The first bite of your peanut butter cookies is always the most anticipated! When it doesn’t turn out right, it can be a huge disappointment.
You’re waiting to bite into a rich, chewy cookie, but instead, you’re met with a dry texture that hurts the insides of your cheeks.
I’ve been there and can tell you why your cookies ended up so dry. You might’ve overbaked the baked goodies, added too much peanut butter, or mixed in the wrong fat.
Stick around to learn more about the culprits behind your dry peanut butter cookies and how you can make them extra chewy.
Why Are My Peanut Butter Cookies So Dry?
Your peanut butter cookies could’ve come out dry because you overbaked them, added too much of a dry ingredient, or used the wrong type of peanut butter.
1 – You Overcooked Them
Overbaking is the top reason most people end up with dry cookies. You may have left your baked goods too long in the oven.
Staying too long will cause most of the cookies’ moisture to evaporate, leaving a crumbly texture behind.
A good rule of thumb to indicate when your cookies are baked is to check the edges. Once they turn golden brown, you can turn off the heat.
You’ll also notice that the top looks slightly wrinkled. That often means they need to cool down for about five minutes, then they’re ready to be served.
2 – You Added Too Much Peanut Butter
Even though peanut butter isn’t technically a dry ingredient, it can still absorb moisture from your batter, thanks to its high protein content.
It creates a thicker texture, more prone to creating dry results. That’s why you need to be extra cautious with your portions.
For every one and a half cups of flour and a quarter cup of butter, add a maximum of one cup of peanut butter.
The mixture will give you the best balance between fats, proteins, and gluten.
3 – You Used the Wrong Type of Peanut Butter
While you can use all types of peanut butter to create your cookies, some types tend to make your cookies dryer than others—namely natural peanut butter.
Since it lacks stabilizers, the spread’s oils and solids often separate. If you add too much of the oily portion, your cookies will turn out too greasy. Meanwhile, a portion with too many solids can leave your baked delights too dry.
For this reason, I highly suggest mixing your natural peanut butter thoroughly before incorporating it into your batter.
Alternatively, you can always use a commercial peanut butter type and get the softest and chewiest results.
4 – You Used the Wrong Fat
If you swap the butter for another fat like margarine, your peanut butter cookies will have a crispier bite to them.
Softened butter is the best fat you can add to your peanut butter cookie recipes. Better yet, you can add browned butter for a more complex and nuttier flavor profile.
Other fats, like vegetable oil, won’t offer the same rich buttery flavor. They’re more likely to give you drier cookies if you add too much because of their liquid state.
The batter will become runnier, resulting in a flatter cookie with a crunchier, drier texture rather than the desired thick, decadent bite.
5 – You Added Too Much Flour
While adding flour helps thicken and structure your peanut butter cookies’ batter, too much of it can lead to dryness.
This often boils down to how you measure out the flour. When dusting it into your measuring cup, always level it using a knife.
If you pack it in, you may add more than necessary.
The type of flour also matters. If you use self-raising or bread flour, your cookies won’t be as soft as you want them.
The ideal type of flour when making peanut butter cookies is the bleached all-purpose kind. It has the best combination of starch and protein to create chewy and moist cookies.
How to Make Your Peanut Butter Cookies Chewy
After knowing why your peanut butter cookies are turning out dry, here’s what you can do to make them chewier.
1 – Cream Your Sugar and Butter
Mixing soft butter with your sugar will give your batter a more stable structure. That way, it won’t get too runny, flatten, or turn crispy.
Plus, creaming the sugar with the butter helps evenly distribute the sweetness. Creamed butter also has more air, giving you better chances of a higher rise and less dryness.
2 – Use Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is a key ingredient in baking if you want moist and gooey cookies. The granulated bits contain molasses, which adds moisture to any batter.
You may think it’s not much different from white sugar, but the latter makes your cookie dough spread before setting. This makes your baked peanut butter goodies thinner and crispier.
Using brown sugar creates a different reaction. It catalyzes egg protein coagulation and gluten formation.
Consequently, your dough will set quicker, leaving less room for spreading out and more for a thicker and fluffier cookie.
3 – Use Room Temperature Ingredients
Room temperature ingredients blend easier together. Imagine trying to mix a hard lump of peanut butter with your dry components.
It’d be much easier on your arms to leave the peanut butter out at room temperature and mix it with creamed butter and sugar.
That also includes eggs. If you keep them in the fridge, take them out for a couple of hours before cracking them into your mixture.
You’ll end up with a smoother and more homogenous batter, giving you chewier baked bites.
Final Thoughts
Why are your peanut butter cookies so dry? The reasons keeping you from taking a decadent, moist bite are plenty.
You could’ve overbaked them, added too much flour or peanut butter, or incorporated the wrong type of fat or peanut butter.
Either way, avoiding these issues will make a world of difference in your baked outcome. You can take it to the next level and follow some of my tips to make your cookies extra chewy.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.