Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
My sourdough peanut butter cookies are crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and rich with peanut butter flavor. You make them with sourdough discard, and they are a fun and delicious way to use up leftover discard; plus, you don’t have to chill the dough!
Why you will love my sourdough peanut butter cookies
- It is a fun way to use up leftover sourdough discard. Discard adds flavor to the cookies, plus it helps with the texture by adding moisture to the dough.
- Sourdough peanut butter cookies have the perfect texture. They are crispy on the outside and have an incredible chewy center!
- They are incredibly easy to make, and they are ready in 30 minutes! You don’t have to chill the dough, so just mix, scoop, and bake the cookies
Ingredients you will need
Sourdough discard: I love that you can make these cookies with discard. This is the part you usually throw away, so I’m always looking for recipes that I can use it for. This not only prevents food waste, but it also adds more sourdough benefits to my diet! If you’ve already fed your starter, don’t worry; you can use an active sourdough starter for this recipe.
Peanut butter: I’ve tested these cookies with different types of peanut butter, but for best results, use natural peanut butter. Also, make sure the peanut butter has no added sugar, because that will make the cookies overly sweet.
Flour: All-purpose flour is best for this recipe. This type of flour has a lower protein content, which helps to create the crispy edges. Gluten-free flour or spelled flour works as well.
Honey: Honey is my secret ingredient! It adds moisture and sweetness, making the cookies extra chewy, and it also helps with browning and a crispy texture on the edges, giving them a mild caramel flavor.
Variations
Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies: Add 1/2 cup of your favorite chocolate chips to the dough for a classic peanut and chocolate combination. I like to use dark chocolate, but any flavor will work.
Chunky peanut cookies: If you like chunky peanut butter, you will love this variation. Swap smooth peanut butter for chunky peanut butter, or add 1/4 cup chopped peanuts to the dough.
Different nuts: You can also make this recipe with different nuts. I like the combination of peanuts and walnuts, but you can also add chopped walnuts or pecans!
Dried fruit: During the holiday season, I like to make my cookies extra festive by adding dried fruit. Add 1/4 cup of chopped dried cranberries, cherries, dates, or raisins to the dough or use a combination. This also adds extra color and sweetness to your cookies.
How to make sourdough peanut butter cookies
For the best sourdough peanut butter cookies, you always start by creaming the butter and sugar until it is fluffy and lighter in color. This adds tiny air bubbles to the dough, which helps to improve the texture.
Once the butter is ready, you want to stir in the rest of the wet ingredients. Make sure not to stir out all the air you’ve just incorporated!
Now mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding the butter mixture. This ensures the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the dough without the risk of overmixing. I like to do this step with a wooden spoon because it only takes a few minutes.
When the dough looks like this, it is ready. Stop mixing as soon as the dough is smooth and all the flour is mixed in.
Scoop out small heaps of dough with a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to create cookies that are all the same size. Place them on a lined baking tray and make sure to leave enough room between the cookies because they will spread a little. Now they are ready to bake for 10-12 minutes in a preheated oven.
My tips for the best cookies
- Use a kitchen scale. You can use cups if that’s what you’re comfortable with, but I highly recommend using a kitchen scale when you make one of our recipes. This gives a much more accurate measurement, and that’s what gives you the best result every time.
- Don’t overwork your batter. This is crucial for the perfect texture. Overworking the dough will result in dense, tough cookies instead of crispy cookies with a chewy center.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. This is especially important for the egg and butter. Room-temperature ingredients make them much easier to incorporate.
FAQ
No, you don’t have to chill this sourdough peanut butter cookie dough. You scoop and bake the dough as soon as it is ready.
Yes, you can use creamy peanut butter instead of natural as long as it is unsweetened. It will change the cookies’ texture a bit, and they may spread a little more while baking.
Sourdough peanut butter cookies can turn out dry when you add too much flour or bake them too long. This is why I always recommend using a kitchen scale and removing them from the oven as soon as they are done. They will continue to bake while they cool.
If the dough was too warm or you used a runnier peanut butter, your cookies can spread more in the oven. Try chilling the dough for 10-30 minutes or using a different type of peanut butter next time.
Storage
Homemade sourdough peanut butter cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days. It is important to store them in an airtight container because they will absorb moisture and become soft.
You can also freeze the cookies. Let them cool completely before wrapping them individually in plastic wrap or put them in a freezer bag. Frozen, they will last for about six months.
The raw cookie dough can also be frozen! I love to make extra and have it ready to go for unexpected guests. To make my life extremely easy, I always shape the cookies before freezing them. You don’t have to thaw the dough before baking. Just pop the frozen dough on a tray and bake them in a preheated oven. It may take a minute or more to check whether they are done after 12 minutes, so keep an eye on them.
The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, but they will firm up as they cool.
More of our favorite sourdough cookie recipes
Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup peanut butter unsweetened
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir them into the butter mixture until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Make sure not to overwork the dough, so stop once the flour is incorporated.
- Scoop small heaps of the dough onto your lined baking tray and press them flat with a fork.
- Place the tray in the center of a preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Sourdough discard: You can use cold or room temperature sourdough discard. Stir the discard before measuring if it has separated.
- Peanut butter: Use a thick, natural peanut butter for the best results. If using natural peanut butter, stir it very well before measuring since separated oil can affect the texture and spread.
- Measure the flour correctly: For the best texture, weigh the flour with a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make peanut butter cookies dry and crumbly.
- No chilling required: There is no need to chill the cookie dough. Scoop and bake the cookies as soon as the dough is mixed.
- Do not overbake: Remove the cookies when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft. They will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet.
- For evenly sized cookies: Use a cookie scoop so the cookies are the same size and bake at the same rate.
- Storage: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Because the honey helps retain moisture, they should stay soft longer than a cookie made only with granulated sugar.
- Honey: Honey helps keep these cookies soft and chewy and gives them a deeper golden color. I would not replace it with additional brown sugar without expecting the texture to change.
