Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies

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These sourdough peanut butter cookies are soft, thick, and packed with deep, nutty flavor. Browned butter and creamy peanut butter create a rich base, while a touch of sourdough discard adds subtle tang and chew.

Studded with roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips, they bake up thick, golden and fragrant in about 15 minutes. A bakery-style twist on a nostalgic favorite.

A plate filled with peanut butter sourdough cookies.

Browned butter base: Adds toasty, caramelized notes that cut through the richness of the peanut butter.

Sourdough discard for depth: Boosts flavor without turning the cookies sour. Just enough tang to keep things interesting.

Two textures of peanut: Chopped roasted peanuts bring crunch; peanut butter chips melt into creamy pockets.

Bakery-style structure: Thick, soft-centered cookies with golden edges that hold their shape without spreading too much.

Ingredients used to make peanut butter cookies with sourdough discard.

Looking for more ways to use up sourdough discard? My sourdough oatmeal cookies and my sourdough chocolate chip cookies are reader favorites.

A stack of sourdough peanut butter cooies in front of a glass of milk.

Recipe Tips

Start with a short rest: Let the browned butter cool slightly so it doesn’t scramble the egg yolk or make the dough greasy.

Use discard or active starter: This recipe doesn’t rely on the starter for rise (baking powder and soda handle that job) so either discard or active starter works. Discard is the easiest fit since it’s unfed and ready to use, but active starter is fine too.

Optional cold ferment: For more developed flavor, chill the dough overnight. The long rest gives the sourdough starter time to do its thing, and the cookies bake up extra chewy with deeper peanut flavor.

Don’t overbake: Pull them when the edges are set but the centers still look soft. That’s how you get chewy peanut butter cookies with tender middles.

Customize the texture: For a classic peanut butter cookie look, roll in sugar and press with a fork before baking. They’ll come out flatter with crispier edges.

Scale with care: Stick to grams for best results. Especially with sticky ingredients like peanut butter and sourdough discard, which can throw off the balance by volume.

Check the dough texture: The peanut butter cookie dough should be soft but scoopable. It should be thick enough to hold its shape on the tray, not dry sticky.

Don’t overbake: Bake until the edges are golden and the centers still look soft.

Try this variation: Add ½ cup of mini chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate for a peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe Testing Notes

This recipe was adapted from my chocolate covered peanut butter cookies. Here’s how I adjusted it to work with sourdough discard without throwing off the dough texture:

Sourdough hydration math: Sourdough discard at 100% hydration is 50% water, 50% flour. So ⅓ cup (about 80 grams) adds roughly 40 grams of water and 40 grams of flour to the dough.

Balancing moisture: Browning the butter drives off about 18 grams of water, and skipping the egg white removes another 27 grams. Together, those swaps cut about 45 grams of water, keeping the dough thick and preventing it from spreading too much.

Flour tweak: I didn’t remove the full 40 grams of flour added by the discard. That’s because the flour in discard is already fermented. It’s weaker, absorbs less moisture, and doesn’t build structure like fresh flour. Keeping a bit of extra fresh flour in the dough helps the cookies hold together.

Leavening: The discard’s acidity is balanced with ¼ teaspoon baking soda. No change needed to the baking powder. The result? Thick, chewy peanut butter cookies with bakery-style structure.

Collage showing six steps of making cookies, from mixing to baking.

Questions About These Cookies

Do I need to chill the dough before baking?

Nope. These cookies bake up thick and chewy even without a chill. That said, an overnight rest in the fridge will deepen the flavor and make the cookies even chewier.

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a tray, then store in a sealed container or bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.

Can I use natural peanut butter?

Yes, but the texture of the cookies will be different. Natural peanut butter tends to be runnier and less stable, which can make the dough softer and the cookies flatter. For best results, use a regular no-stir peanut butter which will give the dough more structure and help the cookies hold their shape.

Sourdough peanut butter cookies on a white plate.

Peanut Butter Sourdough Discard Cookies

Thick, chewy, and packed with peanut crunch, these sourdough peanut butter cookies prove homemade cookies can be just as bold as the kind you find in a fancy bakery. Browned butter adds depth, sourdough discard brings a subtle tang, and nothing about them reads basic.

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