CREAM CHEESE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies are soft, chewy and packed with peanut butter! Made with Reese’s pieces, these peanut butter cookies turn out perfectly every time.

My family has loved peanut butter cookies for years, but it was only recently that I tried this peanut butter cookie recipe that has cream cheese in the recipe. It really does make some of the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tried!

Recipe Highlights

• Cream Cheese Soft, Not Dry– Cream cheese makes these cookies ultra-soft, rich, and chewy, helping them stay fresh and tender longer.
• Big Peanut Butter Flavor– Classic creamy peanut butter and brown sugar create a bold, true peanut butter taste that really stands out in every bite.
• Reese’s Pieces Throughout– Reese’s Pieces are mixed into the dough for pops of crunch and extra peanut butter candy flavor in every cookie.

INGREDIENTS IN CREAM CHEESE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Butter & Cream Cheese: Work together to create a rich, ultra-soft cookie base with a creamy texture and added moisture that keeps the cookies tender for days.

Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness along with a deep molasses flavor that enhances the peanut butter and keeps the cookies chewy.

Eggs & Vanilla Extract: The eggs bind the dough so the cookies hold their shape, while vanilla rounds out the flavor with a warm, sweet background note.

Peanut Butter: Provides the signature flavor and creamy richness that defines the cookie and gives it its classic nutty taste.

Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder & Salt: Flour gives structure, the leavening agents help the cookies rise and stay soft, and salt sharpens all the flavors so nothing tastes flat.

Cornstarch: Softens the cookie texture by making them extra tender and helping prevent a tough or dry crumb.

Chocolate Chips & Reese’s Pieces: Add pockets of chocolate and candy-coated crunch, boosting both texture and peanut butter flavor throughout every bite.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Making Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Pudding cookies is easy! Here are a few tips to getting perfect cookies every time!

• Make sure your butter is softened, not melted. One of the most common cookie mistakes is using butter that’s either too cold or too warm, which can throw off the texture. For best results, let it sit at room temperature for 1–2 hours. If you’re short on time, soften it in the microwave in very short 5-second bursts and stop before it starts to melt. You can also use the defrost setting, which gently softens the butter more evenly and reduces the risk of overheating.
• Use regular creamy peanut butter instead of natural varieties. Natural peanut butter tends to separate and has a thinner consistency, which can lead to less reliable results in baking.
• Always mix your dry ingredients separately before combining them with the wet ingredients. This helps ensure everything is evenly distributed and prevents clumps.
• Take a little extra time to cream the butter and sugars together—about 2–3 minutes. This step helps create a smoother dough and improves the final texture of the cookies.
• Use a cookie scoop if you want evenly sized, uniform cookies that bake more consistently.
• And finally, make sure your oven is fully preheated before baking. Starting with the right temperature helps the cookies bake evenly and turn out the way they should every time.

HOW DO YOU KEEP PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES SOFT?

This is another reason to love these cookies, thanks to the cream cheese in the dough- they stay softer for longer! After the cookies have cooled, simply place them in an airtight container to keep them fresh for as long as possible. If they start to get hard, you can place a piece of bread in the container to keep the cookies fresh and soft for longer.

CREAM CHEESE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies are soft, chewy and packed with peanut butter! Made with Reese's pieces, these peanut butter cookies turn out perfectly every time.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Servings: 48 cookies

Calories: 222kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Ingredients 

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• ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup Reese’s pieces

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Add the butter and cream cheese to a large bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer. Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and mix for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sugars and mix for 2-3 more minutes.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cornstarch. Mix just until combined. With a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and Reese’s pieces.
• Use a cookie scoop to scoop dough onto cookie sheets that are lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. At this point, I usually gently press a few more Reese’s pieces on the top of the cookie dough so that the cookies look prettier when they are cooked.
• Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges just barely begin to brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 136IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

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CAN I USE NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER INSTEAD OF REGULAR PEANUT BUTTER?

While the recipe calls for regular creamy peanut butter, some people may prefer to use natural peanut butter instead. However, it’s important to note that the cookies may not turn out as well with natural peanut butter. This is because natural peanut butter tends to be runnier and oilier than regular peanut butter, which can affect the texture and consistency of the cookies.

CAN I MAKE THE COOKIES IN ADVANCE?

Yes, you can make the cookies up to 2-3 days in advance and store them in an airtight container until ready to serve. They can also be frozen and thawed as needed. You can freeze the baked cookies, but I actually prefer to freeze the dough pre-scooped into balls so that I can make them fresh every time!

Just freeze the cookie dough balls individually (laid out on a cookie sheet) before placing all of them together in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. Pull them out when ready to bake. You may need to bake them for a minute or two longer than normal when baking from frozen.

Enjoy a few more Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes here:

• Our Easy Peanut Butter Cookies are a no-fuss favorite that come together quickly and satisfy a sweet craving without any complicated ingredients or steps.
• Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies are ultra soft and chewy with a rich peanut butter base, made even better with bursts of Reese’s Pieces in every bite.
• If you’re craving something that tastes like a peanut butter cup in cookie form, these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies are soft, fudgy, and almost too easy to throw together.
• Loaded with chunks of Reese’s peanut butter cups, Reese’s Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies deliver a soft, chewy texture with a creamy chocolate-peanut butter surprise in every bite.
• These Buckeye Cookies feature a soft chocolate cookie wrapped around a smooth, gooey peanut butter center for a bakery-style treat that melts as you eat it.
• Fudge Peanut Butter Cookie Cups take classic peanut butter cookies and bake them in a mini muffin pan, then fill them with rich, silky chocolate fudge for a bite-sized dessert.

Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies are soft, chewy and packed with peanut butter! Made with Reese’s pieces, these peanut butter cookies turn out perfectly every time.