This simple recipe for Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies is a classic. With a slightly crisp outside and a soft chewy inside, it is no wonder this simple recipe remains a family favorite.

I love peanut butter cookies! And let’s face it, there are so many different variations on this age old classic! What I love about this particular recipe is that it is so simple, they turn out great every time and it was my grandmother’s recipe!

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Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Many of the recipes you will see on this site have been in my family for years! My Easy Puffed Wheat Cake is a perfect example of that. And as you can see by the photo below, this cookie recipe has been around for a long while! It really is a ‘vintage’ recipe!

This peanut butter cookie recipe is from a ‘recipe book’, all hand written of course, that my grandmother and her friends created. It has to be about 80 years old! If only they could see how we share recipes today! I am so proud to be able to save this bit of history and share it with you.

How do you make old fashioned peanut butter cookies?

Making these classic peanut butter cookies is really so simple!

1. Be sure to gather your ingredients before you begin. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of a recipe only to find you don’t have all the ingredients!
2. Using a mixer, cream together your butter and sugars till fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
3. Add in the flour and baking soda. Mix together well.
4. Drop using a cookie scoop onto cookie sheets and flatten slightly with a fork. No need to grease the cookie sheets first.
5. Bake, then allow to cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.

How to make the perfect peanut butter cookie.

Cookies can be a little tricky sometimes. Depending on how you like your cookies will depend on how you modify your recipe.

• Too much flour may create a crumbly cookie, but if you have too much butter the cookie may become very flat. So be mindful to try to follow the recipe as best you can.
• Use butter! You cannot beat the flavor of butter and margarine can tend to flatten out the cookie too much.
• When making your cookies, you may want to test the cookie dough by baking one or two to start. If you find they are too flat when baked, add a bit more flour and test again.
• This old fashioned peanut butter cookie recipe is just perfect in my opinion. They retain their shape, they have a light and crispy outer coating but remain soft and chewy inside!

Can you modify this old fashioned peanut butter cookie recipe?

I love to make modifications to my recipes whenever possible!

• Roll the peanut butter dough into a ball and dredge in some white sugar before placing on baking sheet and flattening with a fork. This not only makes them pretty, but adds to the crispy outer coating.
• If you choose to roll the dough, you may need to refrigerate it for about 30 minutes so that it will be stiff enough to roll. Otherwise the dough may be too soft and sticky if you try to roll it right away.
• Add chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch baking chips to the dough!
• You can add chopped peanuts, walnuts or even pecans for a deliciously nutty, crunchy peanut butter cookie!

I hope you have success making these old fashioned Simple Peanut Butter Cookies and enjoy them as much as my family does!

Other recipes to inspire you:

Cookie Slice

Easy Puffed Wheat Cake

Pudding Cake

REPIN this Delicious Cookie Recipe!