Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
When you make sourdough peanut butter cookies,, you want to use quality creamy peanut butter. I suggest organic creamy peanut butter with zero preservatives, roasted peanuts should be the only ingredient.
If you use other kinds of peanut butter that have filler oils in them, that may result in not-so-great cookies.
You also want to make sure it’s unsalted. I call for unsalted peanut butter and butter in this recipe so we can add the right amount of salt ourselves.
How to Make Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
It is so easy to make sourdough cookies. The key to making a great sourdough cookie is weighing the ingredients with a kitchen scale, and making sure you mix the ingredients in the right order.
The order you mix the ingredients is what determines the texture of the cookie. I separated the ingredients into categories in the recipe card below to make it easier.
Long Fermenting Sourdough Cookies
You can absolutely long ferment these cookies to make them easier to digest. If digestibility is a concern for you, you’ll want to use an active bubbly sourdough starter to make these peanut butter cookies.
Once you get the cookie dough all mixed, simply ferment the cookie dough in the fridge for 24 hours before you roll it into balls and bake or freeze it.
Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies
You can use discard straight from the fridge, or you can use an active bubbly starter in this recipe. We consider these “sourdough discard” cookies because you use sourdough starter in the recipe, but we don’t use it for rising, and it is not necessary for the baking process.
So the starter is considered “discarded” into the recipe. I use a stirred-down active, bubbly sourdough starter in all of my sourdough cookie recipes. You can use flat sourdough discard from the fridge if you prefer.
Freezing Then Baking Peanut Butter Sourdough Cookies
My peanut butter cookie recipe makes about 20 medium cookies, so you can freeze the cookie dough balls and bake some more whenever you want. I usually bake five at a time, so that gives me four batches.
To freeze the dough, simply shape the cookies into dough balls and roll them in sugar like in the directions. Then place them in an air-tight bag and freeze them.
To bake the frozen cookie dough, take it out of the freezer and place it on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Let the dough thaw for about 30 minutes then bake as stated in the recipe. You may have to add 2-3 more minutes to the baking time.
Soft and Chewy Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
These sourdough peanut butter cookies are soft, creamy, chewy, and perfect for any occasion. You can store the cookie dough balls in the freezer and bake peanut butter sourdough cookies whenever! You can use an active sourdough starter or make these sourdough discard peanut butter cookies.
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 340 g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 150 g natural creamy peanut butter
- 80 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 100 g sugar
- 200 g brown sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 14 g vanilla extract
- 120 g sourdough starter (active or discard, hydrated)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sourdough starter.
- Mix well until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together with a spatula until combined.
- Pour some extra granulated sugar into a separate small bowl. Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into 1-inch balls, rolling them in the granulated sugar first before dropping them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up and are set on the edges, but are still gooey in the middle.
- Allow to cool completely before eating!
Pretty good peanut butter cookies! Mine turned out slightly cake-y, which seems almost unavoidable with sourdough cookies. Easy recipe and I’ll probably make these again.
These might have just become my favorite cookies! Having them ferment over night really takes them to the next level!
OMG – these cookies are amazing. Used discard starter and baked right away. Massive hit in our house, soft, chewy, scrumptious. So good. The boys were so happy to have a non-crunchy, non-fork-pressed-down peanut butter cookie. Followed recipe exactly and all measurements / time were spot on. <3 <3 <3
Delicious cookies!! Easy way to use up discard and makes a bunch of cookies!
Probably the best sourdough cookies I have ever made. Thank you for another fantastic recipe! I think these would be so great at Christmas with chocolate in the middle like the old fashioned peanut butter blossoms.
These are the absolute best sourdough cookies I’ve ever made! They have quickly become a family favorite . Can’t wait to make these for the holidays to share.
Swapped out white sugar for honey in the batter, and the sourdough is a wonderful addition for both flavor and texture. The crunchy quality was always what I disliked about peanut butter cookies in my youth.
Did you do the same amount of honey?
Delicious! I am little more salty than sweet, so I dipped the dough balls in flaky salt. The result was wonderful.
That sounds wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
These sourdough peanut butter cookies were a hit again for the second year at our Thanksgiving!
After baking and cooling, we dip the bottoms in melted dark chocolate and set on parchment till hardened.
Thank you for leaving a review! I love the idea of dipping them in chocolate!
I have made these several times now and ALWAYS get tons of compliments! Great recipe!
It isn’t often I take the time to go back and review a recipe on the same day, but these were worth leaving a review.
This is the best cookie recipe I have ever made. And believe me, I’ve been working my way through every sourdough cookie recipe out there. I immediately shared this recipe with my whole church ladies group, and I plan to share it again with the people attending my sourdough baking class this weekend. Nobody should have to go through life unaware that this recipe is out there to be had. I will now begin perusing the rest of the recipes on this site and I hope to continue to be wildly impressed!
oh my gosh! what a sweet review. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a review and for sharing my recipe with others!
Can you share other sure fired recipes for cookies? tapperlisa@gmail
Can this recipe be adapted to exclude the use of eggs?
maybe, but I’ve only tested it with eggs. In my other cookie recipes I don’t use eggs; the starter works as an egg replacer. So maybe add a little more starter if you want to try it.
My husband loves these! I have made them twice.(because the first batch didn’t last long..) I was off by 1 or 2 grams when I measured, but it still turns out great every time!
yay! so happy your husband loves these! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