No oven, no problem - you can still have fresh-baked peanut butter cookies thanks to the toaster oven. Baking cookies in a small appliance like a toaster oven is fun, easy, & quick. In less than 20 minutes you can have soft peanut butter cookies that are warm & yummy right out of the toaster oven. So if you ever wondered if you can bake cookies in a toaster oven; yes you can and they are delicious!
This recipe makes a small batch of cookies, just 12 of them. Sometimes you only need a few cookies or you do not want leftovers, that is what makes this recipe so great. Since a toaster oven can only cook a few at a time, there is no need to spend hours rotating pan after pan in and out all day. A dozen cookies never tasted better. Mix, bake, & eat.
This cookie recipe is great for those that do not own a full-sized oven and only have access to a toaster oven. Ideal for college students in dorms, workplace lunch rooms, RVs, tiny houses, and more. Toaster ovens are inexpensive and you can find great ones for under $100.
This was inspired by my recipe for small-batch peanut butter cookies on this site. Both are great when you only want a few cookies and 4-5 dozen. At my house kids and their friends seem to be hungry all the time. Knowing I can whip these up in no time makes me in the running for mom of the year - ok maybe I am the only one voting!
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Ingredients
To make a toaster oven peanut butter cookies you need all the same classic ingredients used in other recipes. It is just in a smaller amount. Baking is a science, so precise amounts as important. So please make the recipe as written without any changes.
This recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda for a tender inside and crispy bottom. I like the puff that the baking powder does but also the soft texture that the baking soda adds. Together they make peanut butter cookies that are incredible.
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Salted Butter, softened
- Egg Yolk, room temperature
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Extra
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Begin by bringing the butter and one egg yolk to room temperature. Room temperature ingredients are important when baking. The soft butter will cream with the sugar easier. In addition, a cold egg is harder to blend with ingredients.
Gather a small mixing bowl and your hand mixer. The dough for this cookie recipe is a small amount so a small bowl and even a whisk can work. If you do not have a hand mixer, use a whisk. The small amount of cookie dough, hand whisked if you have a sturdy whisk.
How to Make the Cookie Dough
Once the ingredients are at room temperature, preheat the oven toaster oven to bake at 350°. This is for the regular bake setting, not convection or super convection (like an air fryer). If yours has a timer, set it for 8 minutes. Prep your toaster oven baking pan with foil and use some non-stick spray.
Time for mixing up the dough. Making only a dozen cookies has all the same steps as it would when making a regular-sized recipe that makes dozens. It starts with creaming together some ingredients. Next, add the dry ingredients and mix.
Hint: Save the white of this egg to use later. Add it as an extra egg white to one of my favorite recipes, leftover spaghetti with eggs.
To a small mixing bowl add the creamy peanut butter, egg yolk, soft butter, & sugars. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium until smooth - about 1 minute.
Next add the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, & baking soda, to the creamed mixture. Mix again on medium speed for 1 minute.
The dough will seem crumbly and pebble-like. This is what it will look like and that is fine.
Use a rubber spatula to press the peanut butter cookie dough together. It will then be soft and look like this.
This recipe doesn't require the peanut butter cookie dough to be refrigerated. You can bake as soon as the toaster oven is preheated. Time to bake!
Roll the Doug Balls
In a small bowl add the reserved 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Scoop out and roll 1 ½ tablespoons of dough in your hands to form a ball. Next, roll the ball in the granulated sugar to coat.
Place the sugar-coated peanut butter dough ball on the toaster oven-sized baking pan. Repeat to make 6 dough balls. That is how many fit on my pan. You should have 6 balls of dough evenly spaced out. The other half of the dough can be baked in a second batch.
Using a fork press lightly on each cookie ball. Press twice on each dough ball in a criss-cross pattern. The peanut butter cookie should not be too thin. Only press it ½ way down so it still is a bit thick.
Can You Bake Cookies in the Toaster Oven?
This yummy recipe will answer the question about just how can you bake cookies in a toaster oven. After one bite, you will know that the answer is #&*% yeah! Then next you will wonder why you haven't been doing this your whole life.
Once the toaster oven is preheated to 350° it is time to bake. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. Use an oven mitt to carefully remove the baking pan from the toaster oven. The cookies will still be light in color. Let them rest for 3-4 minutes on the pan before using a spatula to move them to a cooling rack.
Cool the Cookies
Once the cookies have rested on the pan, use a spatula to move them to a cooling rack. I have a toaster oven pan that has a rack with it. This came in a toaster oven baking set and I love it. I use it for making bacon in the toaster oven too for perfectly crispy bacon every time.
