Name: Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Ingredients: ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature); ½ cup chunky peanut butter (or creamy); ½ cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark); 1 large egg; 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon salt

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Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies are a fun and easy treat to make. They make a great dessert or after-school snack and you won’t believe how quick they are to make. You can make them in less than 15 minutes. Seriously!

High angle shot of a stack of peanut butter cookies.

Peanut butter cookies are right up there with classic chocolate chip cookies in terms of their importance in the American cookie lexicon. I can’t even choose a favorite between the two.

These air fryer peanut butter cookies require only basic pantry ingredients. And the best thing about them is that they take just 5 minutes to mix and 8 minutes to air fry. That’s right! You can have delicious, homemade air fryer peanut butter cookies in less than 15 minutes!

Freeze and air fry in small batches any time!

I love to mix up a batch of cookie dough and freeze it in cookie-size balls. That way I can bake up however many cookies I want when the urge strikes. I love that I can make one fresh baked cookie at a time!

To freeze these delicious peanut butter cookies, scoop or shape the dough into cookie sized balls. Arrange the balls in a single layer on a baking sheet. Press them flat with the tines of a fork.

Freeze for several hours. freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, you can transfer them to a resealable plastic bag and keep them in freezer for months.

To air fry your frozen cookies, just pop the frozen cookies in the air fryer and follow the baking directions in the recipe adding a minute or two to the time.

Peanut butter cookie variations

Add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks to the dough for these peanut butter cookies. I like to use the mini chocolate chips because you can distribute the chocolate more evenly throughout the dough. I use semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate if you prefer.

Another way to introduce chocolate into this recipe is to bake and cool the cookies and then dip them in melted chocolate.

If you don’t like chocolate, add toffee chips, cinnamon chips, or caramel chips.

Or nuts! Add pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or even whole peanuts for added texture and peanutty flavor.

For a gluten-free and vegan version, try these 3 ingredient almond flour peanut butter cookies.

overhead shot of the ingredients needed to make air fryer peanut butter cookies.

Ingredients You Need

For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.

You probably have all of the ingredients you need to make Air fryer Peanut Butter Cookies in your pantry right now. Here’s what you need:

Butter—I use unsalted. If you use salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe. Let your butter sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to soften before you begin the recipe.
Peanut butter—You can use either crunchy or creamy peanut butter. I always buy the all-natural peanut butter, the kind with no sugar added (even though I think Jif or Skippy are way more delicious!) so that’s what I used here. You can use whatever type you like but note that your cookies will be sweeter if you’re using peanut butter with added sugar.
Sugar—Use both white granulated sugar and brown sugar for the best texture and flavor. You can use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar.
Egg—this keeps the cookies from being overly dense.
Flour—I use all-purpose. You could substitute a gluten-free all-purpose baking blend if you like.
Baking soda and baking powder—for leavening.
Salt—Again, omit this if you are using salted butter.

Wet ingredients for cookies in a mixing bowl. — Mix the wet ingredients

Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. — Mix the wet ingredients

How to make them

For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.

This peanut butter cookies recipe is seriously SO easy. Here’s how:

Mix the wet ingredients—peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, and egg.
Mix the dry ingredients—flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Shape or use a cookie scoop to form the dough into 2-inch balls and arrange them about 3 inches apart on an air fryer liner that goes in the air fryer basket.
Dip a fork in sugar and press in a crisscross pattern on each ball to flatten each cookie and make the classic hash marks in the top.
Air fry until golden brown. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Close up of an air fryer peanut butter cookie with a bite out of it.

Tips for success

Use either creamy peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter.
Use a cookie scoop to make it easy to form your cookies and to make them all the same size.
Use a parchment paper air fryer liner in your air fryer basket, air fryer tray, or the rack in your air fryer oven. This will keep your air fryer peanut butter cookies from sticking to the basket or becoming misshapen.
Freeze extra peanut butter cookies before baking (see the section on freezing for instructions.) Pop the frozen cookies right into your air fryer basket for baking. I love being able to make a small batch of these air fryer peanut butter cookies on a moment’s notice.
You can store leftover air fryer peanut butter cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

low angle shot of a stack of peanut butter cookies on a board with a bowl of peanut butter.

More air fryer snacks and desserts you’ll love

If you love making air fryer cookies, try my Air Fryer Hot Cocoa Cookies, too!

You should also try some of my other delicious air fryer dessert recipes and snack recipes designed specifically for the air fryer.

For savory snacks, you’ll love my Air Fryer Jalapeno Popper Bites, Air Fryer Empanadas, Air Fryer Wontons, Air Fryer Taquitos, or Air Fryer BBQ Wings.

For air fryer desserts, Air Fryer Caramelized Bananas, Air Fryer S’mores, and Air Fryer Fried Ice Cream are serious crowd-pleasers, just like these Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies are.

If you want another easy cookie recipe, try Peanut Butter Cookies with Yellow Cake Mix.