If I had a plate of every cookie in the world and could only choose one, this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie might be my favorite! It’s perfectly buttery, brown sugary sweet, thick enough to sink your teeth into, and chewy in all the right places. Even better, there’s no chilling required!
Do you love peanut butter and chocolate together? Because I absolutely do, which is why you’ll find that irresistible pairing all over The Girl Inspired, from Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars to Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge and Peanut Butter Brownies. And today, I’m adding my ultra-chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie to the lineup! But here’s the twist: this time I used natural peanut butter (we love Adam’s chunky), and honestly? They turned out just as good, if not better, than ever.
The chunky peanut butter adds an extra layer of crunch and texture to every bite, which reminds me: have you tried my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies yet? For the best texture, enjoy them the same day they’re baked, paired with a glass of creamy milk, your afternoon coffee, or even a scoop of ice cream. Basically, they’re perfect any time of day which, honestly, is kind of the problem!
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🫐 Ingredients:
These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies contain a number of basic ingredients, and all of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let’s talk about the most important ingredients.
- Peanut butter – I used natural peanut butter (Adam’s chunky) and they turned out really well! The chunky peanut butter leaves a little extra crunch and texture in the cookies.
- Sugars – this recipe calls for a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar which work together to create cookies that are chewy, crispy on the outer edges, and decadently sweet.
- Cornstarch – this is added to the flour mixture to create a softer, more tender texture. It helps to prevent excessive spreading by interfering with gluten formation and absorbs excess moisture.
- Chocolate chips – I’ve used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can also use milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
You could sprinkle some fine sea salt flakes over the freshly baked peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies to subtly enhance flavors and add a bit of extra crunch.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chocolate chips – Use dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips in these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
- Nuts – Chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts are also great additions to these chocolate chip cookies.
- Topping – Drizzle some melted chocolate over the baked cookies once fully cool. You could also drizzle a simple sugar glaze over the cookies.
- Gluten-free – For gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, opt for a gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill which is a like-for-like substitution.
- Smaller-sized cookies – I love these as large cookies, but you could make smaller peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies by rolling smaller cookie dough balls which will yield more cookies. Keep in mind that smaller cookies will require a reduced baking time.
- Smooth peanut butter – If you prefer a smoother texture, opt for smooth peanut butter.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a standard cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl with an electric stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and peanut butter.
Step 2: Add both sugars and beat until creamy and fluffy.
Step 3: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 4: In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat until combined.
Pro Tip: Sift the dry flour mixture elements first before adding to the peanut butter mixture. This prevents any floury lumps in the cookie dough.
Step 5: Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 6: Scoop the cookie dough into small balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet.
Step 7: Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as the edges develop a hint of brown.
SERVE: Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve these scrumptious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with a creamy glass of milk, coffee, or with a bowl of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Recipe Tips for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- An extra egg yolk is added to the cookie dough mixture to create a thick, dense, and chewy result.
- The cornstarch creates a softer texture and helps to prevent excessive spreading which is particularly important for this recipe since it doesn’t call for chilling the cookie dough before baking.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to measure out the cookie dough. This ensures uniformly sized cookie dough balls which will bake at the same rate.
- Make sure to leave enough space between the cookie dough balls to allow for reasonable spreading.
- If you need to bake the cookies in batches due to the size of your cookie sheet, use a second sheet instead of adding the cookie dough balls to an already heated tray. The heated cookie sheet will make the cookies spread more which will change the results.
- Allow ingredients such as butter and eggs to reach room temperature for better incorporation.
Fun Fact
Did you know that natural peanut butter separates because it’s not loaded with any additives or stabilizers? That’s why it’s really important to mix it before adding it to your cookie dough mixture. Lucky for you, I’ve discovered some helpful tricks to storing natural peanut butter that’ll make your life easier! – Simply Recipes.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe doesn’t require chilling the dough as the cornstarch helps prevent spreading. That said, chilling the dough for 30-60 minutes (or up to 72 hours) would deepen the peanut butter flavor, prevent excess spreading, and yield thicker, chewier cookies.
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies will stay fresh for about 3-5 days, or you can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
That said, since these cookies are so soft and chewy, they’re not quite the same after a day or two. So I recommend making them the same day you plan to eat/serve them!
