The Original and Best Fluffernutter Cookies Recipe
Fluffernutter cookies are the classic New England fluffernutter sandwich turned into a cookie and one of the most popular cookie recipes on this site! Thin, chewy peanut butter cookies are filled with swirls of marshmallow fluff. If you like these, try these fluffernutter bars or fluffernutter rice krispie treats.
Stephanie said: “I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and since then, I’ve made them maybe 4 times (in less than 4 months lol) they are absolutely amazing! My husband's coworkers go bananas over them. Thank you for such an amazing cookie! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“
Is fluffernutter a New England thing?
Classic fluffernutter sandwiches are a New England staple. So much so, in fact, that it's considered the unofficial sandwich of Massachusetts (and has been proposed to be the official sandwich).
Additionally, there is a festival in Somerville, Massachusetts every year called “What the Fluff?” that celebrates the sandwich's sticky and sweet goodness. AND October 8th is National Fluffernutter Day.
So… what I'm getting at, is that its popularity in New England is well-established. The fact that they don't hand you a t-shirt with a fluffernutter sandwich on it when you move here is almost shocking.
Some people are hardcore fluffernutter loyalists and seeing me do things like that makes them cringe. If you are one of those people, you may want to leave this page. Because now I've transformed fluffernutter sandwiches into a cookie and it's my new favorite thing in the entire world. As people from Massachusetts would say, they're “fluffanutta cookies”.
Peanut butter marshmallow cookies are infinitely better than the fluffernutter sandwich, sorrynotsorry.
Key Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – I've never tried it with another kind of flour, so can't speak to the results you might see with anything else. Just make sure your flour is measured properly!
- Baking soda – Baking soda, not powder! My goal was for these to be on the thinner side, and powder would puff them up more than I'd like.
- Salt – I add a little to balance out the sweetness, but if the peanut butter you're using is particularly salty, you might not need to add the extra salt.
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature butter is key here – make sure you know what room temperature butter looks like so that you're not using butter that's too cold or too melty.
- Peanut butter – Creamy peanut butter is best for this, and make sure you're giving your peanut butter a really good stir if you're using natural peanut butter with oil.
- Light brown sugar – We're only using light brown sugar, and not a combination of granulated and light or dark. This keeps the cookie from being too sweet, but still having a fully developed flavor.
- Egg – You want to lightly beat the egg before adding it to the dough. Room-temperature eggs incorporate into the dough easier than cold eggs.
- Pure vanilla bean paste or extract – This really rounds out the flavors in the cookie.
- Marshmallow Fluff – Fluff is the star of the show! I give you guidelines on how much to use, but really, measure with your heart. Just don't use too much, because then your cookies won't hold together.
Is marshmallow fluff the same as marshmallow creme?
Nope, marshmallow fluff and marshmallow creme are actually different products. Funny enough, it’s right there in the name – marshmallow creme is more creamy, and marshmallow fluff is fluffier. I very much prefer and recommend Fluff for this recipe – look for Fluff in the white container with a red lid.
How to make fluffernutter cookies
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined.
Step 3: Add egg and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Beat to combine.
Step 5: Add the flour mixture to the bowl of the peanut butter mixture.
Step 6: Beat again (starting on low speed to avoid splashing the flour mixture everywhere and then increasing speed) to combine until you have a thick dough.
Step 7: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably up to 1 hour.
Step 8: Grab a medium cookie scoop and fill it halfway with dough, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Make an indentation in the middle and pipe about a teaspoon of marshmallow fluff into the center of the dough.
Step 9: Top with more dough to fill the scoop.
Step 10: Place each ball of dough on the prepared baking sheet, with no more than 6 on each sheet, evenly spaced out with plenty of room for the cookies to spread.
Step 11: Bake for 8-9 minutes until the cookies have spread and started to crinkle on top. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet itself – they will continue to spread and set a bit more as they cool.
Step 12: Carefully move the baked cookies to wire racks to cool completely. You'll notice they've spread a bit more and crinkled! Now grab a glass of milk and get ready to dig in.
8 tips for making fluffernutter cookies
Here's what I learned in all my trial and error:
1. The butter needs to be at room temperature. If you use cold butter, they're puffier. If you use melted butter, you end up with a thin and crispy mess.
2. They need to be 100% light brown sugar, not a combination of granulated and brown sugar. This was more of a flavor thing for me – I wanted them to be less sweet than a traditional peanut butter cookie.
3. You have to omit baking powder altogether. I tried using smaller and smaller amounts of it in the peanut butter cookie dough, but any amount seemed to cause them to puff up more than I wanted. I was afraid that completely omitting it would cause them to be flat and crispy, but my fears were unfounded! Chewy, thin cookies with crinkles on top are key.
4. I needed to use less flour than I felt made sense. I thought that 1 cup was as low as I could go, but it still didn't have the texture I wanted until I cut it down to 2/3 cup. And to be totally honest, 3/4 cup came out the same way for me so you could try that, too.
