Recently someone asked me why I loved the combination so much and I was taken aback slightly. My first thought was “well why wouldn’t I love this magic duo?” Then I realized that I’ve loved the flavors together since before I could remember. Since childhood two of my favorite foods have been chocolate and peanut butter, so it only makes sense that I absolutely adore them combined!
I’m actually surprised I’m not utterly sick of either of these flavors, let alone enjoying them together. I literally eat peanut butter everyday. I eat chocolate ALMOST everyday (like probably 360 days out of 365). And yet I’m still obsessed with the two, which is good for you because it leads me to share recipes like these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These cookies are ridiculously big, thick, and chewy yet soft and have just amazing flavor. They are 1000% perfect with a glass of cold milk. Best part? You don’t even need a stand mixer to make these, they’re so easy. Check out the notes below because I’ve tried to answer all your questions and give you a perfect understanding of how the recipe works.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Tips
How to Make CHEWY Cookies
The recipe is adapted from my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, a recipe I worked very hard to perfect. The high ratio of brown sugar and the extra egg yolk help contribute a rich, chewy, and thick texture with lots of flavor.
Be sure to measure your flour correctly (by weighing or with the spoon and level method) to avoid creating cakey, dense, or tough cookies that don’t spread.
If you don’t measure your flour correctly, YOU COULD END UP WITH CRUMBLY DOUGH!
Please follow the recipe as written, I craft my recipes carefully so you can have the best results possible!
The Best Peanut Butter for Baking
For best results, use a standard commercial brand of creamy peanut butter. I used Skippy for this recipe. Avoid any “natural” peanut butters where the oil separates. The dough won’t come together nicely if you don’t use commercial peanut butter with an added oil.
Size and Shape
These are large cookies, just the way I like ’em! I used my beloved OXO large cookie scoop to make these babies which is a 3-tablespoon sized scoop. You can make smaller 2 tablespoon-sized balls of dough and shave off about 2 minutes from the baking time, if you’d like.
The peanut butter in cookie recipes does prevent normal spreading. After you shape the dough into balls, flatten the balls well with the palm of your hand. This will encourage them to spread more while they bake. Don’t forget this!
Baking Perfect Cookies
I ALWAYS use a heavy duty unlined aluminum half sheet pan for baking cookies. Never use dark colored pans to bake cookies, they tend to overly brown or even burn the bottoms of the cookies. Additionally, I always use parchment paper for baking cookies. I find silicone baking mats produce less of a crunchy exterior crust and are just one extra thing to clean.
Chilling the Dough and Making Ahead
For best results, chill the dough overnight in the fridge. Why on earth would I recommend you delay your cookie satisfaction?
Well chilling chocolate chip cookie dough is very similar to marinating meat – things just get so much better. The texture becomes chewier and thicker and the flavor intensifies. If you don’t have time, no worries. You can bake the dough off after it’s made.
To freeze: I like to scoop my dough balls out, freeze them until solid, then remove them to a ziptop bag to store in the freezer. You can defrost the dough overnight in the fridge, or for an hour or so at room temperature before baking. You can bake from frozen, but note that with this recipe the cookies won’t spread as much.
Get all of my tips for freezing cookie dough here.
first time for these thanks for all the tips!
My new go-to cookies! I’ve made three batches of these and they turn out perfect every time.
I’m so happy to hear this, Ariel!! 🙂
Turned out very well!!!
Definitely recommend it!
Can I use oil instead of butter in peanut butter cookies?
I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure!
Little peanut butter flavor–actually, a rather harsh somewhat salty taste….and Not sweet enough. Made the recipe as is using Skippy creamy peanut butter and did not need to refrigerate. Very disappointed (once again) trying to find a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe or a peanut butter cookie recipe that we like. But I’m in the minority here.
I have made a lot of these cookies and these are not as good as some others. These lack a good peanut butter taste and are less sugary tasting, so they come off a bit flat. The extra yolk adds a lot of richness though. I the recipes that contain more peanut butter instead make a better cookie.
May I ask which brand/ type of chocolate chips do you use?
My favorite brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips are either Ghirardelli or Nestle 🙂
Hello! In New Zealand, we only have plain brown sugar or dark cane sugar. Would the cane sugar work?
I haven’t tried either, but I’m thinking the dark cane sugar would be closest to dark brown sugar. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
Great recipe, tried it this morning. I will decrease the sugar next time I make them, a little too sweet for my liking, but otherwise great recipe!
Not sure where I went wrong. Followed the recipe as written and my dough came out unbelievably greasy. Added more flour and there was no difference.
