This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Sourdough discard peanut butter cookies are a delicious and easy-to-make treat that takes advantage of your sourdough starter’s discard. These cookies are rich and peanut buttery, with a chewy texture that makes them irresistible … perfect to go with a cold glass of milk! They just have tons of amazing peanut butter flavor!
The sourdough starter discard adds a subtle tang to the peanut butter cookies that complements the nutty flavor of the peanut butter … oh that salty-sweet crunch is just too good!
If you love making sourdough discard cookies, then you might also enjoy sourdough sugar cookies, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough cowboy cookies or these sourdough snickerdoodles. They can be a fun way to use your sourdough discard when you’re not baking sourdough bread.
How To Make Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
These chewy peanut butter cookies are really easy to pull together (just like these sourdough funfetti cookies). You just need 100g of sourdough discard and a few other pantry ingredients for this great recipe. It’s best to weigh all of the ingredients using a kitchen scale. This will give you the best cookies!
I’ve made these in a bowl with a fork to mix everything togther. This gives a very rustic looking cookie (but less washing up!). You can use a stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar if you prefer.
- Preheat your oven to 350F/175C.
- Add the brown sugar and white sugar to a bowl with the butter and mash them together with a fork.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined (if the peanut butter is a little hard, soften it in the microwave).
- Add the egg, vanilla extract and sourdough starter to the bowl and mix together until well combined.
- Now, add the all purpose flour and baking powder to the bowl and bring it together to a stiff dough.
- You can chill the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days at this point. It gives the cookies a much better flavor and texture, but you can bake immediately too if you prefer.
- When you’re ready to bake the sourdough discard peanut butter cookies, take the dough out of the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for around 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough into small balls (I’ve done 20g balls). A cookie scoop is handy for this.
- Place the balls onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Use a fork to press the top of each dough ball down with a criss cross pattern. For thinner, crispier cookies, flatten the dough out a bit more. For soft, chewy cookies leave the dough a little thicker.
- Bake the sourdough peanut butter cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350F/175C or until they are golden brown. You want them to be soft in the centre still.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking tray before transferring them to a cooling rack or glass jar.
Ingredient Notes
Peanut Butter – you can choose to use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. I’ve used crunchy when making this recipe because I love the added texture that the crunchy peanut butter gives.
Butter – it doesn’t matter whether you use salted butter or unsalted butter, it won’t make too much difference.
Nut Free Butters – nut free butters like sunflower seed butter works well for these sourdough cookies.
Chocolate Chips – feel free to add chocolate chips to your peanut butter sourdough cookies – I love adding 100g of milk chocolate chips so you end up with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
How To Store + Freeze Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
These sourdough peanut butter cookies are best stored in a glass jar or cookie tin. While plastic containers are airtight, they tend to make the crunchy edges of these cookies too soft.
To freeze these sourdough cookies, freeze the cookie dough balls on a baking tray before transferring them to a ziploc bag.
When you’re ready to bake them, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, allow them to soften enough to press them down with a fork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Sourdough and peanut butter are a match made in heaven! Not only does sourdough starter and peanut butter work really well together in cookies, fresh sourdough bread slathered in crunchy peanut butter is out of this world delicious!
You absolutely can use active sourdough starter to make these cookies.
It’s totally up to you! I prefer to use crunchy peanut butter because I like the texture it gives.
If your dough is falling apart, it’s generally because it’s been over mixed or you’ve used too much peanut butter.
Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Coookies
Ingredients
- 100 g Brown Sugar
- 100 g White sugar
- 100 g Butter
- 250 g Peanut Butter, (smooth or crunchy)
- 1 Egg
- 100 g Sourdough Starter, (or sourdough starter discard)
- 5 g Vanilla Extract, (1 tsp)
- 180 g All Purpose Flour
- 5 g Baking Powder, (1 tsp)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F/175C.