Substitutions & Variations
This recipe is important to follow as written. The wet-to-dry ingredients ratios in this recipe are important and exact. Do not try and make alterations or substitutions to this toaster oven cookie recipe. They may end up soggy, dry, or with cookies that fall apart.
Substitutions NOT recommended include the following:
- Peanut Butter - do NOT use natural or crunchy peanut butter. Also, don't add your own chopped nuts. The cookies will turn out dry.
- Flour - I have not tried to make this with other flour, such as gluten-free or almond flour. I do not recommend this substitution.
If you want to add a few mix-ins to these cookies here is what I tried. Both of these variations were delish! (unlike the chopped nuts or crunch PB that didn't work)
- Mini Chocolate Chips - add 1 Tablespoon of mini chocolate chips to the dough. Regular-sized chips are too big & cause the dough to fall apart.
- Flaky Sea Salt - Sprinkle each one with flaky sea salt just as they come right out of the oven.
Equipment
The classic kitchen tools for making cookies are what is needed for this recipe. But you will need a toaster oven, obviously Here are some of my recommended products that make cookie baking in the toaster oven easy and yummy. I adore my toaster oven baking set! You can make so much in the toaster oven, from crispy bacon to fluffy baked potatoes.
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Storage
These cookies are best fresh from the toaster oven. But if you do not eat them all on the same day, you can store them to enjoy later. Place cooled cookies in an air-tight container. Store in a cool & dry place for up to 5 days.
The dough can be stored in the freezer and baked later. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in a ziplock bag for up to 2 months.
FAQ
That is ok, once you place your cookies in the toaster oven simply set a timer elsewhere. Whether that is on a good old-fashioned egg timer, a microwave oven, or a smartphone. 8 minutes is all these needs since the small baking quarters tend to cook these fast.
As mentioned above, this dough can be frozen to use later. So whether you want to bake it from frozen or have store-bought frozen cookie dough, go for it. Yes, you can bake cookies from frozen dough in a toaster oven.
To bake frozen cookie dough, preheat the toaster oven to 350°. Add 2-3 minutes to the suggested cooking time when baking the cookies.
Foil is the best option when baking in your toaster oven. It lines the baking pan well and is safe. Parchment paper has an increased fire hazard when used in a small area such as a toaster oven. I do not recommend using parchment paper when baking cookies in the toaster oven.
Toaster Oven Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- toaster oven
- toaster oven baking pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter not natural or crunchy
- 3 tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons - divided granulated sugar 1 tablespoon reserved for rolling the dough balls
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Bring the egg yolk and butter come to room temperature. Preheat the toaster oven to 350°. Line your baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
- In a small mixing bowl add the peanut butter, egg yolk, soft butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugars. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium until creamy and smooth. Mix for 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, & baking soda, to the creamed mixture. Mix again on medium speed for 1 minute.
- The dough will look crumbly, loose, and pebble-like. This is ok and how it should look. Use a rubber spatula to press the peanut butter cookie dough together.
- In a small bowl add the reserved 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Scoop out and roll 1 ½ tablespoons of cookie dough in your hands. Roll the dough ball in the granulated sugar to coat. Drop the sugar-coated peanut butter balls on the baking pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough. You should have 12 balls of dough evenly spaced on your cookie sheet.
- Use a fork to press lightly on each dough ball. Press twice on each dough ball in a criss-cross pattern. Press each dough ball only ½ way down so it still is a bit thick.
- Bake in the preheated toaster oven for 8 minutes. They will still be light in color and that is fine, this is not a dark brown peanut butter cookie. Using an oven mitt, carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven.
- Let the cookies rest (which continues to cook them) on the hot baking sheet. Give them 2 more minutes on the baking sheet. Now you can use a spatula to move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.Let cool for 10 minutes before eating. Or let cool for 20-30 minutes before storing in an air-tight container.
Elaine Ann says
10 perfect cookies. I think I made them too big but they sure were good and cooked in the same amount of time. I did press them down a bit thinner so they would be done. I like a big cookie so I always scoop bigger than recipes say but 12 is a good number if you like regular ones.
Angela says
Nothing wrong with a big cookie.
Mia says
So good.
Margie D says
These were very easy to make and tasted good! I used a well-mixed organic brand smooth and salted peanut butter, too. I missed adding in the vanilla because it wasn't written in the directions, so there it sat on my counter. Oh well, next time!
Angela says
Thank you for the vanilla comment - I since added it to the recipe card along with the other wet ingredients. Next time they will be even better and glad you enjoyed this recipe. It really is so easy & makes homebaked cookies fast when you have a sweet craving.