The SOFTEST Peanut Butter Cookies. They melt in your mouth and are exploding with peanut butter flavor!
In 100% complete seriousness, I’d like to crown these cookies the most perfect cookie I’ve ever made. That’s high praise for an innocent little peanut butter cookie! They easily take the cake for tastiest, fluffiest, chewiest, and peanut buttery-est cookie I’ve ever had.
Loaded with M&Ms for any holiday, these soft cookies are a year-round festive treat. My coworkers GOBBLED them up in minutes, even asking me if they were from a bakery.
The cookies are nothing like the traditional hard, crunchy peanut butter cookies you are used to. The exact opposite, in fact. They are so soft that they will literally melt in your mouth. A peanut butter cookie recipe GOLDMINE.
What I love most about these cookies is just how easy the recipe is. I’ve made them so many times and they never disappoint.
And if you’re looking for a regular version that is equally impressive, my flagship recipe for peanut butter cookies is for you. And be sure to try my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies next!
Enjoy! 🙂
More M&M Treats
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Mini M&M Cookies
- Soft-Baked M&M Cookies
- Peanut Butter M&M Truffles
- M&M Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- One Giant Monster Cookie
Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The SOFTEST Peanut Butter Cookies. They melt in your mouth and are exploding with peanut butter flavor!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, softened to room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (185g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) mini M&Ms
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed. Mix in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla (in that order). Slowly mix in the baking soda and flour. Do not overmix. Fold in the M&Ms with a wooden spoon. Chill the dough for at least 1-2 hours and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Drop chilled dough by scant tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I pressed a few M&Ms on top of the dough balls. Press the balls down (only slightly) since they won’t spread much while baking. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft and may appear undone. They will firm up as they cool.
- Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Butter: You may use unsalted butter in this recipe. If so, add 1/4 tsp salt with the flour.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: peanut butter M&M cookies
Hey Sally, why does your cookies look so amazing while mine bleed all the time? It’s always a problem when baking with M&Ms. Much love from Japan!
Hi Eden, It could be any number of reasons! Check out this post to help you troubleshoot. I hope it helps! https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/07/06/5-tips-improve-next-batch-cookies/
Hey Sally! I have a quick question. I followed every step but my cookies turned out to be a bit crumbly. Do you know what I might have done wrong? Other than that, they tasted amazing!
Amazing! I simply made these and they’re astounding!! Much obliged to you for the formula!
I’ll add my comment to save some folks from my mistake. I used Kirkland Signature creamy organic peanut butter and organic brown sugar. The brown sugar didn’t really mix in well, and I think the peanut butter was lacking in oil. Cookies were more crumbly and pale than I liked but luckily my husband and three year old happily disposed of the evidence.
I love baking- mostly cakes and pies because I’ve never found a cookie recipe I truly loved….until now! I loved the peanut butter flavor..it was strong, but not overpowering. I’m not generally a fan of MM cookies, but this recipe has changed my mind entirely. Not to just stop eating them before Christmas day. Thanks!
Can this recipe be used to make the reindeer peanut butter cookies (chocolate covered pretzel antlers and m&m eyes/nose) or will this cookie be too soft to hold antlers in place?
I will be using this recipe in future if not for the reindeer cookies.
Thank you.
Is it ok if I use natural peanut butter? Thank you!!!!
I just made these using Peter Pan natural peanut butter- They came out great!
Wow! I just made these and they’re amazing!! Thank you for the recipe!
Looking forward to making these. I think instead of M & Ms I will add in those little tiny peanut butter cups (smaller than the Mini Reese’s). Pb overload!
Regarding the pb, do you think you can use “natural” pb (like the kind that has the oil separated from the sorta gritty/chunky nut part)? Or do you think the recipe would benefit more from the smooth commercial variety?
Commercial style is best in cookies. Love your idea of the teeny pb cups!
Another great recipe! Worked fantastic in the very first time!
I just made these and wanted to say they’re absolutely melt in your mouth delicious! I didn’t have M&M’s, so used chocolate chips instead, but still very tasty. I am very picky about cookies so this is saying a lot 🙂
Just wanted to edit that I added 1/2 t of salt, and to let you know how much I appreciate that you included grams weight measurements! It makes it so much easier to keep a recipe consistent this way 🙂
I made PB Blossoms for Thanksgiving (it won the family vote:) The kiss ALWAYS falls off and becomes impossible to enjoy PB and chocolate goodness with every bite. I googled PB chocolate chip cookie and yours popped up. I should have looked here first! OF COURSE Sally made these!! I made a batch with what I had on hand – half the recipe was M&M and half milk chocolate morsels. They are already gone the next day. AMAZING!!
This is the most perfect peanut butter cookie recipe ever! I add just a bit more salt, cause I like a lot of salt…. and sometimes mini chocolate chips too. I am the star of office potlucks thanks to you!
i rarely, rarely return to leave a comment on a recipe.
but this cookie recipes is absolutely the best.
i followed your recipe to a T, and i used jif brand p.b.
but instead of plain m&m’s, i put in pb m&m’s.
they are literally the perfect cookie! making them again this weekend, as i’ve got pb on my mind ;o)
Made these for my church class this morning and had a cookie for breakfast too! These are so yummy!! We used mini m&ms and they were fun for the little kids! I’m sure this has been asked and answered a million times, but what is your favorite pb to cook with??
Thanks Chelsie! I like Jif creamy.
How would you make these/change the recipe for high altitude? approx 6000 feet above sea level.
Lisa, I made these in Denver at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, with about 2 tsp extra flour. I also omitted the vanilla and used 1 tbsp maple syrup, i tbsp honey, as I always do with cookies. Absolutely perfect on the first try.
