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I have discovered a couple of tricks to bakery-style cookies and the result was these crazily decadent, thick & chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
We all know that I love a good chocolate chip cookie recipe and there is nothing like a crispy peanut butter cookie. But hey, I also love chocolate chip and peanut butter so these cookies were next on this list!
I am pretty sure that I have discovered a couple of tricks to bakery-style cookies. Or maybe not. This may not be the way that bakeries get those huge yet flat cookies that are all the same shape and thickness, all the way around. However this is the way that *I* will now get those perfect cookies at home without using shortening ( the usual trick for commercial bakeries) or huge ovens that bake perfectly.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
- Butter – softened for the best results
- Brown sugar – always make sure it’s packed for proper measurements
- Egg– large
- Vanilla extract – using a little more vanilla amplifies the taste of the chocolate in baked goods
- Peanut butter– creamy or chunky up to you
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – you can do dark chocolate as well but milk chocolate would be very sweet!
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Mix in the egg until combined, then add in the peanut butter and vanilla
extract. Mix well. - Whisk the dry ingredients together then add to the butter mixture, mixing
together thoroughly. - Mix in the chocolate chips by hand until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Place by rounded cookie scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake in the oven for 14-15 minutes, or until golden brown all over.
Don’t flatten them AT ALL before baking.
Even if they stay a dome shape – which they will on non-humid days – don’t worry. The trick to not having the edges brown too much like the ones on the left is to start them out in the ice cream scoop size. If they are still a dome shape you simply take a spatula or a flat flipper/turner and slowly press down on the freshly baked cookie, right when they come out of the oven. That’s how you get those beautiful crinkled little edges that the cookie on the right has. If you are baking on a humid day, odds are that your dough will be stickier than usual. Try adding another 2- 3 tablespoons of flour to make it less sticky but odds are they are still going to bake up thick and chewy if you still adhere to the DO NOT FLATTEN BEFORE BAKING RULE.
Oh, did I say ice cream scoop a few seconds ago?
Yes, I did. And ice cream scoop is the perfect size to make these large and in charge cookies. Yes, you only end up with 12-16 cookies from this recipe, but they are huge cookies.
Also: If all else fails, cut the butter.
Less butter has always meant thicker, chewier cookies and is the secret to my popular Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
If these aren’t as thick as you want, cut the butter down to 1/3 cup of a cup. Cookies are a persnickety lot. If you live somewhere humid, they’ll spread out and flatten like a pancake.
Yesterday, these turned out perfectly and I had to use a flipper to flatten them into the thick, chewy, delicious delights below. They were PERFECT DOMES that didn’t even shift from their original shape.
Today I used the same recipe to make sure that they are still great and they flattened out all on their own because it’s snowing here in Edmonton. I could have added that 2-3 tablespoons of flour, but to be honest they turned out just as great as the ones below.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Tips & Tricks
- Now, I know that YOU know this, but the secret to the best cookies is to under bake them slightly. These just need to be browned all lovely on the outside and under baked on the inside. Fifteen minutes were perfect for mine, but watch yours and see. If you over bake them, they will still be delicious, but not chewy!
- So in order to get these cookies that thick, you are going to have to work a little. Try one out on your cookie sheet and if it flattens, add some more flour to the dough. Odds are that we are going to have more humid days than not, now that winter is here.
- If flour doesn’t work, cut that butter down to 1/3 of a cup in your next batch. You might have to eat a few batches before you get the feel for what your dough should be like ( it’s not a super-sticky dough, by the way) and I know that taste testing thick and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies is going to be a hard job.
More great cookie recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Thick N’ Chewy
- The Perfect Cookie Dough for “Stuffed Cookies”
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies
You got this.
Love you more than chocolate,
Karlynn
Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter creamy or chunky up to you
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl attached to a stand mixer.
- Mix in the egg until combined, then add in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together then add to the butter mixture, mixing together thoroughly.
- Mix in the chocolate chips by hand until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill the scoop until it’s full, flattening the bottom until it’s level with the straight edge of the scoop.
- Place by rounded cookie scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake in the oven for 14-15 minutes, or until golden brown all over.
- Remove from the oven.
- The cookies should still be in a dome shape.
- Using a flat spatula or egg flipper etc, press each cookie down until evenly flat. They should be about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick.
- Leave the cookies on the trays to cool completely after flattening.
- Enjoy your super thick and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
- Store in a container for 3-5 days, but I doubt they will last that long.
Nutrition
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Elaine says
I doubled the recipe and followed instructions. They turned out great. I baked at 375 degrees using a silpat rather than parchment. I had no need to press cookies down when out of oven as they baked evenly in oven 14 minutes. One of my pans was dark metal and those cookies baked faster so made a note to reduce bake time when using that pan in the future. Certainly would bake again. My yield was 28. Cookies are large and choc full of chips. I used 2-1/4” ice cream scoop and leveled the dough. Very pleased.
Sophie says
I really Love the cookies their really good but my only problem is that it always says in Cups but I’m from Europe and we use grams here and it’s a bit difficult to find in the internet to have that exact measurement. I would love if you would add into your website European measurements! Thank you!
