Softest Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Full of peanut butter flavor, packed with chocolate chips, and melt in your mouth soft, these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are simple perfection.
Soft peanut butter cookies might just be my favorite. In fact, I will say they are, specifically these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They are incredibly soft, packed with peanut butter flavor, and just darn delicious. I prefer my peanut butter cookies with a traditional crisscross pattern, and of course, stuffed with lots of semi-sweet chocolate chips. If the above is speaking your cookie love language, this blog post is for you.
What makes these cookies special?
A few things, first being the amount of peanut butter, which in this recipe is 1 1/4 cups. If it’s the main star, it should come through in a big way. I can’t stand a lackluster peanut butter cookie, which happens too often.
The rest of the magic comes in how these cookies are prepared and baked. By creaming the butters and sugars for a few minutes, the dough is nice and fluffy, aiding in a soft cookie texture. A touch of vanilla, and just the right amount of flour—best weighed using a scale—gives these cookies a melt in your mouth consistency. I’ve come to rely on weighing flour, especially with a cookie like peanut butter— they tend to dry out when flour is overused.
Further, these cookies are refrigerated for several hours before baking, and are purposefully, and mindfully, not over-baked! If anything, they are slightly under-baked, allowing the cookie to finish baking on the tray, staying exceptionally soft when eaten, and not drying out. These cookies are meant to be delicious, not just the day made, but second and third day too. Also, to keep that signature crisscross pattern imprinted while baking, the dough must be refrigerated. If the dough is baked with no chill time, the cookies will not only have a crunchier consistency, but they will spread too much, and the imprint will puff away by the time the cookies are pulled from the oven.
A Word For The Cookie Wise
In my blog post here, I discuss my best cookie tips, which I highly recommend checking out, as I have gotten positive feedback about their helpfulness.
Prior to creating my blog, I worked at two successful bakeries, and I will tell you, ALL of the cookie dough, at both bakeries, was refrigerated before baking. Only in a pinch was the dough scooped directly onto the tray and baked. Yes, dough was refrigerated for productivity, but also because refrigerated dough typically yields the best cookies. If a recipe has “too many steps” it could be a missed opportunity to create something special. So, my word to the cookie wise is this: accept the steps and know they are written for a reason.
Final Tip
Want plain peanut butter cookies? No problem. Simply omit the chocolate chips. Further, feel free to play around with this recipe, adding chopped peanuts or other types of chocolate chips like dark chocolate, or white, if you like that flavor combination.
Softest Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, such as Skippy
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 335 grams or 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium for 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 15-20 seconds on medium-low speed after each egg addition. Add vanilla and mix briefly.
- Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Thoroughly scrape the bowl and then mix one more time, making sure any ingredients trapped at the bottom of the bowl are brought to the top. Add chocolate chips and mix briefly.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once the dough is easier to handle, scoop 3 tablespoon size balls into a cookie sheet placing them an inch or so from each other. Once the dough is scooped, using a fork, lightly imprint a crisscross pattern atop each cookie. If all the dough balls don't fit onto a baking tray, place a piece of parchment on top, and repeat process with a second layer. Carefully cover cookies with plastic wrap, and either freeze for at least 3 hours, or refrigerate over night.
- Preheat Oven 350 degrees F. Using a half rimmed baking sheet place 6-9 cookies on a baking sheet, keeping other cookies refrigerated or frozen while waiting to be baked. Bake cookies for 6 minutes, rotate tray and baking another 6-7 minutes more.
- Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and enjoying.
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