dough with a large cookie scoop and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Prep and preheat. Preheat the oven and line baking pans with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Step 3: Bake the cookies. Place the chilled cookie dough balls on the baking pans. Bake the cookies for 12 to 13 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Step 4: Make the frosting. Whip the butter. Add in the peanut butter. Then, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and heavy cream and mix until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Step 5: Frost the cookies. Pipe a swirl of peanut butter frosting onto the cookies using a Wilton 1A piping tip and spread with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with white nonpareil sprinkles.
Courtney’s Expert Cookie Baking Tips
- Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) to portion the cookie dough to create round and uniform-sized cookies.
- Bake the cookies in the center of the oven for even baking and proper spreading.
- Immediately when the cookies come out of the oven, use the back of a spoon to gently shape the cookies into perfectly round circles.
- To save time, make the peanut butter frosting while the cookie dough is chilling.
- Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough. Chill helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much and helps create the chewy texture.
- Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before frosting to prevent the buttercream from melting.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, you will want to stick with a good old fashioned creamy peanut butter like Jif, Skippy, or your favorite creamy peanut butter brand. It helps create the perfect soft and chewy texture and adds amazing peanut butter flavor.
Yes! You can use a medium cookie scoop which is about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes.
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Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups (330 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (260 g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 (2) large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) baking soda
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) salt
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (195 g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) heavy cream
Additional Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white nonpareil sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar for a few minutes on medium speed until well combined. Add in the peanut butter, eggs and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until well combined and smooth.
- Add in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed until the cookie dough comes together. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the ingredients are well mixed.
- Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) to portion the cookie dough. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Place the chilled cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet pans, allowing room for spreading. Bake the cookies for about 12 to 13 minutes until the edges are set and the centers of the cookies are slightly underbaked. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the unsalted butter for 5 minutes until light and creamy. Add in the creamy peanut butter and mix until well combined.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until fully incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while mixing on low speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- Increase the speed on the mixer to medium and whip the buttercream for about 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth and creamy. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix the buttercream for several minutes to remove any air bubbles.
Frosting the Cookies
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip with the peanut butter frosting. Pipe a swirl of the frosting onto the cookies and spread the frosting with an offset spatula. If desired, sprinkle the cookies with white nonpareil spinkles.
Notes
- Room temperature: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
- Freezer: Store the frosted cookies in an airtight container or storage bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Made This Recipe?
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About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
I’m going to make these cookies. They look so yummy
Hi Sandra! I hope you give the recipe a try! It’s one of my favorites!
Made these for the office and they were a huge hit. Best frosting I’ve had. This recipe is a keeper. I made the dough in advance and they were still moist and delicious.
Hi Nanci! You can never go wrong with peanut butter frosting. I could eat a bowl of it! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for leaving a positive review! I appreciate it!
I made these cookies and honestly, one of the best cookie recipes I’ve ever tried! It also helps if you listen to Def Leppard or Bon Jovi while making these! I swear they taste better because of it
Hi Natalye! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much! And I 100% agree that some glam rock makes the baking process so much more fun! I like your style!
I made these for my family and friends and they all loved them. This cookie recipe is the best recipe I ever tried and honestly made the best cookies to ever enter my mouth 😍😍😍
Hi Elisa! Thanks for trying out the recipe! I’m so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the cookies and thrilled to hear that you consider it to be one of the best cookies you’ve ever tried! Thank you kindly for the positive review!
Hi – does the frosting crust enough to stack these cookies? Can’t wait to try them! Are they good without the frosting or would it make more sense to try one of your other peanut butter cookie recipes? Thanks so much!
Hi Rita! It doesn’t crust a lot. I’ve stacked them in between parchment paper after I have chilled the cookies for a while to firm up the frosting and it turned out well! They are super delicious without the frosting! It’s the same peanut butter cookie base I use in my peanut butter M&M cookies.
Thanks so much for replying so quickly!!!! I’m making them tomorrow! 😊