Soft and Chewy Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.