Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies — These are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. Know that I don’t say that lightly! They’re melt-in-your mouth soft and chewy, and extremely moist!
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BEST EVER Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’m not one to throw around labels like ‘The Best’ or ‘Best Of’ if I really don’t think something is. When people talk and every other thing is amazing, life-changing, or the best, I tend to not take them seriously.
But I can proudly say, these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies get my vote as “The Best” peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made.
They’re the easiest cookies you’ll ever make, with only six ingredients, and one of them is vanilla, which hardly counts. The recipe is naturally gluten-free because there’s no flour, and it’s one egg away from being vegan.
Instead of granulated sugar, this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe uses all brown sugar. Why? Because it helps baked goods stay moist and soft, and it adds greater depth of flavor than granulated sugar!
The cookie dough itself is as robustly peanut butter flavored as you can get. There’s no butter and no flour to take away any of the intensity of flavor. Just pure peanut butter intensity.
The edges have a bit of chewiness to them, the interior is so soft and tender, the peanut flavor is distinctly present, and chunks and rivers of dark chocolate ooze everywhere.
It’s hard to believe there’s no butter, no flour, and no granulated sugar in them. They’re my definition of the perfect cookie.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here’s what I used in these chocolate chip peanut butter cookies:
- Creamy peanut butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Chocolate chips or chunks
A Note About the Amount of Vanilla Called For
I am a vanilla fiend and added it amply enough to matter — 1 tablespoon, to be exact. No more of this 1/2 teaspoon business!
However, if you’re one of those people who prefer less, go with less. I go with more.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Making soft and chewy peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips is so easy! Just make sure you plan ahead, because the cookie dough MUST be chilled before baking it.
Here’s an overview of the recipe steps:
- Add the peanut butter and light brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. (Spraying the measuring cup with cooking spray will help it plop out easier.)
- To the peanut butter and brown sugar, add an egg, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Mix all the ingredients until well-combined.
- Add the chocolate and beat momentarily to incorporate.
- As tempting as it is to bake the cookies right away because the dough is just so good, it must be chilled for at least 2 hours before being baked for thicker, puffier cookies.
- Using a medium-sized two-inch cookie scoop, form the dough mounds. This translates to almost 2 tablespoons of dough, or about 1.60-ounces by weight.
- Place the dough onto baking sheets about two inches apart, about 8 per tray. Prior to baking, flatten the mounds slightly. If your dough is very well-chilled, you can flatten them a bit more so they don’t stay mounded up in little puffballs while baking, just don’t over-flatten them.
- Bake at 350ºF oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
A Note About the Bake Time
I recommend baking the cookies at the lower end of the bake time range. The cookies in the photos were baked for 8 minutes exactly, with the trays rotated once at the 4-minute mark.
The chocolate chip peanut butter cookies will look underdone at 8 minutes, but firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking trays for 5 to 10 minutes before moving them.
If you like crispy and crunchy peanut butter cookies, this probably isn’t the recipe for you since these are all about soft, chewy, and melty. But if you prefer slightly more well-done cookies, bake them for 9-ish minutes, maybe 10.
I would not bake them longer than 10 minutes or they’ll set up too firm and crunchy as they cool, and you’ll miss out on the ooey, gooey, melt-in-your mouth qualities, which are make these the best chocolate chip peanut butter cookies!
Recipe FAQs
Of course! The honey roasted peanut butter makes for a slightly sweeter cookie than using regular peanut butter, and it’s a great contrast to the bittersweet dark chocolate. However, use what you have!
For my version, I used 1 cup Peanut Pan Creamy Honey Roasted Peanut Butter and I don’t advocate using natural or Homemade Peanut Butter.
As lovely as homemade peanut butter is for eating with a spoon, spreading on toast, or making pans of bars with, it lacks the structure that store-bought peanut butter has.
Because these cookies have no flour, which would lend structure, using peanut butter that’s oily, natural, and loose is going to result in cookies that are loose and may not bake up as thick.
You could try using natural peanut butter — and I’ve seen some people have success with it — but I get much better results with commercial. Good old-fashioned Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan are my recommendations.
I don’t care for nuts in cookies, generally speaking, and creamy peanut butter is the only way for me, but if you like little pebbles in your cookies, go with crunchy.
Use whichever you have on hand to make these accidentally gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
I like the darkness and slight bitterness of chopped chocolate, contrasted with the honey in the peanut butter, and with molasses that’s naturally found in brown sugar. Most semi-sweet chocolate chips are in the 50 to 55% range, and I relish the extra bump in dark chocolate intensity.
However, chocolate chips are definitely the easier and quicker option since you don’t have to chop them up before throwing into the dough. In short: use what you have!
You probably can, but I’ve never tried it myself so I can’t say for sure. But I imagine substituting chopped nuts for part of the chocolate chunks would be fine.
Yes, pre-baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Storage Instructions
These flourless peanut butter chocolate cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, I prefer creamy honey roasted; plain or crunchy may be used; do not use natural or homemade peanut butter – see below *
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 ounces semi-sweet, dark, or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips may be substituted)
Instructions
- To the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined and the sugar is fully incorporated and is mixture is no longer gritty or granular. Stop to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
- Add the baking soda and beat to incorporate.
Add the chocolate and beat to just incorporate; don’t overmix or the nice chocolate chunks will break down. - Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form two-tablespoon mounds. If chocolate is falling out of dough since there is an abundance, roll ball between palms to encourage it to stay in the dough.
- Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray.
- Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. Watch them very closely after 7 minutes and I recommend not baking longer than 10 minutes. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long results in cookies that become too crisp and hard. The cookies in the photos were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark, and have chewy edges with pillowy soft centers.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- *Although natural peanut butter or homemade peanut butter may work, I recommend using storebought peanut butter like Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan or similar so that cookies bake up thicker and spread less. Using natural or homemade peanut butter tends to result in thinner and flatter cookies that are prone to spreading.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes:
Did you know that I wrote a Peanut Butter Cookbook? It contains 100+ recipes that feature peanut butter as the key ingredient!
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Big Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies — These soft peanut butter cookies are the peanut butter version of a molasses crinkle. They’re soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor!
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Bars — Just like the classic cookies except made as cookie bars rather than individual cookies. Bars are faster, easier, there’s no dough to chill, they’re made in one bowl, and you don’t need a mixer!
Monster Cookies — My recipe for classic monster cookies that are chock full of creamy peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&M’s makes both kids and adults reach for just one more cookie! Fast, EASY, soft, perfectly chewy, and they’ll become a family FAVORITE in no time!
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — Soft, chewy and they’ll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!
Soft Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies — These chocolate-dipped peanut butter cookies are SOFT AND CHEWY on the inside thanks to the addition of pudding mix in the cookie dough! Dipping them in dark chocolate makes for the PERFECT flavor combo!!
My peanut-butter loving husband and daughter would both devour these cookies! I need to make this recipe for them soon. Maybe I’ll get a free back massage as a reward. =)
YES! Hold that over them, that you slaved away on these (even though they’re super easy) :)
these look so good!
totally bookmarking this & will be making them ASAP!
now im craving cookies! thanks! :)
LMK if you try them!
Today is January 23!! National Rhubarb Pie Day. Tomorrow is Peanut Butter day.
I think you have positively nailed the perfect flourless PB cookie…and with chocolate…pure bliss!!! I totally agree with you about not using homemade or natural PB–I tried it a long time ago and all the cookies spread into 1 giant odd shaped rectangle. They tasted good but were too flimsy. I have to give these a try this weekend!
Keep me posted on how they go! And yes, I have seen some people use natural but it doesn’t work for me either in baked goods like this and some good old fashioned storebought is the way to go :)
One of my all-time favorite peanut butter cookie recipes has no flour in it, either! I was skeptical about omitting the flour at first, but OH MY GOSH–it rocks. It totally makes the cookies tender and soft and doesn’t get in the way of all the pure peanut buttery taste jam packed inside. Brilliant! These cookies are SO unbelievably soft and melty, Averie! I’m swooning over all that chocolate-peanut buttery goodness.
A combo of baking until just set, all that chocolate, the PB and no flour – yes they’re so soft and full of chocolate-peanut buttery goodness :) Glad you’re a fan too of the flourless cookies. I am skeptical every time that they’re going to work…but they always do!
I am dying over how awesome these are without flour! Love all that gooey melting chocolate! They look amazing!!!
Yum, I know what I’ll be making this weekend! I love your other 3-ingredient peanut butter cookie, so I know I will love these!!!
These take that recipe to a new level. LMK how they go for you!
WoW. Love these. So simple…I have all the ingredients at home! That’s it, I’m making tonight :)
LMK how they go for you!
You totally had me at peanut butter. And sometimes I prefer a thinner cookie like this as well. As always, thanks for taking the time to share the recipes and gorgeous photos!
And these as cookies go, really aren’t that thin. I mean they’re not as thick as a chewy oatmeal raisin but they’re really pretty thick. I actually had to flatten some of them as they came out of the oven. They stayed SO thick for me. Gotta love that uber dry winter air!
Another awesome recipe! The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is beyond tempting.
Christine
Who doesn’t absolutely love PB and chocolate together? These cookies look like perfection…. and I’m stunned over being flourless!!
I know, crazy, right! Gotta love working with chilled dough!
Wow Averie! I can’t believe there is no flour, white sugar, or butter in them at all. That’s incredible. It truly brings out the peanut butter and allows it to shine – I can literally see how rich and dense the peanut butter flavor is! Using exclusively brown sugar seems to work like a charm! I need to try it some day. :) And all that chocolate. So much melty chocolate! “These cookies would have been perfectly fabulous without adding chocolate, but chocolate and peanut butter is quite possibly the best food pairing on the planet” – ha!! ain’t that the truth! I bet they would be fabulous with white chocolate too. Gorgeous and decadent pictures too!
“no flour, white sugar, or butter” <-- I should have written that on my description to FG, but I already submitted. Sometimes I miss the obvious :) I wrote they're the best PB cookie Ive ever had, though! Every time I make these cookies or a version thereof, I am always shocked by the results. In a good way!
These look like a chocolate explosion! I had no idea it was PB day! I must must celebrate
I’ve said it before and I think it’s worth repeating: Peanut butter + chocolate = best combo ever!
And I am not saying it lightly either ;) Something containing PB and choc. must be really bad for me not to love it and these cookies seem to jump out of the screen into my mouth!!
It really is the best combo, agreed!
I can’t get over the amazing texture of these – I was shocked to read on and discover that they don’t contain flour. This is some seriously magical baking! Can’t wait to try these out AND refrigerate my dough before baking (I totally never knew about how that affects the thick vs. thin cookie issue).
You ALWAYS should refrigerate your dough for thicker cookies…no way for something to bake up puffy and thick if it starts out soft and limp. And yes, no flour. Pretty amazing, right! Every time I make this recipe or a version of it minus the flour, I’m amazed all over again.
Yowza! Maybe I’ll make these in honor of the day, or cookie dough dip:
Although believe it or not there is no peanut butter in my kitchen so I’d have to hit the store…
No.way. I have like 20 jars, not even kidding. All different brands and types :)