Dianne Baan says
I made these today. Only change I made was I added toasted pecans to them and I used chocolate puffed Quinoa instead of chips. They are fantastic.
Julie says
I’ve made these several dozen times over the past year. I put a slight bit more peanut butter, maybe 1/8th of a cup, in the recipe. Other than that, it’s just as written. These are not only a family favorite, but a favorite at Bunco, with friends/family/co-workers, and with my son’s sports team. It’s definitely my go to!
Julie says
Sorry, I meant an additional 1/8th cup. I have also left out the chocolate chips and just made peanut butter cookies. Another favorite!
Enjay says
This is a pretty good recipe I used chunky peanut butter spread and added 2 tablespoon of cornstarch to make them softer in the middle. Cooked at 350 for 12-14 min and dipped the bottoms of the cookies in chocolate instead of adding it to the mix. You get roughly 6 large cookies when you use the ice cream scoop (4oz). Will definitely make again
Brian says
Cut chips by 1/2 cup, time and temp good, didn’t have to flatten just level. Couple more tablespoons of flour might have helped. Very sweet, chewy, just a hint of peanut butter flavor. I give it a 4 1/2 stars.
Masa says
Easy recipe, I burnt the first batch at 10 minutes. Subsequent batches were about 7-1/2 to 8 minutes. They are super sweet. I’ll cut back on the sugar & chips next time. I love the chew. And they look perfect!
Karlynn Johnston says
Glad they worked out for you!
Marlee says
This has been my go to peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe for years….figured it was about time I left a review 😂
Awesome cookie recipe, I don’t add as many chocolate chips as it calls for (personal preference). If you haven’t already made them, what are you waiting for!?
DD says
Agree that 340-350 is a better temp to prevent burning. Used only one cup chocolate and half cup sugar but added a modest amount of molasses and coconut, plus orange extract and chipotle. V good flavor.
Rebecca says
Pass on this one.!! Very.greasy, 2 cups of chips; Seriously??? Not enough peanut butter. I could go on but enough said.
Alesha S says
This is a winner!!!
Sylvia says
I’ve been making cookies many years, and am happy to say this recipe is the best! Loved the tip of pressing after baking. Loved the taste, consistency, everything about it.
Jen says
Great recipe…I cut back baking time by 2 minutes like someone suggested…I’ve made these many times they are a favorite here!
Emma says
The BEST cookie recipe by far. The ice cream scoop portions and flatten after baking has been a game changer. Everyone always asks for the recipe which I am happy to share. The world needs more good cookies! Thank you 🥰
Darren Upshaw says
I used 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 and 1/2 of Choc. chips and added a half cup of oatmeal, lg. flakes to bind more. DELICIOUS! I don’t think any cookie should ever be baked at 375. I baked at 345 for an extra 10 mins and voila. I really liked the idea of pressing down the cookie after baking.
Brittany- cookie aficionado says
This is my favorite cookie recipe and I now compare all cookie recipes to the taste and texture of this one. I always get compliments on the cookies when I make them and everyone in my house loves them. I make the recipe exactly as written and to me it’s perfect. It’s always best to make a recipe as written the first time before your start making tweaks to suit your own taste. I use toll house semi-sweet chocolate chips and have used both Jif creamy and Peter Pan creamy peanut butter. And this is just a perfect cookie that is easy, not too many ingredients and, repeatable perfection every time.
I want all cookies to bake in a way that allows being smashed with a spatula at the end. This is THE cookie.
Carm M says
Love this recipe but not making them just yet. I’m going to make them soon when my son goes to university and he loves peanut butter. Thank you for sharing this recipe and not using shortening. Will let you know how they turn out.
Cheryl says
This recipe is excellent! I halved the chocolate chips and lowered the sugar by about 1/4 cup, they were absolutely delicious for our tastes (great with coffee!); nice peanut butter flavour, great peanut butter chocolate chip ratio, so.damn.good! I also only baked for 10-12 minutes based on the oven temperature.
Jolayne Copper says
First, thank you for sharing your recipe!
I followed the recipe as written and while they are a good cookie I was hoping for something more chewy. Based on a previous review I will try lower temp and or less time next time.
PS I didn’t find them too sweet with dark chocolate chips!
DaftCanuck says
375 is too hot for the cookies as it caused many of them to start burning on the bottom after 10 minutes. they began to flatten in the oven but that wasn’t the end of the world.
Darren Upshaw says
Also add an extra tbsp or 2 of peanut butter. I used organic sea salt peanut butter!
Liz says
Just a tip for anyone who ever has issues with cookies getting too well done on the bottom (and something I learned in home ec in 7th grade that I’ve used my entire life and works perfectly with every cookie recipe ever) if you start one sheet on the bottom rack, leave it for half of the lower amount of time given in a recipe, pull it out and move it to the top rack, then put a new sheet on the bottom rack. Then at the end of the second half of time (for the first sheet) you pull the top sheet out, move the bottom sheet to the top, then put a new sheet on the bottom. So each sheet of cookies spends half of the cooking time on the lower rack and half on the upper rack. I place both racks near the middle but still, one is lower and one is higher. It works great because you can rotate and get more cookies baked in a shorter amount of time and IME, cookies come out perfectly every time this way. Not too well done on the bottom and perfect on the top. If a recipe says 10-12 minutes, I do 5 on the bottom and 5 on the top. If they still aren’t quite done the whole way, then I throw them back in on the top rack for another minute or two.
