These Missouri cookies are thick, chewy brown sugar cookies packed with chopped roasted peanuts, with more peanuts pressed on top before they go in the oven. The dough itself is plain butter and sugar. The peanuts do the work: salty, toasty, crunchy, with a soft middle around them. Peanut butter chips are optional, but they push the peanut taste further.
One batch makes 24 cookies. They chill for 30 minutes and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, so a full cooling rack takes about an hour. A quick note on the name: in some kitchens, Missouri cookies means the no-bake chocolate oatmeal kind. This recipe is the baked peanut version, closer to a chocolate chip cookie where peanuts take the place of the chocolate.
Following a special diet?
Every recipe on this site can be converted to gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, keto, nut-free or egg-free with adjusted ratios so nothing falls flat.
Try the Recipe Converter →Ingredients and What Each One Does
You need 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt. For the peanuts: 1½ cups roasted peanuts, roughly chopped, for the dough, plus ½ cup chopped peanuts for the tops. Add 1 cup peanut butter chips if you like.
Brown sugar is what keeps these chewy. It holds on to moisture, so the centers stay soft for days, and it adds a light caramel note that suits peanuts. The granulated sugar crisps the edges. Baking soda is the only leavener, which gives a slightly crackled top and a dense, bakery style middle instead of a cakey one.
Roasted salted peanuts give the best sweet and salty contrast. Unsalted roasted peanuts work too, with a milder result. Raw peanuts are not a good swap here; they taste flat and a little green after only 12 minutes in the oven.
Chopping the Peanuts
Chop the peanuts roughly, into halves and quarters, not crumbs. Big pieces stay crunchy after baking and show on the surface, while fine crumbs disappear into the dough and make it dry and sandy. A large knife on a cutting board is the quickest way, or give them a few short pulses in a food processor. Shake out the dusty bits before you measure.
Keep the ½ cup for the topping a little chunkier than the rest. Those are the pieces you see on top in the photos, and they toast in the oven while the cookies bake.
Mixing and Chilling the Dough
Beat the softened butter with both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, then the vanilla. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and add them on low speed only until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chopped peanuts, and the peanut butter chips if you are using them, with a spatula.
The dough is soft. That is fine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Chilling firms up the butter, so the cookies spread less and bake up thick. You can also keep the dough in the fridge for up to 48 hours, which makes it easy to bake a fresh tray on the day you need them.
Shaping and Baking
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and leave 2 inches between them. Press a few chopped peanuts onto each top.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look a little soft. Pull them now. Really. They keep cooking on the hot sheet, so let them rest there for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. For larger bakery style cookies, use 3 tablespoons of dough each and add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Fixes for Flat, Dry or Hard Cookies
- Flat cookies: the butter was too warm or the dough skipped the chill. Chill it for the full 30 minutes and let the baking sheets cool between batches.
- Dry or crumbly dough: too much flour. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off instead of scooping straight from the bag.
- Hard the next day: overbaked. Take them out while the middles still look soft.
- Peanuts falling off the tops: press them in firmly while the dough is still cold.
Cookies baked from dough that rested 24 hours or longer come out a shade darker and taste more of caramel. Both are good. Chill as long as you have time for.
Storing, Swaps and Serving
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. A slice of bread in the container helps them stay soft.
If you like peanuts as much as I do, try our oat flour peanut butter cookies, the buckeye brownies with their peanut butter layer, or peanut butter oatmeal bars for lunchboxes. For a different nut, our maple pecan cookies are soft in the middle with a maple glaze.
Save these Missouri cookies on Pinterest for your next bake sale. If you bake them, tell me in the comments if you added the peanut butter chips.
Missouri Cookies
These Missouri cookies are thick, chewy brown sugar cookies made with butter, light brown and granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla and plenty of chopped roasted peanuts, with extra peanuts pressed on top before baking. The dough chills for 30 minutes, then bakes at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the centers stay soft. One batch makes 24 cookies. Add 1 cup peanut butter chips for a stronger peanut flavor, or leave them out. Chop the peanuts roughly so they stay crunchy, and pull the cookies while the middles still look underdone. Roasted salted peanuts give the best sweet and salty contrast. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup peanut butter chips (optional)
- ½ cup chopped peanuts, for topping
Instructions
PREPARE THE OVEN: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes light, creamy, and fluffy.
ADD THE EGGS AND VANILLA: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until a soft dough forms and no dry streaks remain.
ADD THE PEANUTS: Fold in the chopped roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips, if using. Mix just until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
CHILL THE DOUGH: Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Chilling helps prevent excessive spreading and creates a thicker cookie texture.
SHAPE AND BAKE: Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie and place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each portion. Press a few chopped peanuts onto the tops of the cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden while the centers remain slightly soft.
COOL THE COOKIES: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Let them cool completely before serving or storing.
Notes
Roasted salted peanuts can be used for a slightly sweeter-and-saltier flavor contrast.
Peanut butter chips add extra peanut flavor but can be omitted if preferred.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
The cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours before baking.
For larger bakery-style cookies, use 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie and add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 417Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 8gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 38mgSodium 232mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 3gSugar 20gProtein 10g
