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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I just made these cookies and they do taste really great! I just had trouble with forming them, about half of the batch split in half or crumbled in the oven. But split in half or complete, these cookies were very delicious!
If you make them again and your dough is slightly crumbly, just add another tbsp or two of PB and blend that in to moisten up the dough and you’ll be all set. Glad you enjoyed them though! Thanks for telling me!
I made these last night because I had a huge craving for cookies- I was really impressed how easily these came together, and they were SO GOOD! I did use a “natural” chunky peanut butter because that’s what I had on hand, and though they were a little on the oily side, they turned out great! I’m sure they would set up a little better if I had actually followed your directions. :) Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for LMK that you tried them and they were a huge success for you, even with a natural PB. Sometimes people have luck; not always. But glad for you they were a hit. Woot! :)
I am cooking these as I write! I can’t wait to see how they turn out!
Made these the other day with my best friend– a great recipe! :) They were a hit. I’ll definitely be making these again soon.
Thanks for the recipe! I absolutely love these and I plan on making them again soon! :)
So glad they were a hit for you! Thanks for coming back and LMK!
Okay I need help! My dough is very crumbly, is this normal? I used normal Jiffy pb and new brown sugar (no chance of it crumbling or dried out), and because it was a little oily and warm outside, I added one and a half Tbs of flour (I think you suggested this in a previous comment for when it is warm outside and the dough is oily). All I have is a new hand mixer so I mixed for maybe 3ish mins. From the beginning it’s been crumbly, and after baking they fell apart! any suggestions?
I guess I could also add, the dough looks oily and is dark like your pictures, so maybe “crumbly” isn’t the right adjective, regardless they’re falling apart. They smell so good though! They may have to be used as an ice cream mix-in!
It’s hard for me to help you long distance because I have no idea where you went wrong because I wasn’t there. But a hand mixer for 3 mins does not sound long enough since they’re not as powerful as stand mixers. You want that PB, sugar, and egg to be totally smooth and combined. And I think you undermixed and that was the issue.
Also, I probably wouldn’t have added the flour given that you said they were already crumbly.
When you formed them into mounds, did you use a cookie scoop and really tightly compact the dough mounds? Using just a regular spoon and dropping the dough on trays probably didnt do you any favors, either.
It really is a timeless recipe that’s been around forever in many variations. Here are nearly 700 positive comments https://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-peanut-butter-cookies-ever/
And here are nearly 2000 https://allrecipes.com/recipe/flourless-peanut-butter-cookies/
Most people have success with the recipe and I would say read over some comments and see if you glean any info and take my advice and cream better, use a scoop, don’t add flour, and use well-chilled dough that’s solid before baking. LMK what you try!
Jen, you posted earlier that you have a “slight intolerance to eggs”, did you maybe sub in something else? That would definitely change things.
All of you leaving comments about the brown sugar…..get over yourself! If you don’t like what she has written by all means leave the page and create your own blog. I think they’re great….brown sugar and all!
I wish I could give you a big hug right now. Thank you for saying that. It’s exactly what I’ve been thinking for months :)
OMG!OMG!OMG! I have just baked these cookies using crunchy peanut butter and added white choc to the dark choc chunks and I have to say THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!! These are the BEST choc chip cookies recipe I have ever made (and trust me ive used quite a few different recipes…im not exactly an expert i tell ya!)
I baked them for the first time today for tea while my fiance and I met our flower decorator for the wedding and the guy loved them so much he actually took some home with him!haha!
The recipe was soooo easy to follow and i kept them refrigerated for a day and they were perfect,gooey and chewy!! 8 mins was the exact time i used as well except mine is a fan assisted oven so i lowered the temp to 160C instead of the 177C (converted from Fahrenheit)
This is definitely going to be a new weekend tradition n would be great even for parties id say.
Again Id like to thank you sooo much for the recipe! I will definitely try your other recipes soon!! Take care and enjoy ur summer! :-)
Hi Lisa and thanks for the glowing review!! So glad you liked them and that the flower decorator was so (randomly) in love with them, that you sent him home with a goodie bag of cookies! He should give you a discount for that :)
Thanks for LMK you made these and so happy to hear great field reports like yours! Keep me posted if you try other recipes!
I just tried to make these…the oil from the pb separated…I put it all in the fridge hoping it will come back together. What did I do wrong??
Since I wasn’t in your kitchen with you, I have no idea what you did wrong. If you used conventional PB like Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan, that’s very unusual.
If you used any form of ‘natural’, light, diet, or homemade PB – then, that’s known to happen and that’s why I tell people not to use those types.
If you provide more information, I may be able to troubleshoot more.
Dear God. These are so good they are ridiculous! I just made them and they are almost gone. The peanut butter and brown sugar (or more accurately white sugar in disguise for all the people who pointed that out because they have nothing better to do in life) is a fantastic combo. I added salt because I like my pb cookies a little salty. Gosh these are good. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Kiki! I love your comment and so glad these cookies were a big hit and almost gone! Re the white/brown sugar situation, thanks for seeing the humor in that and for what you wrote! It got to the point that between here, various pins on Pinterest, my Fbook page, my Twitter, my email, I literally had someone pointing this out to me, daily. Or more than daily. I wish I had that kind of time on my hands…gosh, must be so liberating to have all that free time :)
But seriously so glad you tried the cookies and thanks for the awesome field report. I love it!
Just made a double batch of these one for the neighbors and one to share. YUM! Hubby esp is in LOVE!