- Add the brown and white sugar to a bowl with the butter and mash them together with a fork.If you'd prefer, you can cream the butter and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined (if the peanut butter is a little hard, soften it in the microwave).
- Add the egg, vanilla and sourdough starer to the bowl and mix together until well combined.
- Now, add the all purpose flour and baking powder to the bowl and bring it together to a stiff dough.
- You can chill the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days at this point.
- When you're ready to bake the sourdough discard peanut butter cookies, take the dough out of the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for around 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough into small balls (I've done 20g balls). Use a fork to press the cookies down with a criss cross pattern.
- Bake the sourdough peanut butter cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350F/175C.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking tray before transferring them to a glass jar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Rate and comment below!
How long would these last on the counter?
In line 4 of the instructions, you have a typo – “starter”. Sorry, it’s just the secretary in me that sees these things.
I went pantry mamma crazy yesterday! I made the hamburger buns, hotdog buns and the monkey bread! Now this morning I’m making the peanut butter cookies 😂 I have had success with all of them and the monkey bread was the best I’ve ever had! Absolutely delicious 🤤 Thanks for sharing your recipes 🙏🏼 I’m very grateful! I veganized the monkey bread because my daughter is vegan but I just exchanged butter for vegan butter and it was so delicious! Thanks again!
These are amazing. Soft with a little crunch on the outside. I have used the same peanut butter recipe that I love until I decided to try these. So worth it
Perfect! I ran out of butter so subbed lard and only had crunchy peanut butter. Turned out great!
I made these with sucanat and organic cane sugar. And I used 50g-75g less. And I used organic, creamy peanut butter (just peanuts and sea salt). They are wonderful. Thank you for the recipe. I wish I could upload a picture.
The softest peanut butter cookies I have ever made!
Our boys loved these with the choc chip addition! I let the dough sit for about 24 hours before baking. Will make again!
The BEST peanut butter cookies! Super flavorful, moist, and easy to make! This was my first time baking with sourdough and these cookies came out perfect. Will be making again! Thank you so much for the recipe❤️
This one’s a keeper. I did add 1/2 tsp kosher salt as the dough seemed to need it and I was using unsalted butter. Used a store brand equivalent of Smuckers PB, so no added sugar or other chemicals. They’re good, definitely a bit crumbly but delicious. Hot and humid here, so I dipped the fork in cornstarch from time to time to keep it sticking to the dough. I like my cookies small and elegant so got nearly 80, with 10 minutes bake time.
This one was a bust for me. Cookies were neither fish nor fowl with little in the way of peanut butter cookie flavor. Maybe it was me or scaling this doesn’t work as I went to the 2x scale for 80 cookies and the cookies came out fine, just flavorless. Had a huge bake sale to do so this was a disappointment. Love Pantry Mama and will try some other recipes as I have in the past. Just not this one…
You may want to consider the type of peanut butter you used. I used a really mild peanut butter on one batch and a nice flavorful (Adams natural) on the other and there was a big difference in flavor.
Is it okay to use peanut butter that is separated & you stir it to mix the oil in or do you have to use Jiff or Skippy peanut butter?
As long as it’s stirred/mixed before adding to the mix, you can use the separated peanut butter.
My husband’s new favorite cookie!!! Thank you!!!
Absolutely the Best peanut butter cookie recipe.! I will no longer make any other peanut butter cookie recipe!!! FACTS!
I make a batch at least 2X a month. Freeze half for few days later so don’t eat them all at once. The only pb cookie recipe I use now.
I made these this morning, OMG they are delicious and so easy to make. Thank you for sharing!
I love all your recipes, thank you for sharing your gift of sourdough!
Thank you, Keri! We love to hear that! 🙂
Why so long on the refrigeration? I’ve heard of an hour or two. But two days? Does the sourdough lose its tang? So curious… thank you!
The long fermentation is completely optional, but it allows your sourdough starter to work it’s fermentation magic and also enhances the flavor of the cookies too 🙂
Thank you Pantry Mama
Most excellent recipe!