Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies

Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies are incredibly flavorful, chewy, soft, and packed with lots of chocolate chips. These delicious homemade treats only take 7 minutes in the air-fryer!

If you’re addicted to PB like we are, you’re going to LOVE these Homemade PB Eggs, Crispy Peanut Butter Balls, and Peanut Butter Cheesecake!

These Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies whip up in a flash and are loaded with nutty, chocolatey flavor. If you are looking for a delicious, sweet treat, and an easy cookie recipe, this is the perfect dessert to make.

The air-fryer cooks them perfectly and gives them an extra crunch on the outside while keeping them soft and chewy on the inside. Also, it’s a quick and easy process, and they are ready in less than 10 minutes!

This is a great recipe and similar to the oven-baked peanut butter cookies, except there’s no hot oven heating up your kitchen.

In addition, they’re delightfully chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Irresistibly soft and cooked till golden brown, and you can customize them with different mix-ins. Besides, you can even dip these into chocolate if you’re looking for a more decadent treat! 

Ingredients needed:

• Peanut butter: Use your favorite brand, but we prefer the creamy, smooth kind for its texture.
• Butter: Set it out a few hours before air-frying so it’s nice and soft (at room temperature).
• Dry ingredients: These treats get their structure from the all-purpose flour, and the baking powder gives them a lift. In addition,  you will need a dash of salt to prevent it from tasting flat. Brown sugar (or dark brown sugar) and white sugar for the sweet touch. 
• Wet Ingredients: We’re one large egg, plus a splash of milk and pure vanilla extract. Feel free to skip the vanilla extract if not a fan. However, I love the smell and aroma that it brings to them! 🙂
• Chocolate chips: PB and chocolate are a match made in heaven, and you’re going to love it in these cookies!

How do you make Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies?

1. Mix. First, start by mixing up the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, set aside. After that, mix the PB with the room-temp butter, followed by the sugars. Next, mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Finally, add the flour-baking powder combo gradually just until combined. In the end, finish the dough by stirring in the chocolate chips.
2. Air-fry. Divide the PB dough into small balls about two tablespoons each. After that, roll them into a cookie shape, and then flatten them with a fork. Lay them into a single layer in the air fryer basket, and cook at 350 degrees F for about 6 to 7 mins.
3. Cool. Lastly, set them on a rack and leave them to cool so they firm up a bit.
4. Serve. Enjoy these delicious treats with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee!

Peanut Butter Cookies Variations:

• Mix-ins: Stir in some white or dark chips, chopped nuts, walnuts, pecans, or crushed pretzels. Also, you can drizzle the cooled treats with some chocolate sauce if you like. Or, dip them into the sauce and cover them with colorful sprinkles. Get creative with it!
• Keto: Use keto flour like almond or coconut flour. Make sure to check the right ratio when subbing for regular flour. 
• Gluten-free: Swap out the regular flour with gluten-free flour.
• Peanut butter: Also, feel free to use your favorite type. Great alternatives would be crunchy PB, sugar-free, natural, honey-roasted, or any other PB you like. Even cashew butter will work!
• Flourless: Don’t want to use flour? Try this recipe instead!
• Cinnamon chips: A great tread during the holiday season. 
• Maple syrup: For a healthier take, substitute the brown sugar with maple syrup. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

How does an air fryer work?

Specifically, the air fryer works very like a small fan-assisted convection oven. As a result, hot air circulates all around the food, cooking it evenly.

Hence, that’s why you can also bake in it, and not just cookies, but different loaves of bread. Also, a lot of types of cakes, even cheesecakes, decadent brownies, and much more!

How long do you bake cookies in the air fryer?

In a properly preheated air-fryer, it only takes 6 to 8 mins to bake these up! The cooking time might vary a bit from brand to brand. But generally, they are pretty close. 

Why do you put fork marks on them?

This is optional, but I love to make them so they mimic the original Pillsbury recipe where they are instructed to press the cookies with a fork tines. 

Also, you press the cookie dough which helps them cook evenly. 

In my option, they also look more homemade this way, and I just love how they look. However, you don’t have to press them.  It is totally up to you!

How do air fryer cookies taste?

Just like regular and incredibly delicious baked desserts. Again, air fryers work very similarly to conventional ovens, so you don’t have to worry about them tasting off.

Why are my peanut butter cookies falling apart?

They usually become crumbly and fall apart if they’re baked too long or the heat is too high.

Also, these need time to rest as well because it’s a very wet dough due to the PB. Another important thing is cooling them down gives them a chance to get firmer.

How do you make them chewy?

Just as important, it is to consider the level of moisture the dough has, the more, the chewier they will become.

Because of that, we’re using brown sugar as well because it helps keep baked treats moist and chewy.

Remember to soften your butter, too, because it also helps a lot!

Ho to know when they are done cooking?

The cookies will begin to firm up and once they get the beautiful golden brown color on the outside they are ready. Because every appliance is different, I would recommend checking on them after the 7-minute mark. They cook quickly, so it is important to keep a close eye on them. 

Also, use a toothpick and insert it in the center. If it comes out clean, they are done. 

Are the cookies better with or without flour?

They’re excellent either way! With that said, the biggest difference is in terms of texture. For example, the flourless version is softer.

On the other side, flour gives it a more solid structure, it all depends on your preference.

More Easy Recipes to try:

How to store leftovers:

You can keep this on the counter in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

Alternatively, feel free to refrigerate. Just let them completely cool at room temperature. Then, place them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

Can you freeze them?

You can freeze them after air-frying (store up to 3 months), or freeze the raw dough (store up to a month).

With this in mind, we recommend flash-freezing them individually with parchment paper first, before packing and placing them in the freezer.

When ready to cook, bake them directly from frozen. Simply add a few minutes to the baking time.

Cooking tips:

• You can totally do this recipe by hand. However, if you have an electric mixer, feel free to use it as well. It becomes easier to mix the sticky PB.
• On the other hand, try microwaving the PB for a few seconds to soften it up if you’re finding it too thick and dense to mix.
• Equally important is to soften your butter at room temperature! Otherwise, it won’t incorporate well with the rest of the ingredients.
• I would avoid natural peanut butter. 
• You can cook these sweet treats in the AF basket or in the air fryer oven. parchment paper.
• Serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, so delicious!