It may be my oven or the altitude, but I always need recipe’s upper recommended amount of time on baking. (Toll House chocolate chip cookies always take exactly 11 minutes). Best of luck!
Sally, let me just say, you are my go-to recipe girl for desserts! I love every recipe I’ve made of yours. I do have my own peanut butter cookie recipe I use and was going to just add the m&ms, but decided to try out your complete recipe for it. (Why not mix it up a bit, right? 🙂 )They were great! I think the cookies turned out a smidge on the dry side, what would you suggest accounting for that the next time I make them? Thank you!
Hey Jamie! What brand of peanut butter are you using? I find natural styles to really dry out my peanut butter cookies. I always use Jif or Skippy. Dry could also mean overbaking. Try taking them out of the oven 1 minute earlier.
I used Jif brand regular peanut butter. Nothing natural or low fat. I baked them for 8 minutes but maybe i will have to pull them out a
minute early. Thank you!
Sally, you are right, these cookies are the best cookies ever made! I have not stopped eating them since I made 2 days ago. This is my first recipe I’ve made of yours and certainly won’t be the last. Enjoy your commentary and little tips to make the perfect recipes. Keep it up!
I made these cookies today and I used the new kraft chocolate peanut butter instead of regular and they were super awesome, I also used a small ice cream scoop to make sure they didn’t spread too much, thank you very much they are so yummy.
I made these. After they came out of the oven I tried taking them off the pan and they just crumble to pieces. Not sure what I did wrong … butter not being close enough to room temperature? (I pulled it out of the fridge and warmed it slightly until the outside was a little creamy in the microwave)
I suggest letting the butter sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using. Also, don’t use natural style or homemade peanut butter. Those usually cause crumbling.
LOVE this recipe; it was so easy to mix up and the reward was incomparable — took a batch to a neighbor’s bday party and they were all gone in minutes! I’m getting ready to make another batch and wonder if there would be any benefit or reason to leave out the M’s if I’m going to chill the dough overnight, then mix them in just before baking. Thanks!
Can I refrigerate dough longer? 1-2 days? Thanks
***fan from Manila, PH***
That would be fine but the dough will be quite hard after the longer chilling time- allow to sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling.
Made these yesterday. They were just as delicious as the other cookie recipes of yours I have made. Thank you! I really enjoy your detailed descriptions of why you insist on certain recipe steps (like room temperature eggs). One question I have is why there are different upper limits on how long you can refrigerate different cookie dough. For instance, on two of your chocolate chip cookie recipes, one says refrigerate up to three days, one says refrigerate up to two days. Why the difference? Thank you for being so detail-oriented and deliberate with your posts!
Rachel, that’s a great question and I have an easy answer! The reason my cookie dough’s upper limits for chilling are different is because that’s how long I’ve chilled them for, so I know they are still good! I’ve learned though, over the past couple years, that cookie dough can even be chilled up to 5 days! But I’ve never tried it before – I don’t have patience to wait 5 days for cookies haha. I usually don’t chill for longer than 3 days.
Thank you; I wondered if this might be the case! 🙂
Another trick is to freeze scoops of cookie dough on a single layer in freezer til they harden then put in ziploc freezer bags!
Hi Sally!
I’m a huge fan! I’ve made several of your dessert recipes and they have all been huge hits! So, I’m going to make these cookies, but with chocolate chips instead of M&Ms for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day… the catch is that he lives in London, and I will be transporting them over with me when I fly on Wednesday night. What is your best bet for insuring that they stay soft and chewy? Also, would it be possible to even bake them Sunday/Monday night or will be stale by the time I arrive on Thursday?
Thanks,
Julie
Hey Julie! I suggest making these cookies on Monday night. Wrapping up two at a time in saran/plastic wrap, sandwiched together back to back, and inside a tupperware. That’s how I always travel with cookies. They will certainly still be soft, yes. Safe travels!
Thank you so much!
These are wonderful. I made these cookies for my daughters office and they loved them. Thank you 🙂 I cant wait to try more recipes from you!!
That’s wonderful Sue! Let me know what you try next!
I made my cookies with Reese’s pieces instead of m&ms. I’m a peanut butter addict!!! Thanks for the great recipe the cookies are delicious 🙂
Ashley, I love your thinking. Reese’s Pieces in these cookies is just amazing. It sounds like you love PB as much as I do!
The peanut butter M&M cookies came out awesome. The recipe was super easy to follow.I think I am going to add pretzels next time I make them.
I’m happy you enjoyed these cookies Dawn! Adding pretzels is a great idea. See my recipe here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/11/01/bite-sized-peanut-butter-pretzel-mm-cookies/
Hi from Sydney, AU!
I discovered your site 4 weeks ago. Last week I baked your pound cake/nutella recipe. Today I’m baking your PB cookies…This is a dangerous addiction!!!
I have the dough on the fridge right now. I substitued the m&m’s for dark chocolate chips and crunchy PB instead of creamy. Hopefully they will taste equally delicious 🙂
Thank you for your great recipes, amazing pics and inspiration!
Those cookies are going to be amazing. I love dark chocolate chips + crunchy peanut butter! So glad you are loving my website! Thank you for commenting 🙂
These are scrumptious. I like that theae aren’t overly peanut butter. It is just the perfect amount!
Made these this weekend. Made dough and chilled overnight to bake the next day. They are INCREDIBLE! Even better than I thought they would be. So moist and full of peanut butter flavor. I made them with peanut butter M&Ms instead of regular and the peanut butter yumminess with a little snap of chocolate is to DIE for. Thanks for this recipe!!
I love how much PB flavor they have as well, Amy! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