A homemade version of your favorite Nutter Butters with two crisp peanut butter cookies sandwiching a delicious, easy peanut butter cream filling! These are easy to make (no special molds needed) and truly taste SO much better than store-bought.
Why buy nutter butters when you can make them?
I mean, I know the answer to that question. It's obviously way easier to pick up a package at the store. But we taste tested our own versus store-bought, and I absolutely, 100% promise: these are better. They're even more peanut butter-y (probably because we use real peanut butter, not the sugar-loaded stuff!) and they're just more satisfying.
This has been a highly requested recipe for our Better Than Store-Bought series. I'm honestly not sure why it took us so long to try them, because I eat peanut butter every single day (if not twice a day).
Surprisingly, they came out just about perfect on the first try! (That's not very common for us when it comes to baking recipes.) After slightly tweaking the filling to be more pipe-able, they were absolutely flawless.
These have gotten rave reviews from family and friends, and we know you'll love them too. They're also easy to make – just a simple PB cookie dough that you roll into balls and flatten with a fork. The filling can even be spread with a knife or piped with a regular ziptop plastic bag.
We can't wait for you to try these! If you're on a better than store-bought baking kick, try these next:
- Homemade Oreos
- Homemade Fudge Stripes
- Homemade Frosted Animal Cookies
- Homemade Pop Tarts (strawberry, blueberry or brown sugar cinnamon)
- Homemade Cookie Crisp Cereal
Key Ingredients Needed for Nutter Butters
- Peanut butter: A lot of peanut butter cookie recipes on the internet call for Jif or Skippy peanut butter, but we like to make ours with natural peanut butter (no sugar added, just peanuts and salt) and it works perfectly every time. My favorite is the organic creamy peanut butter from Costco – we go through it very quickly, so it's a great deal and comes in a big container!
- Please keep in mind that we did not test this recipe with peanut butter that contains sugar and do not know how it will alter the flavor/consistency.
- Cornstarch: This will make your cookies a bit more crisp, so they hold up better to the filling. The recipe will still work fine if you omit it and add more all-purpose flour instead.
How to Bake Nutter Butters
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar and peanut butter using an electric mixer until smooth and completely incorporated. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until there are no dry streaks remaining. The dough should be thick.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. Preheat the oven to 325˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough out in one teaspoon-sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then place two balls next to each other (touching) on the baking sheet, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart. (It's quickest to scoop all of the dough first, then roll into balls after.)
- Using the tines of a fork, press down widthwise and then lengthwise to create a criss cross pattern and to flatten out the dough.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the bottoms are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
- Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of milk and vanilla to a mixing bowl and mix until smooth and completely incorporated. If it's too thick to pipe, add an additional 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag (or just any regular plastic bag and cut off the corner to pipe). Flip over a cookie so the flat bottom is facing up. Pipe a ~½ teaspoon dollop on each side of the cookie. Place another cookie on top to create a sandwich. Repeat and enjoy!
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- It's easiest to scoop all of the dough balls while it's still firm from the refrigerator, then roll into balls, then create the peanut shape with a fork once the dough has softened up a bit again. Not only will this order create the best shape, but it's also the quickest process to group the steps! (Better yet: recruit a helper to make it faster.)
- Don't pipe the filling until the cookies are completely cool, otherwise it will melt and ooze out the sides.
- Storage: Keep these stored at room temperature for about 5 days. Depending on humidity in your kitchen, they may soften slightly.
More Peanut Butter Desserts You'll Love
We can't wait for you to bake these homemade nutter butters in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!
Recipe
Homemade Nutter Butters
Ingredients
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar and peanut butter using an electric mixer until smooth and completely incorporated. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until there are no dry streaks remaining. The dough should be thick.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough out in one teaspoon-sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then place two balls next to each other (touching) on the baking sheet, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart. (It's quickest to scoop all of the dough first, then roll into balls after.)
- Using the tines of a fork, press down widthwise and then lengthwise to create a criss cross pattern and to flatten out the dough.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the bottoms are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
- Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of milk and vanilla to a mixing bowl and mix until smooth and completely incorporated. If it's too thick to pipe, add an additional 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag (or just any regular plastic bag and cut off the corner to pipe). Flip over a cookie so the flat bottom is facing up. Pipe a ~½ teaspoon dollop on each side of the cookie. Place another cookie on top to create a sandwich. Repeat and enjoy!
