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!
Jump to:
🫐 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
Beth says
Saw this on Pinterest and they looked so yummy. Made these tonight. But think next time I will only use 1/2 cup each of the sugars like I seen in a lot of other recipes on Pinterest cause that’s all I can taste is the granulated and light brown sugars and I think that is what making them come out totally flat.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Still good but definitely need milk with these. Who doesn’t love a good milk dunker.
andrea says
thanks for letting us know, i too thought was way too much sugar !
Its A Blog Party says
These look delicious! Thanks for linking up!~Liz
Anne says
Great blog – love it!! 🙂
I’m your newest follower from New Friend Friday – please come follow me at http://www.openbookgirls.com
anne 🙂
Heather says
Here from NFF, bet hubs would LOVE these. Marked. 🙂 Thanks.Heather @ http://www.savingmoneylivinglife.com
The Girl Creative says
ooooh those look delicious!!! I’m staying away from baking cookies for awhile because I just have no self control. lol
Santa's Gift Shoppe and Ideas says
Hi..I’m Barb ….I am from New Friend Fri… I am your newest follower. I hope you will get a chance to visit my blog @ santasgiftshoppe.blogspot.com& get inspired by something for your family/home. I hope you will follow me as well. Nice to meet ya new friend!!!
Sarah @ 365 Glimpses of John Parker says
Um….Yum! I’m your newest follower from New Friend Friday!
Amy @ Positively Splendid says
Yum, yum, yum! These sound (and look!) delicious. Love your series of photos, too – so clever!Thanks so much for stopping by to comment on my silhouette project this week. If you get around to making some of your own, I’d love to see!Amy
Sarah says
Hi! I am stopping by from New Friend Friday. These cookies look so good! I am definately going to try them soon!
Karen says
mmmmmm those look delicious! i just might have to try them!thanks for the flattering comment on my blog post! 🙂 i’m going to become a follower!
Denise says
Following you over from New Friend Friday!Stop by and enter my giveaway: http://extremepersonalmeasures.blogspot.com/2010/05/eco-friendly-peter-rabbit-organic.html
Rockin Momma says
I’m a new Friday Follower! Visit me at http://www.rockindeals4you.com/?p=2690 and sign up for my newest giveaway!
Shannon @ Posh Pieces says
Those sound amazing! stopping in from new friend Friday!
CraftyMummy says
Hi! Just popped over from The Girl Creative. These cookies Sound sooooo yummy!
trish says
I love it! My sweet baby girl is now 17 and made cookies for me just the other day. :o)You may want to drop by my blog tomorrow morning (hint hint). :o)Good night.Trish