These are THE BEST peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes peanut butter can dry out cookies a bit and result in a chalky texture. I tested several versions of this cookie to ensure that they’re perfect and that the peanut butter only enhances the flavor and doesn’t sacrifice that crispy-edge, gooey-center texture we all love in a really good chocolate chip cookie.
What Makes these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies the BEST?
- Easy Recipe. This peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe is super easy to make, and doesn’t even require an electric mixer. Just a regular mixing bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. Old school.
- Texture. It’s hard to nail the perfect CCC texture when peanut butter comes to the party because it has a tendency to dry the cookies out a bit. But that extra egg yolk does wonders on maintaining that ooey gooey chewy texture.
- Variety of Chocolate. One of my favorite tricks when baking cookies is to use a variety of chocolate. Both semi sweet and dark for depth of flavor. And both regular and mini so that the chocolate spreads more evenly throughout the dough and gives you the most chocolate in every bite.
Ingredients
- Peanut Butter. You want to grab the classic JIF (or a similar brand) of creamy peanut butter for this recipe. The natural peanut butters where the oil separates won’t work.
- Salted Butter. I almost always use salted butter in my dessert recipes. It balances out the sweetness and makes all your desserts so much better! Trust.
- Eggs. An egg PLUS an extra yolk provide these cookies with both structure and richness.
- Chocolate. High quality chocolate will really take these cookies to the next level. My favorites for cookie baking are Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Valhrona. If you’re looking for chocolate that doesn’t break the bank but rivals the fancy brands – check out Trader Joes, it melts like a dream.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
In a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup, add the butter and peanut butter and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Whisk together until combined and smooth. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and melted butter and peanut butter. Whisk until combined.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix for 2-3 minutes to add air into the egg whites. The mixture should be glossy before moving to the next step. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a spatula to fold until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
For large cookies, use a 3 TBSP cookie scoop to portion 15 cookies onto a parchment lined sheet pan. For small cookies, do the same, but with a standard 1 TBSP cookie scoop. Chill the dough for at least an hour, up to overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Arrange the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving room between each cookie for spreading. Bake large cookies for 11-12 minutes, and small cookies for 9-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and bang it on the counter two or three times to encourage cookies to flatten more and create crinkled edges. Use a rubber spatula to scoot any runaway edges back into place.
Top with flaky sea salt if desired and extra chocolate chips, then allow cookies to cool on the hot cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
- Can I make these cookies gluten free? I have not tested it yet, but you should be able to swap out the flour for a 1 to 1 gluten free flour replacement like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Can I freeze these cookies? You can freeze the dough, or the cookies. To freeze dough, portion into balls, top with extra chocolate, then freeze on a sheet tray for 20-30 minutes, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Freezing them a bit before you put them in the bag will ensure they don’t stick together.
- Why can’t I use natural peanut butter. Using a natural peanut butter where the oil separates will result in cookies that spread way too much in the oven while baking.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 15 Large Cookies
Description
The BEST peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges, chewy centers, salty peanut butter, and chocolate in every bite.
Ingredients
- ½ C (113 g) Salted Butter
- ½ C (125 g) Creamy Peanut Butter *NOT natural or organic that separates
- ½ C (100 g) Light Brown Sugar
- ½ C (100 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lg Egg + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 C + 2 TBSP ( 145 g) All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ C (100 g) Dark Chocolate Chips (70-72%) + more for topping
- ½ C (75 g) Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips + more for topping
- Flaky Sea Salt, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup, add the butter and peanut butter and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Whisk together until combined and smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and melted butter and peanut butter. Whisk until combined.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix for 2-3 minutes to add air into the egg whites. The mixture should be glossy before moving to the next step.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a spatula to fold until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- For large cookies, use a 3 TBSP cookie scoop to portion 15 cookies onto a parchment lined sheet pan. For small cookies, do the same, but with a standard 1 TBSP cookie scoop. Chill the dough for at least an hour, up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Arrange the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving room between each cookie for spreading,
- Bake large cookies for 11-12 minutes, and small cookies for 9-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and bang it on the counter two or three times to encourage cookies to flatten more and create crinkled edges. Use a rubber spatula to scoot any runaway edges back into place.
- Top with flaky sea salt if desired and extra chocolate and allow cookies to cool on the hot cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
If you loved this recipe for my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Tiktok and Instagram. To save this recipe for later click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above or on any of the images throughout this post.
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