Maybe if there was less peanut butter? I have no idea…
Oh no! I wonder if your butter got too hot when melting! Did you measure your ingredients with a digital scale? This dough can sometimes be a bit more crumbly, but it shouldn’t be greasy…did you make any substitutions, especially with the peanut butter?
I really wish to grow in my cookies business i’m still starting but it’s not easy i wish to do perfect cookies …..Please help me
It takes lots of testing out recipes and making mistakes and learning from them. I always include tips in my recipe posts which might help you! Good luck! 🙂
Great recipe. Cookies were delicious. I took them out of the oven while they were a little soft to touch and although they hardened a little after cooling, they were still a little soft on the inside. Really yummy. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear you loved these cookies, Jacqueline 🙂
Very good
Very very very good recipe. I made it with me and my stoner friends and of course they hit the spot
Happy to hear everyone loved them 🙂
So good! I’ve made these multiple times and I found that if you don’t melt the butter (instead just add room temp butter) they turn out less greasy. I would also recommend adding the chocolate chips to the mixture before the dry ingredients so less chocolate chips fall out. So good and would 100% recommend!
These are delicious! I even made them with a more ‘natural’ PB (Aldi’s organic creamy) and they turned out just fine. I added the extra 2tbsp of milk and measured the flour, as recommended. I prefer a thicker, chewier cookie so these were perfect!
Glad to hear your substitution worked, Trisha!
how do peoples cookies always look so flat and mine are just fat clumps haha
You want to make sure once you’ve divided the dough into balls that you flatten the dough slightly into disc shapes 🙂
We LOVE these cookies. I have made them about six or seven times. The first time I made as recommended with Jif. I typically use natural peanut butter, so bought the Jif just for the recipe. Everybody loved them, but they weren’t overly peanut butter-y. Since I typically have the natural PB on hand, I tried it the next time with that and they worked out perfect, no problems with them falling apart or the dough being off. And people still loved them as much, if not more. They tasted a little more PB-y to me. I use the Kirkland brand natural PB and have used it every time except for the first time. This is probably the only cookie that people have consistently asked me to make again and again. They seriously love them. I sprinkle them with sea salt after baking. Thanks for such a great recipe that my family adores!
So glad to hear your substitution worked, Joanna, and that your cookies are a hit! 🙂
So soft and chewy!!! Our whole family just keep saying, “mmm, mmm, mmm” after every bite!
So happy to hear these are a hit, Mari!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! Huge hit at home and the office!! Fun to make!!
i hope it works i must confess i loved your video and your texts/recipe BUT I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!
If you follow this recipe exactly as listed you will get the most delicious cookies! Crunchy on the bottom and moist and and dense on the inside. I’ve made many a cookie in my 52 years-but this recipe is a keeper! Beyond anything I thought a homemade cookie could be! I did take out 1/2C of chocolate chips and added 1/2C of chopped dry roasted peanuts….OMG I’m in cookie heaven!
So happy you love this recipe, Kim!! 🙂
Hi Tessa… I hope you are ok.. I already baked this cookies.. and they were amazing.. the only thing I would do is to reduce by half the amount of chocolate chips, because they dull the flavor of the peanut butter and I think both flavors should be fully felt… I used light brown sugar ’cause it was all i have.. but next time I going to use it not only for color but for flavor too.. thanks a lot Tessa, you are a trully inspiration.. … you really are The Cookie Quen..
Increible, debo decir que le hice algunos ajustes a la receta.
Queria probar algo saludable para mi sobrino y cambie el azúcar por pasta de dátiles, no se sintió para nada la diferencia con respecto a lo dulce. Me encantaron.
We do not like large cookies. I have a small scoop that I use for muffins and cookies. How long would you bake them at?
Hi Freya, I talk about smaller scoops in the pink box above the recipe 🙂 I hope you love your cookies!
Delicious cookies! I’ve been trying to find a good cookie recipe and these were amazing. They were sweet but not to rich! Will definitely be making them again
Perfect! So happy you loved these cookies, Stevie!
I know you don’t like substitutions, but could you use Reese’s Mini Pieces Baking Chips instead of chocolate chips?
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds incredible! Let me know how it goes!
Wow! These are so good! I will admit that I was hesitant to believe these would be soft and chewy as described… as that hasn’t been my experience with peanut butter in cookies. But they ARE! And the taste is unbeatable: the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Throw out the scale. These will make you happier.
Hooray!! I’m so happy you loved these cookies, Kaylan! 🙂
Cookies baked up beautifully- I added Maldon on top as someone else had mentioned. The only thing I would change is to use less chocolate chips- I had 3/4 of a cup that went unused even after adding extras to each scoop.
