This irresistible sourdough peanut butter cookie recipe is soft, sweet and full of peanut butter flavor. This is the perfect way to use up extra sourdough starter discard.
Sourdough starter isn’t just for sourdough bread. Anything that has flour (for the most part) can be fermented and turned into a delicious recipe.
Some days I think I’ve thought about all the sourdough recipes I can possibly think of, but alas something new comes to mind. One of the many reasons I love homemaking. It allows the time to explore and create and breaks up the monotonous tasks of the day to day.
For me, there is nothing better than being in the kitchen creating new recipes for my family and friends to enjoy.
This recipe is one of those. Super yummy and hard to stop at just one. Everyone will enjoy this sourdough twist to a classic.
Why you will love this recipe:
Soft and chewy: These are the best chewy peanut butter cookies.
Great way to use sourdough discard: These days, I never toss my extra discard — I use them for recipes like these peanut butter sourdough cookies. Need more sourdough discard recipes? Check out a whole list of them here.
Can be made quick, or long fermented for more health benefits. If you can’t tolerate unfermented grains, no worries. These cookies can be long fermented for better digestion.
Tips:
- For easy clean up, line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- For this recipe, an active sourdough starter or discard will work. It is a great way to use up extra starter, adds slight tanginess, and if long fermented will help break down the grains.
- If you are new to sourdough, check out how to make a sourdough starter here and how to take care of one here.
- Make sure to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This makes the cookies soft and chewy.
- If using natural peanut butter, make sure to stir super well or get the no stir kind.
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Ingredients:
Butter – Unsalted butter, soft room temperature. This allows the butter and sugars to cream together until nice and fluffy.
Peanut butter – Preferably creamy peanut butter. I used a natural peanut butter.
Brown sugar – Dark brown sugar has the most flavor, light brown will also work.
Sugar – The combination of white sugar and brown sugar makes these cookies chewy.
Egg
Vanilla extract – Homemade or store-bought
Sourdough starter – sourdough discard or active starter will work for this recipe
All purpose flour
Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda give the cookies the perfect amount of rise.
Salt
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl and hand mixer.
Parchment paper
Silicon spatula
FAQ:
Why do you put fork marks on peanut butter cookies?
Peanut butter can make the dough a bit dense, pressing the fork marks into the cookies ensures even baking.
Should you refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking?
It is not required to refrigerate peanut butter cookie dough before baking, but it can help reduce the cookie from spreading.
Why can’t you use natural peanut butter in cookies?
You can use natural peanut butter as long as it has been well mixed.
How To Make Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, and peanut butter. Cream together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Add egg and mix until well incorporated.
Add vanilla and sourdough starter and mix until just combined.
In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time, and mix until just incorporated.
Roll the dough into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet.
Using a fork, gently press the dough ball with the prongs of the fork. Then, turn the fork 90 degrees and press again to flatten and make a criss cross pattern.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
Move to a cooling rack to cool. Serve with a cold glass of milk.
Long Fermented Peanut butter cookies:
- The night before, mix together butter, sugar, peanut butter, sourdough starter and flour in a stand mixer bowl and cover. Allow the grains to ferment for 8-24 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 350.
- Add egg and vanilla to the sourdough starter mixture, and mix together well.
- Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl and stir.
- For best results, refrigerate dough for at least one hour or up to 24 hours prior to baking.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges start to turn a golden amber color.
Storage:
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 6 days, if they last that long! Freeze up to 6 month for longer term storage.
Peanut Butter Cookie Variations:
Add chocolate chips! I like using the mini chips. Switch it up and add white chocolate chips.
Peanut butter blossoms. Roll into balls of dough. Stick a Hershey Kiss on top of each dough ball and bake.
Swap out peanut butter for sunflower seed butter to make these nut free.
Mix in candied peanuts for a salty-sweet crunch.
Find More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Sugar Cookies
- Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
- Rustic Granola Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- The Best Lactation Cookies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temp
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter. Cream together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and mix until well incorporated.
- Add vanilla and sourdough starter and mix until just combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time, and mix until just incorporated.
- Roll the dough into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Using a fork, gently press the dough ball with the prongs of the fork. Then, turn the fork 90 degrees and press again to flatten and make a criss cross pattern.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Move to a cooling rack to cool.
Long Fermented Version
- The night before, mix together butter, sugar, peanut butter, sourdough starter and flour in a stand mixer bowl and cover. Allow the grains to ferment for 8-24 hours.
- The next day, preheat oven to 350.
- Add egg and vanilla to the sourdough starter mixture, and mix together well.
- Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl and stir.
- For best results, refrigerate dough for at least one hour or up to 24 hours prior to baking.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden amber color.
Notes
- For easy clean up, line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- For this recipe, active sourdough starter or discard will work. It is a great way to use up extra starter, adds slight tanginess, and if long fermented will help bread down the flour.
- Make sure to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This makes the cookies soft and chewy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why would a person want to do the long fermentation version? It’s 8-24 hrs waiting in a covered mixer bowl, then another 24 hrs in the fridge. Almost 3 days to get a finished product.
Health benefits. You do not have to long ferment if you don’t want to.
Would this recipe work with crunchy peanut butter?
I don’t see why not!
For the long fermented version. Why do you mix in the remaining ingredients the next day instead of all at once the 1st day? Like other cookie recipes.
I actually find doing it like the other cookies, mixing it them according to instructions and then putting them in the fridge for 3 days work better. Just haven’t updated the post yet.
You can do it either way, but I add the remaining ingredients the next day because of the egg in the recipe.
Thank you
Would this dough freeze well?
Yes! You could definitely freeze this.
Do you think these cookies would work to put a Hershey kiss in the center of each cookie (instead of the traditional fork marks)? My kids have requested that for Christmas 🎄 ☺️
Has anyone tried to put dark chocolate chips in these cookies? My kids love chocolate chips in like everything.
Sounds delicious!
Can you do the long ferment unrefrigerated or should the dough be in the fridge?
You can long ferment in the fridge for up to five days.
These are the most delicious moist peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing!
In the Notes it says that if fermented it will bread down the flour. What does bread down mean?
Finally figured out that it was a misspelling, it should have said “break down.”
Oops. I’ll fix that.
These are the best peanut butter cookies!! I never have been a fan of peanut butter cookies but my youngest son loves peanut butter and I needed an easy recipe with ingredients I already had. These changed my mind and I am a peanut butter cookie lover after all. Thank you for sharing!!
That is so great to hear! Glad everyone enjoyed them.