Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies — Rich vanilla cookie dough is studded with peanut butter chips and baked to puffy perfection! The ultimate soft peanut butter chip cookie with zero frills, just delicious flavor! 

Ultra Soft Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

These cookies turned out so puffy that they caught me by surprise. And they’re so vanilla-ey, but that was by design because I’m a vanilla fiend.

They are a little bit peanut buttery even though I didn’t add peanut butter to the actual cookie dough.

Instead, I used peanut butter chips and they gave a subtle peanut butter flavor, yet not so much that the vanilla flavor was lost.

I was going to add white chocolate chips, too, but I know not everyone is as crazy about white chocolate as I am, so I refrained.

I did add something to them that I almost never bake with. Good ole Crisco.

I read cookie making guides and online websites devoted to The Perfect Cookie and never tire of the epic food science quest in finding what makes cookies puffy, flat, chewy, crispy, you name it.

Many people swear by some lard to keep things moist and puffy. Scientifically, that makes sense.

And boy, puffy is what happened.

That would be pufffffyyyy.

Not using butter is a smidge of a sacrifice in the flavor department because there is nothing that can replace the flavor of butter in baking. However, in terms of puffiness, chewiness, and softness, these babies were perfectly puffalicious and right on point.

Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

You need very few ingredients to make cookies with peanut butter chips. Here’s the ingredient list: 

• Vegetable shortening 
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon 
• Salt
• Baking soda
• All-purpose flour
• Peanut butter chips

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

This peanut butter chip cookie recipe is one of my easiest yet! Here’s an overview of how the recipe is made: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla.
2. Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined. Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
3. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed. 
4. Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake until barely brown. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked.
5. Allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

Can I Use Coconut Oil Instead of Shortening? 

A few readers have suggested using coconut oil in place of the Crisco. In theory, that’s a good idea. However, coconut oil melts when warm, which will result in thin cookies. 

However, if you’d looking for a coconut oil cookie recipe, try these coconut oil chocolate chip cookies. Just sub peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips! 

Can I Use Butter Instead of Shortening? 

Go for it! Make sure your butter is at room temperature and isn’t melted. Just note that your cookies won’t turn out quite as puffy as mine. 

Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Chip Cookies 

I like vanilla-flavored foods. Actually, I am passionately in love with vanilla-flavored most anything, and I usually use twice the recommended amount of vanilla extract in any recipe.

The way I wrote this peanut butter chip cookie recipe, you don’t need to do that, but if you’re really wanting to go nuts with vanilla flavor because you’re obsessed like I am, you could possibly add one more teaspoon or perhaps some vanilla bean paste to knock your vanilla socks right off.

Also note that instead of peanut butter chips, you could use any baking chip you’d like. Butterscotch, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, you name it. 

Save Saved Review Print

4.34 from 3 votes

Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

By Averie Sunshine

Rich vanilla cookie dough is studded with peanut butter chips and baked to puffy perfection! The ultimate soft peanut butter chip cookie with zero frills, just delicious flavor! 

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ ½ cup Crisco, or vegetable shortening
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup peanut butter chips, or butterscotch, white chocolate, chocolate chips if preferred

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375F and line two cookie sheets with Silpat liners, parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together Crisco, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla, until batter is creamy.
• Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined.
• Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
• Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed. Do not skip chilling the dough if you want puffy cookies because cold dough results in puffier cookies.
• Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls (or roll balls by hand) and place on prepared cookie sheets, allowing for adequate spacing (these cookies do not spread much, but like all cookies, they spread some; and the colder the dough, the less they will spread).
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until barely brown. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked and allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.
  

Notes

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container on the countertop or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 84kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 49mg, Sugar: 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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