So happy you loved this recipe, Kimberly, and were able to make it to your preference 🙂 I am definitely a chocolate lover!
Is there any harm in using chunky peanut peanut?
No harm, you are welcome to use chunky peanut butter!
The perfect balance of salty and sweet! I made a couple changes – I creamed the butter instead of melting it, and used all brown sugar. Delicious.
So happy you loved these cookies!
these cookies are perfect!! thick, soft, not crumbly from the peanut butter, and so chocolatey. sometimes i like to brown the butter then add 2 ice cubes to add back the evaporated water and they turn out perfect. this recipe has worked for me every time
So happy you enjoy this recipe! Brown better always add such a delicious flavor, yum!
Best ever cookie! I love them.
Hooray!!
Hi, would it make too much of a difference if you use ordinary table/iodized salt, instead of sea salt? That’s all I have at home. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but it should be totally fine! Happy baking!
My husband and I made these cookies and they turned out big, soft and had just the right amount of peanut butter taste. We will be making these again
Hooray! So happy to hear you both enjoyed these cookies!
Absolute perfection! Can’t stop eating them!
Hooray!!!
Oh my gosh. What a fab recipe. Love! Was a huge hit with everyone!
Hooray! I’m thrilled to hear this!
The cookbook does not mention flatten before baking, my first batch did not spread and. Had to squish them after reading here to flatten them. Now I wonder how many other mistakes there are. This was not a cheap cookbook and these kind f errors should be caught!!
this is the best recipe ever… seriously.
YAY! Thank you!
Hi! I am about to make this recipe tonight, but I was wondering if I could substitute some gluten-free flour for regular flour?
Thanks!
I don’t bake gluten-free, so I recommend following the recipe exactly as written for the best results. Sorry!
So yummy! Love that gorgeous cake with topping chocolate!
Some of the best cookies I’ve ever had!
SO glad to hear that!
These cookies are amazing, they are the perfect mix of sweet and salty, and the oats give a really nice texture to the cookie!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies!
this is too easy to make and too delicious that it is dangerous!! so Yummy!
So glad to hear this!
This recipe is amazing! The cookies are nice and soft and stayed that way days later! They were a big hit with my family
Yay! This is wonderful to hear!
Served this so many times in the last few months. Raving reviews from EVERYONE…Many rated this one of the best or the best cookies ever. Served it to over 30 people.
Wonderful to hear this!
My daughter has coeliac disease so I stopped the normal flour for gluten free flour and oh my word they are incredible. You couldn’t buy them that amazing!
SO glad these cookies were enjoyed!
this turned out so good! I love the recipe and am looking forward to using it again!!! thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
my kids absolute favorite cookie! They dont last long at our house
So glad to hear that!
PERFECT recipe to adapt for people that need gluten free. I changed nothing except switching out flour for GF all purpose baking flour. Mixing after adding each egg was key, and the extra yolk is genius. The dough held together beautifully. I baked half and froze half (using large scoop to form balls on a cookie sheet as suggested). Once frozen, I put the balls in a quart sized freezer baggie. Thank you so much for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies!
Best cookies I’ve ever made!
Everyone loved these cookies. My neighbors texted me and asked if I had anymore. They walked to my house in a snowstorm for more cookies. Excellent recipe!!!
This made my whole day! Hope everyone stayed safe and enjoyed the cookies 😉
Okay, these are wonderful! I only put in 1 cup chocolate chips which was over enough, put a few on top to look purdy….. so would definitely reduce the chocolate chips as really didn’t taste the peanut butter and we love peanut butter…. but flavour and texture, etc. Did not put in the fridge, but will next time to see the difference. They did spread out quite a bit. THANK YOU for sharing!!
Hi Rob, you can click the red “jump to recipe” button that is at the top of every recipe post. In the pink box in this recipe post, I share all my tips for these cookies – including the type of peanut butter to use. Enjoy!
So easy and so good! Im glad i found this recipe. Its a keeper!
Hooray!
How many calories are in one of these cookies ??
Easy and yummy, nice crunchy outside and googy inside, perfect!
Altitude (7,522′) adjustments: Add 1 T water, baked at 350°. Not particularly chewy, but delicious!
So glad you tried these cookies out!
Best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. They were soft and delicious! The only thing I changed was to use used dark chocolate chunks. Which made them even more substantial. I will definitely add this to my best cookie recipes list! YUM!
So glad you loved these cookies!
Thank u very much Tessa!
Is there any chance to change the butter for oil?(canola)
Because I don’t use butter/margarine.
Thanks a ton!