Btw, this recipe is phenomenal!
Karlynn Johnston says
Great tips, thank you for sharing! And I am so glad that you love the recipe!
Carm M says
Love this recipe but not making them just yet. I’m going to make them soon when my son goes to university and he loves peanut butter. Thank you for sharing this recipe and not using shortening. Will let you know how they turn out.
Eva says
I confess I made a few adjustments to the recipe but the cookies turned out fantastic and maybe my comment will help someone out in the same situation as me. my mixer recently broke, so I had to mix this recipe up by hand. Since I couldn’t cream the butter, I melted it before mixing in the peanut butter, then the sugar, then the egg, and I whisked it well by hand. Then I added in my dry ingredients and chocolate chips. I increased the peanut butter a bit since some of the comments said the flavor wasn’t very strong (I just eyeballed it, but estimate it was around 1/4 cup). The dough was a little too wet/sticky from the extra PB since I added a touch more flour until the dough seemed the right, it was probably around 3 or 4 tablespoons. Because I had started with melted butter, I needed it to solidify again, so I chilled the dough for 1 hour before baking. When The cookies came out of the oven, I pressed them down with a fork and immediately sprinkled with flaked Malden sea salt. They were soft and chewy and delicate textured, the flavor was rich and wonderful! I will definitely make these cookies again, and considering how well they turned out with my modifications, I might melt the butter and mix by hand like I did this time.
The cookie lady says
Thank you Linda for the advice. I have learned the hard way to always hand mix when putting the flour into the wet stuff. My sister recommended always use room temp ingredients when baking. This makes creaming the sugars by hand the easiest. Immersion blend the eggs really well with lots of air in them. You can also do this by hand with a whisk. In a past life I was living below the poverty level and did not have access ladytoladie electric conv
The cookie lady says
Thank you Linda for the advice. I have learned the hard way to always hand mix when putting the flour into the wet stuff. My sister recommended always use room temp ingredients when baking. This makes creaming the sugars by hand the easiest. Immersion blend the eggs really well with lots of air in them. You can also do this by hand with a whisk. In a past life I was living below the poverty level and did
Linda says
Pretty difficult to read your recipes with all the ads. I get it. This is your job. But it’s annoying
Lame says
These were horrible…
Henry says
Yummy
Valerie says
Can the dough go in the fridge until you’re ready to bake? For how long?
JESSICA says
Complete trash recipe..don’t make this
Nick F says
375 is too hot, go with 325-350 and add a couple of minutes. burnt bottoms in ess than 10 minutes, and the trays were in the upper part of the oven.
Alexis says
This recipe is amazing! My husband loves the cookies (he’s eaten half of them in one day lol)! They are easy to make, few ingredients, and this is not a time consuming recipe! Will definitely make again! Thank you thank you thank you!
Donna says
I made this recipe exactly as directed. I found the cookies to be a little on the sweet side – I know cookies are a treat and should be sweet LOL. I found that the chocolate chips (I used pure semi-sweet chocolate chips and crunchy peanut butter) over powered the peanut butter flavour? Well I mean I could hardly taste peanut butter and that is what I was looking for. That being said, obviously they were still very good and my husband certainly enjoyed them. Thank You.
Steph says
So easy and delicious! I didn’t need to press them down they came out perfect for me
Heather Jeal says
Made with almond butter instead of peanut butter. Now they are my grandson’s favourite cookie. Yes, they are sweet. Isn’t that what cookies are supposed to be? And served with black coffee or tea to cut the sweetness?
JESSICA says
Complete trash recipe..don’t make this
Danielle Calvert says
I don’t know if I did something wrong or these people are lying but these cookies were awful. They were way to sweet.
Julie says
Yummy!! They are soft, thick and delicious. I will definitely make them again. My family has already requested more andI just made them yesterday.
Maddison says
Great recipe! I didn’t read the comments until after, but everyone seems to be right about the time/temperature bro too much. The cookies are amazing…besides the burnt bottoms. I would love to make again with lower temp or much less time.
I would recommend considering updating this recipe to save those like me who didn’t read the comments first 🙂
Landon says
Great recipe. But i don’t have a ice cream scoop so I used a hands and rolled it it would be a great help if you said a amount to scoop like a 1/4 cup or something. And I cooked it for 12 mins and it was a bit burnt under it.but over all great recipe I’m gonna make it again for sure.
Melinda says
well I made it exactly as per recipe.
Dough was too runny but put faith in the recipe.
I had to bake mine for 17 mins. Not sure if it’s an altitude issue.
Taste wise, I agree. too sweet. I can’t taste the peanut butter at all.
Glad I only made one batch.