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Peanut Butter Espresso Cookies

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Peanut butter espresso cookies are big, thin, chewy peanut butter cookies with a smooth espresso flavor mixed in! Add it to your chewy cookie recipe collection with Mexican hot chocolate cookies and fluffernutter cookies.

Stack of peanut butter espresso cookies with one having a bite taken out

Now that we're past Thanksgiving, I'm in full blown Christmas mode. The tree is up, the house is decorated, and I've already made and handed out a fair amount of Christmas treats to neighbors.

I don't feel strongly that Christmas cookies need to be Christmas cookies. They don't need them to be snowflake or ornament shaped. I don't need them to be red and green.

They don't have to be peppermint, eggnog, or gingerbread flavored. But I do need cookies.

These peanut butter espresso cookies have gotten rave reviews from my taste testers, and they would make the perfect addition to a Christmas cookie exchange, or a plaid-patterned tin full of cookies for your friendly neighborhood mailman.

And yes, that is very specific because that's what he's getting this year (hi, Dave!).

Ingredients for peanut butter espresso cookies in small bowls on a white counter

Peanut butter + espresso flavors

I got the idea for these cookies because my husband likes to make a shot of espresso, and then drinks it with some toast topped with peanut butter and cinnamon sugar.

It all smells really good together, and tastes good together, so why not combine them all together into one delightful treat?

You all love my fluffernutter cookies so much, I decided to start with the peanut butter base recipe and build off of it for this recipe. I added a little more flour and some baking powder to make them a little bit thicker.

They're still wonderfully chewy and they smell freaking amazing. I got legitimately sad when we ate the last one. And then I may or may not have immediately made another batch.

I'm not even sorry.

Ingredients for peanut butter espresso cookies

  • All purpose flour
  • Espresso powder
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Salt
  • Unsalted butter, room temperature
  • Peanut butter
  • Light brown sugar, packed
  • Egg
  • Pure vanilla extract

How to make peanut butter espresso cookies

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
  2. In a stand mixer (aff link) fitted with a paddle attachment, combine wet ingredients.
  3. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
  4. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and beat to combine until you have a thick dough.
  5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably up to 1 hour.
  6. Grab a medium cookie scoop (aff link) and portion out 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. Press down gently on the top of each cookie until they're about half the height they were originally.
  7. Bake at 375°F 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 baking sheet itself – they will continue to spread and set a bit more as they cool. Carefully move to wire rack to cool completely.
A stack of crinkly peanut butter espresso cookies

Can you use natural peanut butter for cookies?

Technically, yes. I find that the natural peanut butter where the oil separates and you have to stir can lead to unreliable results because it's thinner and (obviously) more oily.

They tend to spread more, and lend itself to a crispier cookie, and you may need to adjust the amount of salt and/or sugar in the recipe as they have less (or none) of each. 

All in all, I don't recommend that kind, but a creamy natural peanut butter you don't need to stir works wonderfully.

How should you store peanut butter cookies?

First of all, make sure they're 100% cooled before you store them. If they're still warm and you seal them up in a container, it will produce steam and they could get crumbly, or too soft.

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. That cookie jar on the counter might look cute, but it's going to allow them to get stale – and you don't want stale cookies!

If you find they're starting to lose their chewiness as the week progresses (she says as if they'll still be around after that long), stick a piece of bread in with them. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread and stay nice and chewy!

A close up of the crinkles and edge of a peanut butter espresso cookie on a baking sheet

Tips for making the perfect peanut butter espresso cookies

  • Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure your butter and egg are at room temperature, as it makes everything easier to incorporate with more uniform results because you won't have the potential for little pockets of colder ingredients that didn't get mixed in completely.
  • Use freshly ground espresso, if you can. If you don't have an espresso machine (aff link), don't despair! You can use pre-ground espresso, or espresso powder. In a real pinch, you can even use ground coffee, but it won't have the same robust flavor as espresso.
  • Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Yes, you have to chill the dough. If you don't, they may spread too much and they won't have the perfectly chewy texture we're going for. Plus, it gives the espresso flavor time to really infuse with the rest of the dough.
  • Make them big! I like to portion mine out with a medium cookie scoop (aff link) (about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of dough), so those are the baking instructions you'll find below. If you would prefer smaller cookies, just reduce your baking time by a minute or two. If you want them even bigger, add a couple minutes.
A stack of peanut butter espresso cookies on a baking sheet surrounded by espresso beans and a spoon of peanut buttr

