Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Published Dec 11, 2020•Updated Apr 02, 2024
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Peanut Butter and chocolate is a combination that will never get old. These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies bake up crisp around the edges and soft in the middle.
These cookies were first added to our cookie archives back in 2013, but they are such a staple (and always such a hit at our house) that it felt like time to bring them back to your attention with some fresh new photos. They are completely classic. A salty and sweet peanut butter base studded with chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or even M&Ms – depending on the mood you’re in.
If you love this flavor combination and are in the mood for a cookie cake (or need one for an upcoming celebration!), be sure to check out my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Cake.
Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies are great for freezing, so I wanted to share these now in case you wanted to tuck some in the freezer to bake a few on a chilly winter night.
You may already have everything you need to bake these. Here’s all it takes.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – Just regular AP flour needed for these cookies. I’ve also made these with a gluten-free 1:1 flour sub (I like King Arthur’s) with great results.
- Creamy Peanut Butter – I have always made these with conventional creamy peanut butter (like JIF), but I’m sure they would be great with crunchy peanut butter as well. If you try them with natural peanut butter, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
- Unsalted Butter – As with most baking recipes, it’s a great idea to use unsalted butter and then add measured salt to your recipe for consistent results.
- Sugar – You’ll need both white (granulated) sugar and light brown sugar to give these cookies that tender, chewy texture.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps the cookies to bake up thick and stay and soft and tender for longer after baking.
- Baking Soda, Kosher Salt, Pure Vanilla Extract, Large Eggs – Standard cookie baking ingredients.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips / Chunks / M&Ms – When I first made these cookies, I used chips. More often now, I go for the larger bites of chocolate that come from semi-sweet chocolate chunks. They’re also great with M&Ms or a combo of chocolate chips and M&Ms. Pick your favorite!
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How to Freeze Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
To Freeze: Prepare dough as directed. Line cookie dough balls up on a sheet pan and transfer to the freezer. When dough balls are frozen solid (3 to 4 hours), transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 6 months.
To Bake from Frozen: Bake on a prepared sheet pan directly from the freezer at 300°F for 15 to 17 minutes.
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (1 cup of butter = 2 regular sticks / 16 Tbsp)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (use conventional peanut butter like JIF; not natural)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 11 ounces chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or M&Ms (you can also use a mix of these)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 177°C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and peanut butter until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low-medium until evenly combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl all at once and mix on low just until combined.
- Mix in the chocolate just until combined. (See note.)
- The cookie dough will be very soft. In order to make it easier to handle, you can refrigerate it for up to 30 minutes, but you can also proceed immediately by using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a spoon to drop balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Leave a few inches between the cookies – they will spread out as they bake.
- Bake just until the edges darken slightly. The centers should still look very pale and soft, 9 to 12 minutes.
- As soon as you remove the pan from the oven tap it firmly on the counter a few times to deflate the cookies. (This will compress the centers, making them soft and chewy.)
- Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for at least 5 minutes. (Note: When they come out of the oven, these cookies will be very tender and break easily. Leaving them on the hot sheet pan helps them to hold their shape while still staying very soft and tender.) Enjoy!
- Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I LOVE these photos!
Thank you, Elizabeth! That’s so nice!
You totally described my ideal chocolate chip cookie with that texture. I have to try the cornstarch addition, which I’ve heard about but haven’t actually done. I have you have many more great weeks with tons of things to be grateful for!
Definitely try the cornstarch trick, Monica – it’s amazing what a difference a little bit makes. This is totally my ideal cookie texture too – I need my cookies to be soft inside, but that crisp edge is so tasty!
Hmm – great tip about cornstarch going to give that one a try! Thanks!
I could use about a dozen of these right now for breakfast!
Haha – no kidding, Chung-Ah – here I sit eating oatmeal and staring at what’s left of these cookies…dangerous!
Gratitude is such a beautiful fruit of the spirit and one I am hungry for in my own heart. Thanks for this sweet post. So amazed with you that the cell phone was found!
So true, Shanna – I think I don’t take time to feel gratitude enough. The cell phone return made me feel so hopeful for the goodness in people – we were so sure we would never see it again!
Love the cornstarch tip! Will definitely give that a try. And I am also grateful for you and Frank. It’s a blessing to have such fun, kind friends — even if they are on the other side of the world for the moment. 🙂
And WE are so lucky to have you!! Miss you tons – can you believe it’s been over a year since you were here???
I think peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite flavor. And these look delicious – especially that last photo with the glass of milk. My guilty pleasure is dunking cookies in milk – so good!
And these are SO dunk-able, Ashley! I have a weakness for anything peanut butter/chocolate.
Wow, I love the look of these cookies – so perfect with a glass of milk! 🙂
Gosh those look good. You know we don’t get chocolate chips here? It’s not like chopping up a bar of dark chocolate is all that big a deal, but I love the look of the chips, especially now that I pine over them in a homesick kind of way. I have a go-to peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, but this one looks so gorgeous I’ll have to give it a whirl. I’ve never tried that cornstarch trick, but it makes sense! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’m excited to give it a try.
I didn’t taste those when I made them, but my family sure went crazy over them and they do turn out looking like a perfect cookie. Thanks for baking from my blog.