1-First Step: Cream the Wet Ingredients Beat ½ cup softened butter, ½ cup peanut butter, ½ cup white sugar, and ½ cup brown sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Use a mixer or sturdy spoon. This base creates the chewy heart of your easy peanut butter cookies. For vegan, use plant butter here.

2-Second Step: Add Egg and Vanilla Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping sides. Egg binds for structure; sub applesauce for egg-free. Dough looks glossy now, ready for dry additions.

3-Third Step: Combine Dry Ingredients In separate bowl, whisk 1¼ cups flour, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt. Gradually stir into wet mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep cookies tender. For gluten-free, use certified blend.

4-Fourth Step: Chill the Dough (Optional but Recommended) Cover and chill dough 30 minutes. This prevents spreading, yielding thicker soft peanut butter cookies. Skip if short on time, but chill fixes overly flat results.

5-Fifth Step: Scoop and Shape Scoop tablespoon-sized balls (about 1.5 inches), place 2 inches apart on sheets. Flatten each with fork in crisscross pattern, pressing ¼ inch deep. Marks add charm and even baking.

6-Sixth Step: Bake to Perfection Bake 10-12 minutes until edges golden, centers soft. Rotate sheets halfway. Cool on sheet 5 minutes they firm up then rack. Fresh out, they are the best chewy peanut butter cookies.