5. Chilling the dough is essential. Non-optional. Don't even think about not chilling the dough! It might even be the most important step out of all of the steps in this recipe.
6. I highly recommend doubling this recipe since it only makes 12 relatively large cookies, and they're going to be hard to part with. You know… maybe triple it. Yeah, go ahead and triple it.
7. Put the marshmallow Fluff in a piping bag to make things easier. That way, you can put some of the peanut butter dough in the cookie scoop, pipe in some of the fluff, then top it with more dough.
8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They're going to come out of the oven a bit puffy, but they will flatten and crinkle while they cool and set on the pan. After 15 minutes or so, you can move them to a wire cooling rack.
How to store fluffernutter cookies
Store cookies for up to 1 week in an airtight container, with parchment paper between layers.
Variations
Some of my readers have written me to tell me the different methods of how they've made my fluffernutter cookies, and I'd like to share them with you, too!
- Adding peanut butter chips
- Adding mini marshmallows
- Using a large cookie scoop and sticking large marshmallows in the center of each cookie instead of fluff
- Omitting the marshmallow aspect altogether and just enjoying them as thin, chewy, soft peanut butter cookies
Everyone will rave about these peanut butter and fluff cookies
I brought these cookies to work a few days after I made them and while I was sitting around, I overheard one of my coworkers telling others in a meeting: “They're SO GOOD. No joke, one of the top five cookies of MY LIFE.”
And this is coming from someone who isn't much of a cookie person – she'd take a cake over a cookie any day of the week. I don't take feedback like that lightly.
If your friends are anything like mine, fluffernutter cookies are going to be in high demand after the first time you make them – so prepare yourself.
Product Recommendations
For what it's worth, here's what I use for these fluffernutter cookies (affiliate links):
Other Recipes with Marshmallow Fluff
- If you want a marshmallow fluff dessert with a little less work, try my ooey-gooey fluffernutter rice krispie treats
- Or if you're okay with a little extra effort, these fluffernutter bars have a thick peanut butter bar base with homemade marshmallow frosting
- You could go the s'mores route with these easy s'mores cookies that are filled with fluff
FAQs
Fluffernutter is a combination of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.
Nope, marshmallow fluff and marshmallow creme are actually different products. Funny enough, it’s right there in the name – marshmallow creme is more creamy, and marshmallow fluff is fluffier. I very much prefer and recommend Fluff for this recipe – look for Fluff in the white container with a red lid.
Store cookies for up to 1 week in an airtight container, with parchment paper between layers.
They are! So much so, in fact, that fluffernutters are considered the unofficial sandwich of Massachusetts (and has been proposed to be the official sandwich). Additionally, there is a festival in Somerville, Massachusetts every year called “What the Fluff?” that celebrates the sandwich's sticky and sweet goodness. AND October 8th is National Fluffernutter Day.
Funny enough, marshmallow fluff isn't even made with marshmallows – but it does taste similar to marshmallows.
Leaving a comment and star rating is a great (and free) way to support Stress Baking. After you've enjoyed this recipe, click on the stars below and leave a comment to share your experience – thank you!
Fluffernutter Cookies Recipe (Peanut Butter and Marshmallow)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature* (see notes below)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, well-stirred if using natural
- 1 ⅓ cups light brown sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup marshmallow fluff, depending on how much you add to each cookie
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.2/3 cup (83 ⅓ g) all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking sodaPinch salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined.8 tablespoons unsalted butter1 cup (258 g) creamy peanut butter1 1/3 cups (293 ⅓ g) light brown sugar
- Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.1 egg1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl of peanut butter mixture and beat again (starting on low speed to avoid splashing the flour mixture everywhere and then increasing speed) to combine until you have a thick dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably up to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare two baking sheets with nonstick silicone mats or parchment paper and set aside.
- Grab a medium cookie scoop and fill it halfway with dough, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Make an indentation in the middle and pipe or spoon about a teaspoon of marshmallow fluff into the center of the dough. Top with more dough to cover the marshmallow filling.2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
- Place each ball of dough on prepared baking sheets, with no more than 6 on each, evenly spaced out with plenty of room for the cookies to spread.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes until the cookies have spread and started to crinkle on top. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet itself – they will continue to spread and set a bit more as they cool. Carefully move to wire racks to cool completely. You’ll notice they’ve spread a bit more and crinkled. Now grab a glass of milk and get dig in – enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The butter needs to be at room temperature. If you use cold butter, they're puffier. If you use melted butter, you end up with a thin and crispy mess. Make sure you know what room temperature butter looks like so that you’re not using butter that’s too cold or too melty.
- They need to be 100% light brown sugar, not a combination of granulated and brown sugar.
- Chilling the dough is essential! If you find the dough too wet after chilling in the fridge and needing a bit more flour to work with it, you can use up to 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour and get similar results.
