Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thick peanut butter cookies with golden edges, soft centres and plenty of chocolate chips, made with creamy peanut butter and a mixture of brown and caster sugars.
- Total
- 32 min
- Prep
- 20 min
- Bake
- 12 min
- Level
- Medium
- Makes
- 24
- Trays
- two lined baking trays
These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies have slightly crisp, golden edges and a soft middle that stays chewy once cool. Smooth peanut butter gives the dough its nutty flavour, while brown sugar keeps the centres tender and the chocolate chips soften into little pockets.
The dough should feel thick and hold its shape when rolled. Watch the oven rather than waiting for the middles to look completely cooked. They settle as the cookies cool on the tray.
Ingredients
Makes 24 cookies on two lined baking trays
For the cookies
You will need
- Two large baking trays
- Baking parchment
- Digital kitchen scales
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer
- Silicone spatula
- Wire cooling rack
Oven
180°C fan 160°C 355°F
Method
Oven 180°C · fan 160°C · 355°F
Prepare the trays and oven
Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan. Line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Have the butter softened enough to leave a shallow dent when pressed with a finger, but not so warm that it looks shiny or oily. Stir the peanut butter until it looks smooth and evenly mixed.
Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars
Put the 100 g butter, 252 g peanut butter, 90 g light brown soft sugar and 75 g caster sugar into the large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer, scraping the sides once. The mixture should become a little lighter in colour, thick and creamy, with no obvious lumps of butter.
Beat in the egg and vanilla
Add the egg and 5 g vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture looks smooth and holds soft ridges where the beaters pass through it. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to catch any thicker peanut butter mixture.
Combine the dry ingredients
Put the 150 g plain flour, 1 g baking powder, 2 g bicarbonate of soda and 2 g fine salt into a small bowl. Stir with a spoon until the raising agents and salt are spread evenly through the white flour, with no visible clumps.
Finish the cookie dough
Tip the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture and fold with a silicone spatula. When only a few pale streaks of flour remain, add the 160 g chocolate chips. Fold until the dough is thick, evenly golden brown and dotted with chocolate. It should feel soft and slightly tacky but hold together when pressed.
Weigh and shape the cookies
Divide the dough into 24 balls, each weighing 37 g. Roll them gently between your palms without packing them tightly. Arrange 8 balls on each lined tray, leaving at least 6 cm between them. Keep the remaining dough covered while the trays bake in batches. The balls should be rounded, with chocolate chips visible on their surfaces.
Bake until the edges are golden
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, one tray at a time, on the middle shelf. At around 12 minutes, the cookies should have spread into thick rounds. The edges are set and golden and the middles still look slightly underbaked, because they firm up as they cool. Remove the tray when the outer edges hold their shape but the centres still look soft. Repeat with the remaining batches.
Cool on the tray
Leave the cookies for 5 minutes on the tray before moving them carefully to a wire rack with a flat spatula. They should feel firmer around the edges but still tender in the middle. Leave them on the rack for another 15 minutes until they can be lifted without bending.
Check the centres
Break one cooled cookie in half. The inside should look soft and close-textured rather than wet, with small pieces of chocolate through the golden peanut butter crumb. The outside should give a little resistance before the middle pulls apart.
Baker's notes
- Use regular smooth peanut butter rather than a runny natural variety with a layer of separated oil. A very oily peanut butter can make the dough spread further and leave greasy edges.
- The dough can be made ahead and kept covered in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Let it soften enough to portion without cracking, then bake when needed.
- Milk chocolate chips give a sweeter result, while dark chocolate chips provide more contrast against the peanut butter. Keep the chocolate weight the same.
- Allergens: Contains peanuts, dairy, egg and gluten. Chocolate chips may also contain soya or traces of other nuts, so check the packaging if necessary.
Keeping it Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. To freeze, arrange the cooled cookies between layers of baking parchment in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Questions, answered
Can I use crunchy peanut butter instead?
Yes. Crunchy peanut butter adds small pieces of peanut throughout the cookies and gives them a rougher surface. Choose a thick, regular variety rather than one with separated oil.
Can I freeze the cookie dough before baking?
Yes. Weigh and shape the balls, freeze them on a lined tray until firm, then move them to a freezer bag or container. Bake from frozen and allow an extra minute or two, checking the edges and centres rather than relying only on the clock.
Can I use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips?
Yes. Chop a bar of chocolate into small, uneven pieces. The finer pieces will melt into the dough while the larger chunks make softer pockets of chocolate. The cookies may look more irregular because chopped chocolate spreads differently from chips.
Why do peanut butter cookies sometimes taste dry?
Peanut butter contains peanut solids that absorb moisture, and a little too much flour can make the finished crumb dry. Weigh the flour rather than adding extra to make the dough easier to handle. A cookie that has baked too long will also lose its soft centre.
Can I make the cookies smaller for a party?
Yes. Divide the dough into smaller, equal portions and leave room between them on the trays. Start checking a few minutes earlier, since smaller cookies will bake faster. Their centres should remain soft when the edges are ready.
