Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies
on Dec 15, 2016, Updated Aug 22, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
A dip in chocolate and some festive sprinkles turn year-round favorite peanut butter cookies into a delicious Christmas treat. We love making these Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies as a family! They’re perfect for eating under the Christmas tree and leaving out for Santa with a little note.
My other delicious Christmas-themed cookies are Christmas Magic Cookie Bars and Soft Gingerbread Cookie, all of which are easy and full of holiday cheer! Make some for your family, friends, or yourself! Everyone loves good cookies this time of year!
Table of Contents
- Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies
- What kind of chocolate chips should I use?
- How do I store these cookies?
- How long do peanut butter cookies last?
- When do I buy sprinkles?
- How do I make the chocolate for dipping?
- Peanut butter cookie ingredients:
- How to make peanut butter Christmas cookies:
- Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies Recipe
Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies
I don’t traditionally think of peanut butter cookies as Christmas cookies, but they are one of my all-time favorite cookies, so I thought it would be awesome to make Christmas peanut butter cookies! When you dip the cookies in a bit of melted chocolate and add a few festive sprinkles, you turn a year-round favorite into a tasty seasonal treat perfect for a party! And can we just talk about how perfect that chocolate and peanut butter combo is?! Few things are more delicious in my book.
I was just looking at some new workout gear (January is coming and I’m always excited about that!) and I saw the cutest tank that said, “peanut butter is my spirit animal,” and I just laughed and laughed. I should probably order it, right? My love of peanut butter knows no end, even at Christmas time when my favorite gingerbread cookies make their way into my oven. There’s always room for more peanut butter!
What kind of chocolate chips should I use?
Use a brand of chocolate chips that are high quality since they melt well and taste so rich. You can use any flavor you like: milk, semi-sweet, dark chocolate. They all taste yummy depending on your preferences! Semi-sweet are always a great go-to chocolate chip if you don’t know what to pick
How do I store these cookies?
Once the chocolate on the cookies is cooled and set, you can store them in an airtight container. I separate stacks of the cookies with a sheet of wax paper or parchment between the layers so that they don’t accidentally melt together if they get a little to warm.
How long do peanut butter cookies last?
Stored properly, these cookies can last up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. It makes them an easy cookie to make ahead of time and bring to a party!
When do I buy sprinkles?
Pro tip: look for sprinkles after Christmas when they are substantially reduced in prize. I always stock up on next year’s sprinkles after the holiday. Sugar doesn’t really go bad! I like this Wilton sprinkle set a lot if you are in the market!
How do I make the chocolate for dipping?
Place the chocolate chips and vegetable/coconut oil in a bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between, until melted. Then, using your fingers, submerge just less than half of a cookie into the chocolate, pull it out, let any dripping chocolate fall off into the bowl, and place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Add the sprinkles immediately while the chocolate is still wet so they stick. Repeat with remaining cookies.
For a drizzled chocolate effect, place the cookies on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet, and fill a tablespoon with melted chocolate. Slowly drizzle the chocolate over the cookies, moving the spoon in a back and forth motion constantly so it leaves small lines of chocolate on the cookies.
Peanut butter cookie ingredients:
- Butter: To make the cookies moist and rich.
- Brown sugar: For sweetness and a deeper golden color.
- Granulated sugar: Also for sweetness and to roll the cookie dough in to give the outside a sugary coat.
- Peanut butter: Give the cookies their delicious peanut butter flavor.
- Whole egg + a yolk: Eggs help cookies to rise and bind, and the extra yolk makes the cookie more tender.
- Salt: To balance the baking and sweet ingredients.
- Flour: To help the cookies rise and stay together.
- Baking soda: To allow the cookies to expand and puff up nicely.
How to make peanut butter Christmas cookies:
- Beat the butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and the granulated sugar together. Add the egg, egg yolk, and peanut butter.
- Add the salt, flour and baking soda to the peanut butter mixture and stir.
- Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball and then roll it in the granulated sugar.
- Place the dough ball onto a parchment or baking mat lined baking sheet. SLIGHTLY compress with fork.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
- When the cookies are cooled, melt the chocolate chips and oil together in a small bowl. Dip half the cookie in the chocolate, place on a lined baking sheet (waxed paper works great), and sprinkle with festive sprinkles. Let the chocolate set before serving or storing.
Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or coconut oil
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and the granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and peanut butter.
- Add the salt, flour and baking soda to the peanut butter mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball and then roll it in the granulated sugar. Place the dough ball onto a parchment or baking mat lined baking sheet. SLIGHTLY compress with fork.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
- When the cookies are cooled, melt the chocolate chips and oil together in a small bowl. Dip half the cookie in the chocolate, place on a lined baking sheet (waxed paper works great), and sprinkle with festive sprinkles. Let the chocolate set before serving or storing.
Nutrition
Recipe from my sister-in-law Beth.
Good cookies! I found raising the temp of the oven to 165 and increasing the cook time to 15 minutes worked well. This is basically a shortbread cookie and stands up well to chocolate. I made some with melted white chocolate which really allows the sprinkles to pop. Looks very Christmasy that way.
This is probably a silly question…. but what kind of peanut butter do you use? I assume not natural peanut butter?
You’re right, I just used JIF, I love Costco’s organic PB, but I do tend to go for the creamy normal stuff for traditional PB cookies. They stay extra soft that way.
These are very tasty. The chocolate dip makes them pretty as well.
PSuper tips for christmas. Thank you
Just made these! They turned out so good, I’m going to make another batch because all my (5) children devoured them!
Hooray! And bless you fellow mom of 5, this work is not for the faint of heart 🙂
i made these on Saturday, they are awesome, everyone loved them, thanks for posting this one:)
Hi Melissa, lovely peanut butter cookies!
Thank you!
Wow! Peanut butter cookies! What a delight it is! I am surely gonna try this one!