Absolutely! You can refrigerate the scooped dough balls for up to 3 days before baking, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Bake them straight from frozen, adding 2-3 extra minutes to the baking time.
Yes, these cookies have about twice as much sugar (both granulated and brown) as most peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is not an error. This is what makes them magical – chewy and sweet – just as we like them!
If you tried this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter Adam’s All-Natural crunchy peanut butter used here
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream together the softened butter and peanut butter until fluffy and light.
- Add sugars and beat in.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla extract until fluffy and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing well.
- Fold chocolate chips into dough.
- Spoon dough onto ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes for regular size cookies and 11 minutes for large cookies (seen here) – just until the edges begin to brown slightly. Aim for the centers of the cookies to be slightly undercooked.
- Cool; serve immediately.
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Notes
- These cookies are so soft and chewy, but they’re not quite the same after a day or two. So make them the same day you plan to eat/serve them!
- Natural peanut butter tends to separate, so make sure to give it a good stir before adding to the softened butter and sugars.
- Yes, this recipe uses twice as much sugar as regular cookie recipes do and for good reason! The white and brown sugar makes them ultra sweet and chewy – exactly how we like them.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Melissa says
Can you please send me the old recipe or post it somewhere. It is Denver famous and the additions aren’t as good 🙁 thanks!
Julie says
After reading the other comments I cut the sugar in half and they were delicious! I would give the recipe 5 stars, but can tell from the sugar that they would have been too sweet for our tastes if I had followed the recipe as written.
Jill says
Hi can I use macadamia nut butter in place of peanut butter
Stefanie says
I haven’t tried it, Jill, but I’ve used natural peanut butter and it comes out great. I think it’s worth a try. Let me know how they turn out!
Judy says
Made just like the recipe said. I used a cookie mold instead the kids loved them ❤️❤️❤️
Laurel says
These were amazing! I was craving chocolate and peanut butter and I found your recipe. I tried it just now. They turned out perfectly! I only did 3/4 C brown sugar and 1/4 C white sugar. They were delicious without adding all the sugar in. Thank you so much for your recipe. I will definantley be making these again.
Gina M. says
How many cookies does this recipe make please? This information would be very helpful. Thank you!
girlinspired says
Hi Gina! It makes 24 cookies. There is a little box with a number in it in the recipe card that shows servings, but it’s easy to miss, I definitely need to update that part of the recipe card. Thanks for the reminder!
Danee' aka GrandMa's Kitchen of LOVE says
Yes! My Grands and I will make this double combination of goodness recipe. I have a peanut allergy so I will substitute the peanut butter with cashew butter and maybe white chocolate or half or butterscotch. We will see. We will give our honest taste review…
1 more recipe for Monday. The children have off. Excited😊
girlinspired says
Oh, this is a good one! I haven’t tried it with other nut butters, but I think it would be absolutely delicious. There is so much sugar in the recipe that it’s hard for it not to be delicious. lol. Your grandbabies are lucky to have you with them in the kitchen!
Sarah H. says
Fabulous!!!! The only thing I did different was I used a mix of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.
girlinspired says
Sounds so good, Sarah!
Kelly says
These are my favorite cookies! I’ve been making them VERY regularly for years. My favorite way to eat them is straight from the freezer. It makes them extra chewy.
Kayla says
Hi, thanks for the recipe! The cookies were quick to make and definitely came out soft and chewy. Only problem I had was they were very sweet! I have a sweet tooth but found these a tad to much for my liking. I might cut down the sugar to 3/4 cup each and see if it improves the taste.
Emily says
These didn’t bake at all. I followed the recipe exactly.
Meredith says
These are amazing cookies!! I used mini chocolate chips because that’s all i had and hey we’re still amazing!
Linda Treadwell says
I just made these today! 💓😍💓 Yummy in my tummy!
Kim says
Just made these…amazing!! The kids loved them.
Suzie says
These were wonderful cookies! I added some mini chips along with peanut butter and milk chocolate chips. YUM!
Taylor says
These are the best cookies I have EVER made or had!!! They have just enough peanut butter in them not to much not to little. My cookies took about 11 minutes in my oven every oven is different so you never know. Mine are still super soft which is the best no hard cookies in my house. They firm up just a tad after taking them off the pans for a couple minutes. Thank you for the recipe by the way they made quite a bit for me 2 dozen bigger sized cookies.