Tolouebakes says
Absolutely loved these! 🥜 Such a delicious peanut butter flavor and they were so much fun to make. I used crunchy peanut butter for extra texture and they turned out amazing. Definitely making these again!
Lexi Harrison says
Yay so thrilled to hear that! Crunchy PB sounds great!
Aaliyah Robertson says
Tasted decent, but were a little dry and if I were to make again I would make the cookies alot thinner with less butter and do more filling. I ran out of filling and added nutella instead which made them a lot better.
Tina says
Thank you for this recipe! I will rate it after I make them - sounds like they are going to be 5 Star 🙂 I would really like to add chocolate to the cookie part because years ago the Nutter Butter brand actually made a version that way but discontinued them for some reason. Would you happen to know if I could just toss in some cocoa powder with the batter or would I need to adjust it slightly due to extra dry ingredient being added???
Mary says
I usually sub arrowroot for corn starch, will it work for crispness in this recipe?
Lexi says
That should work fine!
Heather says
Can i bake ahead & freeze?
Heather says
Can i bake ahead & freeze?
Kari Collier says
Have you tried with a GF All Purpose Flour?
Lexi says
Unfortunately no, I have not tested that!
Shane says
I just made them with King Arthur's cup for cup gluten free flour and they turned out wonderfully. I worried that they would break when filling them and creating the sandwiches, but they held together very well. Definitely give them a try.
Mary says
Would it be okay to refrigerate the dough overnight? Anxious to try them!
Lexi says
Absolutely!
Talia says
Followed recipe exactly and they turned out great. One way I might try it next time is rolling the balls in sugar before pressing them with the fork to give it a sweeter taste.
Lexi says
Yum, sounds great!
Jessica says
Can’t wait to try these! Any adjustments needed for high altitude?
Joy says
The batter is currently resting and I’m not optimistic. It is SO greasy looking. 1cnstursl peanut butter and 1 cup butter seems like a LOT of oil.
Kiki says
Same here 😩
Brooke says
I had this same issue! I also felt the texture was oily even after baking. I’m thinking I should have eliminated one of the sticks of butter :/
Elizabeth says
These were SO good and definitely better than store bought! My family loved them.
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!
Rachel says
Just like the real thing. Totally worth the time to make these.
These are heavenly and so nice that I typically have all ingredients for them! Thanks for this one!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!!
Nancy Jacob says
Have you tried making these with plant based butter and plant based milk? Dairy allergy over here.
Lexi says
I have not tested it, but I believe it would work totally fine in this recipe!
Brynette Pritchard says
I tried these my my cookies didn’t stay together they did spread. What should I do differently next time ?
Oopa says
Hi, As I only have regular peanut butter with sugar added , can I make these reducing the given sugar quantity?
Lexi says
We have not tested that so I'm not 100% sure on the quantity adjustments!
sherri says
Thanks for the recipe! Have you tried freezing these? I want to make them, but don’t want to eat them all in 5 days - well, maybe I should say that I shouldn’t eat them all in 5 days 😉. Thanks for any tips on freezing you may have.
Lexi says
I have not tried freezing them, but it should work fine! Just make sure to freeze them not touching on a sheet pan first, then transfer to a container or bag so they don't freeze together in a big clump.
Sarah says
You’re right, the peanut butter flavor on these is SO much better than store bought! My daughter (7) and I had so much fun making these, and the peanut shape is much easier to do than I expected and so so cute! The family absolutely loved. We will be making them again.
Molly says
What is the amount of natural peanut butter in the filling??? It only has an arrow.
Lexi says
1/2 cup! It should be visible.
Michelle Flores says
Can I use regular peanut butter? It’s all I have right now.
Lexi says
Unfortunately we haven't tested this recipe with peanut butter that contains sugar, so we're not 100% sure how it would change the texture and flavor. It would definitely be a bit too sweet with the current sugar quantities, especially the filling!
Molly says
That is not what my question asked.