- Put the marshmallow Fluff in a piping bag to make things easier. That way, you can put some of the peanut butter dough in the cookie scoop, pipe in some of the fluff, then top it with more dough.
- Storage: Store cookies for up to 1 week in an airtight container, with parchment paper between layers.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.
These were AMAZING! Thank you for sharing! Followed your recipe to a T :)
I’m so glad you liked them – and thank you so much for coming back to provide a comment and rating! <3
You and I must be soul sisters…
I love pb but always steer clear of pb cookies cuz they are ALWAYS either cakey or sandy/crumbly..gak. You have made my life worth living!!! If I see a picture of a cookie that has that cracky/crinkley top IT WILL BE MADE as I just know there is a moist chewy heaven waiting in the middle. Made these and after the first bite, thought that I should propose!! Unbelievable. YOU MADE MY LIFE♡
And you just made mine with your comment – I’m so glad that you like these as much as I do!
After trying another recipe first (which ironically had me do all the things this one said NOT to, I now see why). The cookies turned out PERFECTLY! we actually put the dough in the freezer for 15 mins instead of fridge for 10, and put the marshmallow fluff in the fridge for that same 15 mins because we were on a time crunch. Turned out fantastic! The texture of the cookies were perfection and they all looked beautiful! Deffinitely need to wait for them to cool though lol
That makes me so happy to hear, thank you for coming back to leave a comment and a rating! It’s funny how recipes can differ so drastically for a similar end product, isn’t it?
Has anyone tried to freeze them? I want to bake ahead for the holidays and I wasn’t sure how they would freeze with the marshmallow fluff.
I don’t recommend freezing the completed dough for the reason you mentioned. However, if you wanted to freeze the peanut butter dough, let it thaw, and then add the fluff right before baking. I hope that helps!
I froze my cookie dough balls because I wanted fresh baked ones every time. I did this over a 4 days and they came out wonderful every single time.
I’m so glad that worked for you!
These were AMAZING!! They made a little more than I expected and I kept them in the oven for ten minutes. Perfect combination of peanut butter and marshmallow.
I’m so glad you liked them, and thank you so much for leaving a comment with your feedback and a rating! <3
You said in your article that you omit the baking soda altogether, but it is listed on the actual recipe. Is this just for a fluffier cookie, a personal preference?
I had said I leave out baking powder– you definitely still want the baking soda :)
Loved making this. I was worried about how I was going to get the marshmallow in my cookies. Came up with the idea to spray a ziploc with Pam, dump the marshmallow in it and snip the corner. Worked perfect!
What a great idea! And thank you so much for leaving a comment and a rating!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It was easy to follow and mine turned out just like your pictures. Just fyi, I doubled the recipe and have already made 2 dozen and have lots of dough left. No worries, here, though. I’m totally excited about having more cookies to share. Ill definitely be trying your other recipes! Thanks again!
I’m so glad you liked them – thank you so much for leaving a comment and a rating!
I always hate when I see a recipe and mine doesn’t come out anything like the picture…this was not the case for this recipe!! Super easy to follow, I felt my cookies came out identical to the picture. I put the fluff in an icing bag and piped it in the dough after I formed a hole with my thumb. I’m going to try this with jam next time!! And of course I’ll be making the fluff ones again! Thanks for going to all the work to create this recipe!
Jen, you just made my day with your comment – thank you so much for trying my recipe, and thank you so much for such kind words!
Excellent flavor and texture…..just can’t decide what we did wrong. We used the med scoop and had 24 cookies.??? I also ended up using a cup of marshmallow cream. They are good. Nice work developing the proportions!
Woah, that’s quite the difference! Perhaps you’re at a very different altitude from me and your ingredients swelled more when mixed? I’m honestly not sure why you’d see such a difference without having been in your kitchen with you (which I wish I could be to hang out with everyone when they’re baking, and maybe steal a bite or two). I’m just glad you enjoyed them!
You mention your tried with chunky peanut butter how did that turn out opposed to smooth?
They just come out a little bit lumpier with a little more crunch :) I honestly prefer the results using creamy peanut butter though.
If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would. Omgoodness…these cookies are heavenly! just made these today for the family. I have to store them in a secret place or they would be gone all in one day. Doubled the recipe for sure. Thank you my cookie angel!❤️
I’m right there along with you on calling these “The Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever”! OMG, so GOOD!
Awesome cookie. Made them tonight. Used homemade peanut butter and homemade marshmallow cream. Even my finicky husband loved them! Definitely will add to my cookie rotation!
This makes me so happy – thank you for stopping by to share your feedback!
I love these cookies. I used mini marshmallows since I didn’t have marshmallow cream. They turned out awesome.
Awesome cookies! However, I needed to add a bit of extra flour and sugar. Other than that, I got rave reviews. Thanks for creating and sharing, as usual!
Everyone’s kitchen and oven runs a little differently, so it sounds like yours runs a little warmer than mine (hence the need for a little extra) – I’m so glad you liked them as much as I do!