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Soft and Chewy Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies

4.70 from 39 votes

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These sourdough discard peanut butter cookies have a wonderful, crisp outside and chewy inside with just the right amount of peanut-y goodness. And this cookie recipe is lower in sugar that most, you can feel good about giving them to your kids!

sourdough peanut butter cookies stacked on wooden board

This recipe is perfect for using up some of the discard sourdough you get from feeding your sourdough starter. No waste AND great snacks! What could be better than that?

Now don’t want you to think that you’re going to get a sourdough “tang” from these cookies. Rest assured, anyone who tastes these cookies will never know that you made them with a sourdough starter.

Peanut butter cookies are the first cookies I can remember making with my mom. My job was to press the fork in the tops to make the criss cross pattern.

That’s why we call them peanut butter criss cross cookies.

Every time I make them I think of her. I love making memories in the kitchen!

Are you ready to make some memories of your own?

Let’s go!

sourdough peanut butter cookies on white plate

Peanut Butter Sourdough Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter, unfed
  • 1 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

To get started, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350°F.

You can mix these up by hand or with a mixer.

Grab a medium bowl and combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk it together so it’s mixed well.

dry ingredients for cookies in mixing bowl

If you are using a stand mixer, put in the paddle attachment, or grab a large mixing bowl, and cream together the butter and brown sugar.

Once that is a lovely golden brown, beat in the eggs one at a time.

eggs beaten into the butter and sugar in mixing bowl

Now add the vanilla, sourdough starter, and peanut butter and beat again until it’s well combined.

adding sourdough starter, peanut butter, and vanilla to batter

Now it’s time to add the dry ingredients to the starter mixture. Use about 1/3 at a time and beat after each addition.

When all the dry ingredients have been added, beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, or about 50 strokes by hand.

If you are going to use any add-ins, here’s the place to toss those in. Mix those in until they are evenly distributed through the cookie dough.

sourdough peanut butter cookie dough in mixing bowl

Forming the Cookies

Use 2 spoons or a cookie scoop to make small balls of dough. It should have a smooth texture and be a formable dough, but if it’s too dry and cracks add some milk a tablespoon at a time until you can form dough balls.

Take those dough balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Some people like to roll the balls in fancy sanding sugar before they put them on the cookie sheet.

To help with cleanup you can cover the baking sheet with parchment paper if you prefer.

Now comes the fun part!

Go grab a fork. Using the tines of the fork, press gently into the dough horizontally and then again vertically so you get a criss cross pattern in top the dough. It also squishes the dough balls flatter.

cookies on baking sheet ready to bake

Baking the cookies

When they are all criss crossed, pop that cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until they are set and golden brown.

After baking, put the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pan and putting them on the rack to cool completely.

Pour yourself a beverage and enjoy the blissful fruits of your labors by sneaking one or two while they are still warm.

You won’t regret it!

sourdough peanut butter criss cross cookie

Frequently Asked Questions About Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies

What is the best kind of peanut butter to use?

You can use any kind you have. I’ve used both creamy and crunchy peanut butter and I love them both!
You can also use natural peanut butter, just make sure that you stir the oil in well before you measure it out.

Can I use any other nut butter?

Absolutely! Baking is all about experimenting, in my view. I have used both cashew butter and pecan butter in these cookies and they both worked really well!
You could probably even use something like Nutella, although I’ve never tried that. Yet.

What substitutions can I make in my sourdough peanut butter cookies?

You can substitute coconut oil for the butter.
You can use other nut butters in place of the peanut butter.
You can use bread flour instead of all purpose flour.
And the sourdough can be discard, or you can use active starter.

How long will my sourdough peanut butter cookies last?

I always hate answering this question, because goodies don’t last that long around my house. But, they should be fine in the cookie jar for 3 to 5 days. About 5 to 7 days in an airtight container or zip top bag on the counter works as well.

Can I freezer peanut butter sourdough cookies?

Indeed you can!

Freezing the dough:
You can freeze the uncooked cookie dough, which I love to do! You just roll it into a log, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and toss it into a freezer bag.
OR, the best way, in my humble opinion, is to roll it into the log and wrap it up tightly. Then let it chill out in the refrigerator until it’s quite stiff. Then go ahead and slice it into rounds and freeze those. That way, you can take out only as many as you want to make at a time! Can you say, “portion control”?

Freezing baked cookies:
After they are completely cooled, stack them in an airtight container or freezer baggies and toss them in the freezer. They should keep in a sealed container for about 3 months.

What add-ins can I put in my sourdough peanut butter cookies?

The most popular add-ins I have used are chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. And I must say that adding butterscotch chips to this recipe elevates it way out of the ordinary! 
Use 1/2 to 1 cup of the chips of your choice.

More sourdough discard recipes to enjoy:

Sourdough Peanut Butter Criss Cross Cookies

These sourdough peanut butter cookies have a wonderful crispy outside and chewy inside with just the right amount of peanut-y goodness.
4.70 from 39 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 60 cookies
Calories 83 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs slightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sourdough discard starter unfed
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
  • 2 1/4 all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Cream together the butter and brown sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
  • Add the vanilla, sourdough starter, and peanut butter and beat again.
  • Mix the remaining dry ingredients thoroughly and add to the batter.
  • Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
  • Use 2 spoons or a cookie scoop to make balls of dough on cookie sheets.
  • Use a fork and press it into the dough horizontally and vertically.
  • Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Notes

The dough should be stiff, but if it cracks, add some milk a tablespoon at a time to thin it out a little.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 83kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 124mgPotassium: 50mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 102IUCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
Keyword sourdough discard recipe, cookies, peanut butter
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
By on February 3rd, 2022

2 thoughts on “Soft and Chewy Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies”

  1. 5 stars
    I tried this recipe either right before or right after the holiday season! And my husband and I were thrilled with this peanut butter cookie recipe with our discard sourdough! Not only was the recipe easy to follow, but we loved how many cookies it made because we were able to freeze some of the cookies and share them with family and save some for later! We actually froze some of the ones we baked, and we also took some of the extra dough and we made small rolls of it in the shape of a small tube formation and double wrapped it in saran wrap, and then froze them and made cookies from those small rolls which was perfect because they’re only two of us and we were able to have fresh warm baked cookies when it was cold outside during the evenings in front of the fireplace. It was great and they are absolutely delicious!!!🥰 Even the already baked cookies out of the freezer were delicious while they were still cold, well, because we just couldn’t wait for them to defrost all the way to eat them😆😆😆 These cookies are on the outside chewy on the inside. They are not flat. They are wonderful. I highly recommend.

    Reply
    • Hi Katrina!
      I’m so happy y’all loved the recipe! And that genius to just slice and bake what you need at a time! I love them straight from the freezer too, lol! 🙂

      Cery

      Reply

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