Say hello the softest and gooiest peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new year than with a fresh batch of these bad boys. Set your healthy resolutions aside because these are totally worth the cheat!
These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are one of the first recipes I ever made when I started out on Instagram. This was before I decided to share my recipes on a blog so I’ve kept it in my recipe book until I perfected it!
They started out as pretty thin and chewy cookies. I find it difficult to get that soft and gooey texture in peanut butter cookies because they typically give off a crumbly and somewhat chalky texture. That’s definitely not the case with these cookies!
How to make super soft peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
If you’ve been following me for a while, then you know how much I love large cookies. I almost always use a large ice cream scoop when scooping out my dough. It’s the secret to getting that soft and doughy center to any cookie.
In order to make sure you get that soft middle, you must be patient. Make sure to prep your dough the day before then bake them the next day.
I know, who wants to wait for delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? But keeping the dough in the fridge overnight makes sure your dough is chilled all the way through. This slows down the baking process, thus giving you that doughy center.
Scooping and prepping your peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough
The way you scoop your cookies can completely change how they turn out. If you roll them into smooth balls, you’ll get a completely different texture on the tops of your cookies. If you flatten them, the center will bake faster and you’ll be left with a thinner and crispier cookie. It’s very important to follow the prep instructions on a recipe in order to get the best outcome.
For these, and for most of my cookie recipe, I don’t fuss with the dough too much. Using my large ice cream scoop, I scoop the cookies out onto a small cookie sheet in order to prep for chilling. The cookie dough should be left in the same shape as the scoop – like a large dome.
When I scoop, I don’t roll the dough in my palms or manipulate the dough in any way. I just scoop and move on. Using a scooper gives you that rippled texture on top which is how you get those yummy wrinkles on top of your cookies.
For these cookies, I dotted the tops with some extra chocolate chips before chilling the dough so that they’d be picture perfect when baked.
So, in summary, don’t manipulate your dough when scooping and scoop them out BEFORE chilling. It’s much more difficult to scoop from a big bowl of hard and chilled cookie dough.
The best type of peanut butter to bake with
For most recipes, you should always choose a creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. It gives you that classic peanut texture and your recipes turn out perfect every time.
Using natural peanut butters often separate where the oil floats to the top of the jar. Nut butters like this are difficult to bake with because they can cause your cookies or bars to spread too thin.
If you use natural peanut butter for a buttercream or mousse, you could also experience some splitting. This leads to a lumpy and oily texture.
When in doubt, always go with your standard creamy peanut butter when baking.
In need of even more delicious cookie recipes? Check out my:
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Maple Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Ultimate Monster Cookies
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram if you make these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I love seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. And if you have any questions, ask me on Instagram! That’s the best way to reach me. Happy baking!
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 large cookies 1x
Description
These are seriously the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They’re super soft and doughy on the inside with a slightly crisp outside.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips + more for topping
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla until combined.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients just until the dough comes together – careful not to over mix.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line a small cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. This is what you will use to chill the dough.
- Using a large ice cream scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, scoop out your dough and set them side by side on the cookie sheet. Don’t worry about rolling them in to perfect balls. Just plop them down and move on to the next one. You can also make regular sized cookies but make sure to reduce your baking time by 3-4 minutes.
- If you like, you can dot the tops with a few more mini chocolate chips.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. You can speed up this process by placing them in the freezer for 1-2 hours but you might end up with crispier edges when baked.
- When ready, preheat your oven to 350F and bake the cookies on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are a light golden color. You should only bake about 4-5 cookies at a time as they will spread quite a bit in the oven. Only bake one tray at a time, keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge until you’re ready for the next batch.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool to room temperature before eating. They’ll seem pretty doughy in the middle but they’ll firm up as they cool. Store in an air tight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
Keywords: peanut butter cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
What type of peanut butter did you use? The last time I tried making peanut butter cookies, they were chalky/grainy..
Creamy jif or skippy. These are definitely not chalky but I know exactly what you mean!
Can I replace the egg with something? In order to make it vegan?
Unfortunately these cookies only work with eggs! But making a vegan peanut butter cookie is on my list 🙂
I made these vegan with vegan butter (earth balance), flax egg, dark chocolate and I omitted the granulated sugar and they ended up being my new favourite cookie! So, they can be made vegan, but I’m sure they are slightly different.
I also ran out of vanilla extract and use 1/2 tsp of almond extract with the last 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract & it was so good!
★★★★★
Oh wow I have to try that! Thanks for sharing!
I have tried many different brands of peanut butter and found that Kraft creamy peanut butter to be the best for baking
Is there an ingredient I can use to replace the peanut butter ?
If you need a nut-free option, you could use creamy sunflower seed butter
My cookies turned out staying it’s ball shape, not spreading. What did I do wrong?
Too much flour! Make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
Can you use a mix of cake flour and regular flour in this recipe like in your sugar cookies? And if so would it make them fluffier or bad idea?
I don’t suggest this as the cake flour could make them too tender and flimsy!
Can’t seem to find mini chocolate chips. Should I use the regular size choc chips whole or should I chop?
Regular are fine!
These are amazing. Light and fluffy and pure perfection! I only had regular size chips and used my regular cookie scoop. Baked for 11 minutes and the edges were starting to brown. I was a little worried they didn’t look like the pictures – they were still domed a little when I took them out, but as they cooled they deflated and look exactly like the pictures in the recipe. This is for sure a keeper!!
★★★★★
Hi Jenna, This is now one of my favorite cookie recipes and I bake a lot of cookies. I’ve made it twice, both times as a double batch. I love the texture, soft and a bit crunchy. The peanut butter and chocolate ratio is perfect, too. Thank you for creating and sharing this delicious recipe!!
I’ve made these about 10 times, and they are the PERFECT bakery style peanut butter cookie. I could not love them more!
★★★★★
Aw yay! Thank you!
Hi there – I made a double batch of these. I bake a lot and all my cookies spread really thin, with not much structure, with each 4 cookie batch i baked. I used White Lily AP. Could this be the issue, lower protein than the standard AP?
Bummed out, as these were going to be a gift, but they aren’t looking to good.
It could be that, or it could also be that the butter, peanut butter, and sugars were not mixed together well enough. You really want to mix them for a few minutes until light and fluffy. This helps provide lift and structure to the cookies.
These turned out great. A little bit more planning needed because the dough has to cool in the refrigerator, but worth the wait! I don’t have an ice cream scoop, I just used a spoon to dollop the dough out and it worked well. I ended up with 15 cookies instead of 12 so I just cut the baking time by 1 minute. This will be my go to recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!