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Peanut Butter Espresso Cookies

5 from 14 votes
Big, chewy peanut butter cookies with a smooth espresso flavor mixed in!
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 44 minutes
Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients
 

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
    1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
    1 1/2 teaspoon (1 ½ teaspoon) espresso powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) ground cinnamon
    Pinch salt
  • In a stand mixer (aff link) fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined.
    1/2 cup (113 ½ g) unsalted butter
    1 cup (258 g) creamy peanut butter
    1 1/3 cups (293 ⅓ g) light brown sugar
  • Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
    1 egg
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Add dry mixture and beat again 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 silicon mats or parchment paper and set aside.
  • Grab a medium cookie scoops and portion out 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. Press down gently on the top of each cookie until they're about half the height they were originally.
  • 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 baking sheet itself – they will continue to spread and set a bit more as they cool. Carefully move to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Size: I highly recommend a medium cookie scoop (aff link) to portion out your dough for optimal results, but you can go smaller and cook for less time, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 171IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

Recipe created by Leslie Kiszka

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Recipe Rating




22 Comments

  1. is there a way to mass bake them. your recipe says 6 at a time. what if I wanted to do say 18 at a time

  2. 5 stars
    Just made these and they are delicious and light. Loved that the recipe was so clear and didn’t call for too many ingredients. The coffee undertone is delightful. Even my four year old loved them. Thanks for a great recipe

  3. 5 stars
    They look reallt good…gotta tell my wife she loves to bake…you do know you look like Kelly Bundy from “Married with Children”..thats a good thing lol

  4. 5 stars
    Should be 1 1/2 cups of flour. My cookies turned to mush out of the oven and letting them sit for 10 minutes..afterwards putting them in the fridge for 20 and trying to scoop them
    Still a good recipe

    1. Nope, it’s 1 cup as written :) It sounds like maybe your butter was too warm/melty, maybe the peanut butter was a more oily natural kind, or maybe the oven needs a bit of calibration and might run cool. Either way, I’m glad you still enjoyed them!

  5. These are stupid good! Like the best cookies I’ve ever had good. Like I might eat the whole batch tonight good. Thank you so much for sharing! I seriously cannot wait to try all your recipes!

  6. Not gonna lie, I was really expecting to use a shot of espresso, especially based on all the pictures. Pretty disappointed that it uses instant coffee.

    1. It’s not instant coffee, it’s freshly ground espresso (or you can find pre-ground espresso powder as well) – they’re not the same thing! So you’d want to grind the espresso as though you were going to pull a shot, but you’ll just use the grounds and not in liquid form.

  7. 5 stars
    Chocolate and espresso has always been my favorite, damn why didn’t I try peanut butter and espresso before. Those cookies looks absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to try peanut butter and espresso combination soon.

  8. 5 stars
    I’m already a fan of PB cookies. The pairing with espresso is fantastic sounding! They would make a wonderful treat, with my favorite hot coffee or tea. Yum!

  9. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness! GENIUS! My husband adores peanut butter cookies … what a fantastic idea to add in an extra layer of flavor with espresso! Double-good! Thanks for the great tips, too – like the reminder that it’s best to use room temp ingredients. And I totally agree – Christmas cookies don’t have to scream “CHRISTMAS” in red and green colors with eggnog and gingerbread … they just have to be special recipes your family loves best! :)

  10. 5 stars
    I used to make small cookies most of the time. I am really happy I’ve stumbled upon your recipe because I really wanted to have at least one jat full of big cookies. And I still need to get that jar! :-)

  11. 5 stars
    I completely agree that Christmas cookies don’t have to be green or red and these will make the most perfect addition to a cookie exchange. I’ve never had peanut butter and coffee together but the combination sounds fantastic.